The Home for Odd, Ugly and Neglected Toys

Santa Claus by Kohner Bros.

Santa Claus by Kohner Bros.

Hey folks! Merry Christmas! (I would say “Happy Holidays,” but I don’t feel like being politically correct today.)

Don’t worry, all you non-Christmasy types. I’m only focusing on the commercial side of the holiday. That’s right –Santa Claus!

(Click to enlarge)
Santa Push Pupper

Wow, this isn’t the jolly ol’ Santa we all know and love. This looks more like the homeless, mentally disturbed Santa we’ve always feared.

All the signs are there – wandering eye, disheveled clothes, bloody nose. Damn. Looks like he’s been stumbling through the streets of the North Pole for well over a week.

He is the perfect stocking stuffer for the weird toy lover in your family (who is probably you).

(Click to enlarge)
Santa Push Pupper Santa Push Pupper

What we have here is a vintage Santa Claus Push Puppet by Kohler Bros. I think it was released in the 1960s. (No wonder Santa looks like hell. He’s been lost on the Island of Misfit Toys for the past 40+ years.)

(Click to enlarge)
Santa Push Pupper

I’m sure you’ve seen toys like this before. For those unfamiliar with push puppets, they are basically miniature, marionette-type of toys whose segmented body parts are held together by string which is tied taut to a solid platform encased in a cylindrical base.

(Click to enlarge)
Santa Push Pupper

Once you “push” on the platform inside the toy’s base, it releases the tension of the string, resulting in the sporadic movement of the character. If given enough pressure, all of the body parts will fall limp.

Sheesh. That written description of a push puppet was a bit overkill. I think a quick video will more quickly express what I’m talking about.

Merry Christmas folks! Enjoy your food, drink, family, friends and whatever else it is that you do. I hope Santa leaves something weird in your stocking.

Buy Push Puppets on eBay!


8 Responses

  1. East Paterson: not necessarily the nicest place to be. lol. Great post, this is the kind of crappy stuff that comes out of Jersey. Apologies…

  2. Jason says:

    HAHAH! Holy Crap. That’s gotta be the best youtube video i’ve seen in a while. Great stuff. I hope more crap toys will lead to videos like this. Merry Christmas!

  3. Oldman says:

    Thanks for the gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas and a Tweety New Year. I hope 2010 has twice as many blog postings as 2009. I’m talking maybe 6 or 7 that would be great.

  4. Ben says:

    Why is every vintage holiday decoration far superior to ANYTHING they put out today?!?! Seriously, this Santa rocks harder than an Santa you can currently buy in a Target or Wal-Mart.

    Merry Non-PC Christmas to you, too! I hope push puppet Santa leaves a bunch of new Weirdo Toys underneath your tree!

  5. krakit says:

    Santa sure knows how to rock and did you see that Neo
    maneuver at the end where he dodged that bullet?
    What a man!

  6. @ The Sexy Armpit – I like the crap that comes from New Jersey. Good to have you representin’.

    @ Jason – Ha! Thanks. The video was pretty fun. I’ll try to make more when it makes sense to.

    @ Oldman – Ha! Yeah, I hope 2010 brings more blog posts too. This year has had a lot of changes/distractions for me. Thanks for the continued support.

    @ Ben – I know. Modern Santa toys suck. Why not just make push puppets for Target or Wal-Mart or whatever? Too cost-prohibitive? I hope Push Puppet Santa brings you something weird too. If he does, lemme know.

    @ Krakit – I know. I knew the guy was magical, but I wasn’t ready for that.

  7. Eric Dodds says:

    We probably played with this thing for 10 minutes when you got it – I kept acting like I was punching and shooting it. Ahhh, never growing up. Ever.

  8. Darrin says:

    I dig push puppets. My old man always bought them for me when we’d visit Disneyland in the 70’s. My favorite was a Pluto that you could make fall flat on his face.

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