Okay, let me walk you through how I got this ‘Santas from around the world’ set together. It wasn’t like I woke up one day and boom, they appeared. It took some doing.
Getting the Idea
It started pretty simply. I think I saw a picture somewhere, maybe in a magazine or online, of a few different Father Christmas figures. You know, not just the usual red suit guy. I thought, huh, that’s kind of neat. Do other places really have different Santas? That got me curious.
Figuring Out Which Santas
So, I started digging around a bit. Just casual searching, nothing too serious at first. Found out about Père Noël in France, Sinterklaas in the Netherlands, Ded Moroz from Russia. It was actually interesting seeing all the variations – different clothes, different stories, some even have helpers that aren’t elves. I made a rough list of the ones I found most interesting. Didn’t want hundreds, just a nice little group representing different places.
The Hunt Begins
Right, decision time. Make them or buy them? I’m okay with my hands, but sculpting tiny faces? Nah, decided buying was the way to go. This turned into the long part. You can’t just walk into a regular store and find these things, not usually anyway.
- First, I checked out local Christmas markets when the season rolled around. Found a couple there, like a traditional German Weihnachtsmann. That was a good start.
- Then, I spent a fair bit of time browsing online. Places that sell international goods or collectibles. This needed patience, sifting through lots of generic stuff.
- Travel helped! Any time we went somewhere, even just a different city, I’d keep an eye out in souvenir shops or little local craft places. Found a nice Italian Babbo Natale on a trip once.
Finding specific ones was the trickiest part. Some are just harder to find figures of than others. Took me ages to find a decent representation of the UK’s Father Christmas that looked distinct enough.
Putting the Set Together
As I found each Santa, I started lining them up on a bookshelf. It was slow going. Sometimes I’d find two or three in a short period, then nothing for months. I didn’t rush it, just picked them up as I came across ones I liked and that fit the ‘around the world’ idea. I made sure they were all roughly similar in size, give or take, so they looked like a proper set.
The Final Result
So now, I’ve got this little collection. Maybe about a dozen figures in total. Got the classic American Santa, the green-robed Father Christmas, Sinterklaas with his bishop’s hat, the frosty Ded Moroz, and a few others. I cleared a specific shelf just for them during the holidays. Looks pretty cool, actually. Each one reminds me of the little hunt I went on to find it. It wasn’t some grand project, just something I chipped away at over time. Yeah, pretty pleased with how it turned out.
