Shortly after Cheri and I were married, we visited Nana over the holidays. While we were visiting Nana gave Santa to me. She knew how much I loved watching this wind up toy as a child. As she gave me Santa, she she shared memories of winding it up for me as a child.
Santa still rings his bell, turns his head and moves his Merry Christmas sign when he is wound up.
Our kids have grown-up with this Santa just like I did – their memories will be different — so many more “things” in their lives — and well, it wasn’t at Nana & Papa’s. It was at home.
Wind-up Santa is one of the only keepsakes I have from Nana & Papa.
Somethings are worth keeping.
DIY Guy
Wind-up Santa was made by a company called Nomura, also known as TN. It was one of the biggest and most prolific of all post-war Japanese toy makers, specializing in mostly mechanical and wind-up toys featuring creative designs.