Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Candy Containers

I love it when I can find items that I own in vintage magazines!  Today I am sharing a few vintage candy containers I have had for decades along with their corresponding ads!
The full page image seen above is from the 1949 Christmas Sears Catalog. 


The top header item is this amazing plastic Santa with 8 tiny reindeer carrying a sled full of lollipops!

This thing was such a big deal that it was the front cover illustration for the catalog!

"Merry Old Santa and his Eight Tiny Reindeer, with a pack of sweets, all set for their yearly ride.  Santa's Candy Express is truly unique..designed of gleaming plastic, to serve as toy or Christmas ornament.  60 inches of ribbon included to join Santa and reindeer, and 18 cello-wrapped pops are in his pack.  Laughing red-suited Santa and his sleigh, drawn by snowy white reindeer, form a cheerful centerpiece...trim for your tree, or an entertaining toy.  Use pieces separately or as a unit.  Each piece has a ring for hanging.  Size, as shown, about 25 in.  Packed in handsome box with famous poem "Night Before Christmas" printed on side.  Shpg. wt. 2 lbs. 8 oz.   Complete 98 ¢"

2 1/2 pounds?!  Either those pops have a lead filling or the deer each chowed down at a Chinese Buffet before heading out for the night.

Here is my Merry Old Santa sans his reindeer.  Until coming across this ad I didn't know they were included.  On Santa's mitt I had always noticed it had a notch cut in it; now I know it was for the 60 inches of ribbon.  I added a few cello-wrapped (dum-dum) pops to his sleigh so he could relive his glory days:


But wait!  There's more!

There are two other candy containers I possess included on this same page:


"Four Plastic, Candy-Filled Toys:  A delightful assortment of children's favorite plastic toys.  Includes (1) A candy-filled Trojan horse with 4 candy pops astride it.  Candy comes out of secret opening in under side of horse.  On wheels, the horse is 5 1/2 in. high, 5 in. long.  (2)  Jolly fat plastic Santa on skis with 10 pops in his pack.  Red and white Santa stands 4 1/2 in. high, on green plastic skis.  (3) Cunning white plastic snowman, 5 in. high. with coal black stovepipe hat, buttons, pipe.  He carries 10 pops in pack.  (4) Large Santa Claus Boot, 4 in. high, with 18 pops.  Shipping weight 2 pounds 4 ounces.  Set of 4 toys with 42 pops.  98 ¢"

Man, that was a bargain wasn't it?

I don't own the whole set (and frankly I don't want the dorky looking horse or Santa's old smelly boot) but do have the 2 best ones:



These babies go for 25+ bucks now on the black market... I got both of mine for pretty cheap over the years.  The Santa was part of a pile of stuff I bought at a downsizing sale so it was a group price but I would estimate I gave a buck for him.  The snowman was 25 ¢ from the Salvation Army thrift store.

Here is another Sears catalog from 1951 showing another item I own:


Here is a super pixeled close-up:


"Santa's Red Plastic Candy Cart.  Trumpeting Santa stands in two-wheeled cart drawn by three white reindeer.  Holly leaves and berries decorate wheels.  Contains 30 assorted cello-wrapped pops with safety sticks.  Shpg. wt. 1 lb, 8 oz.  98 ¢ "

 Here is my Santa's Red Plastic Candy Cart, however we see that it actually is "Santa's Candy Wagon".  I added in a felt covered Santa and a small group of pops but it's just nothing as glorious as the original:


I bought this at a really creepy, dilapidated thrift store over 20 years ago that has since gone out of business.  The original Santa and his trumpet both jumped ship but check out it still having it's original ribbon!

And as a side note, did you see what has fallen from it's 1949 prestige?
Santa's Candy Express is now on the bottom of the page sharing a small image with Santa and his Workshop goons....
and then with the extra insult of being offered together as a discount package price!

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