HO gage childrens toys and Christmas packages?

[Jetrock]

Although it wasn't as popularized in the 1870's as it was by the early 20th Century, the "Santa Claus" myth was in place by the 1820's, and was already at least a small part of the American psyche by th 1860's.

[lupo]

I do not want to be a spoilsport, but was not the Santa Claus we know today:
the red and white dressed jolly dude, "invented " in the 1930-ies by Norman Rockwell and Cola Cola ?
you could use a z-scale train to run around your christmas tree posing as a Garden-scale size HO train

[Jetrock]

Hmmm...was Santa Claus and the whole Christmas marketing thing of much significance in the 1870's?

It would be pretty easy to make some simple "Christmas presents" by cutting some box-sized bits of spare stripwood of various sizes and painting them bright colors. For a slightly fancier effect, da***hem with just a touch of silver or gold spray paint--enough to get a few flecks of paint on the "gifts" but not enough to coat them with the metallic paint. Then, grab some Woodland Scenics flocking--I'd recommend the assortment used for flowers (comes with white, yellow, pink and I forget what else), but bright green would work too--and, after dotting just a dab of white glue on each package, dot on a little bit of flock to adhere to the gloe to serve as a bow.

And while you're getting Woodland Scenics stuff, grab a pack of Woodland Scenics apples and oranges (or just use orange and red Indian seed beads) to represent fruit for a festive holiday fruit bowl--oranges used to be a prized winter-holiday treat, since orange trees produce fruit in winter in places like California and Florida--and were shipped out in the 1870's to eager holiday buyers via the railroad!!

[Anonymous]

I'm looking for a source for HO gage toys. What I mean is: for under an HO gage Christmas tree or to put into an HO gage Santa's Sleigh!

I've already created the Sleigh, Santa Claus and....yup, an HO Gage Teddy Bear but I need a few more toys and ultra miniature Christmas packages to fill the Santa's bag and sleigh.

Does anyone know of a source for such items? I'm creating a late 1870's era Christmas layout with lots of snow, etc.

I now have the Reindeer, Santa, the Sleigh, elves, teddy bear etc. to ride on the train...just need some toys, dolls, packages, etc. to make it complete.

While what I created was fairly easy and looks real, by all accounts, my eyes aint what they used to be...even with a a 5 diopter magnifier! Then again, perhaps I've simpy reached my miniaturization limits!

John Canino