I love the look of old Santa Claus carvings, especially when they include the pipe in his mouth or hand. To me they are a part of the image and mystique of the jolly, old gent. I can almost smell the aromas in the wreath of smoke that encircles his head. Whether you call him Sinterklaas, Saint Nicolas or Father Christmas, it is getting harder to find Santa with a pipe in the politically correct climate of the world in which we live. If you are like me, you have seen endless Santas with apples and oranges, dolls and toys in his hands or a finger next to his nose but rarely a pipe in his mouth. Over the years I have collected a few older figures that I put out each Christmas as part of our celebration and decoration. I also have some older Christmas books from the time I was a child (somehow the books are getting older every year!). These picture him with a pipe in his hand. I remember telling my kids stories of Santa and his pipe. But these days he is sans pipe! Every Christmas I am on the lookout for some of these old Santas – either carved or cast, in photos or cards to add to the collection. Here is an old one that I have in my collection.

With that information as a back drop for this blog post I want to talk about a discovery my wife and I made last week. Over the past three weeks we were travelling in Alberta, Canada for my work. It is a fall routine for me, having done the same trip five times now. This time we drove over 3000 kilometres and visited many of the towns in the province from the south along the US border to the northern part of the province. We met with individuals, businesses, churches and groups who were, or might be, interested in the work of the Foundation that I work for. We stayed in homes of friends and supporters in each city. It was a great trip for us; the first time my wife has joined me on this jaunt. Each small town and city we visited we made it a point to take some time to walk through small antique malls and second hand stores to look for estate pipes and pipe related items (ostensibly this was my reason).

On this trip I found several older pipes but what was really interesting was a find in a little shop called Holly Berries we visited in Grande Prairie, Alberta. It was a Christmas shop. Maybe it was the snow storms we drove through and the quiet prairies of the North Country that put us in a Christmassy mood but we were in that mood. We went through the front door of that great little shop and walked through the normal assortment of Christmas decorations and ornaments, looking and commenting on what we were seeing. They had the usual ones available for purchase – angels, stars, Christmas slogans. The place smelled very inviting with a mulled cider and fresh baking scent throughout the shop. The garlands of fir and pine – artificial but nice nonetheless – added to the festive spirit. Christmas carols and songs were playing in the background and we easily slipped into the nostalgia of Christmas past, present and future. We wandered around the shop picking up and looking at small and large pieces – crèches, shepherds, wise men, and Santa Claus. It had all the trinkets and adornments that decorate homes during the Christmas season. It was an interesting place to spend some time.

My wife turned toward the tree ornaments while I went off on my own to look at some of the carvings. In the centre of the shop I came across a display of carved and cast Santas that were different from the run of the mill Santas that are on the market today. This display was full of carved Santas smoking a pipe! I could not believe it and commented to the shop keeper that it was a pleasure to see the Santa Claus of my youth with his pipe and not in the new and politically correct pipeless posture. She laughed and said that the works were highly collectible (the prices on them would agree, though I see that on the website they are considerably cheaper). The figures are carved by Jim, then artisans produce clay molds, cast the figures in Polyresin and then they are hand painted and finished by artists using folk art techniques developed by Jim Shore. The attention to detail and ensures that the figures look and feel like real wood and have a quality that is unique to each piece. Here is his website with more information on his work http://www.jimshore.com/content/

I took a few pictures with my iphone so that I could keep a memory of what I saw. Below are the two figures that I really liked. To give you an idea of the size of these figures I have included the measurements. They are 10.25 inches tall, by 5.5 inches wide, by 6.5 inches long. By no means small, these figurines each have a personality that is unique and timeless. It is great to know that in this day and age there are some who still maintain the old memories and images of our folk story figures. There is nothing like seeing the merry twinkle in the eye of Santa and a puff of his pipe to remind you of the days of your youth and memories of seasons of family and friends.