F is for Flat Figures, Finger-Fancies, Fables, Fripperies, Flibbertigibbets and Fine Family Favourites!

If not actually an annual, at least an occasionally perennial, here at small scale world, is the look at Christmas Crackers and their little novelty playthings, gifts and joke items, this year it's two sets of mini or tree crackers, which tend to contain the smallest of gifts, and a few similar items which have come in.

This set, which I think must have been a bog-standard Tom Smith set, was held over from last year, as I ran out of time! In fact, most of the stuff held-over from last year is still waiting, and won't be looked at agin for at least 10 months! We also had these as kids, they replaced the earlier set (with the micro ships), when they finally began to fall apart.

 

The little decorative paper stickers of trees and candles were to be found on the larger 'family' sized crackers, and ran for many years I think, no hat at this size, but you do get a joke and a little polystyrene novelty charm.

 

I found them in a Charity shop, two packs of ten, and promptly worked my way through them, and the results were pretty meagre, but make a good sample of one brand's product at this budget level. They are harking back to the earlier metal ones which we recently saw here as cake-inclusions, and themes are common, locks and keys, guns/weapons, boots and strangely, skulls!

This lot was found at the first Sandown park of the year, which was September's due to clashes with the May one, and we've seen all these before I think, so for now just a group shot, but as I've said before, we will look at them all again properly in a year or so. Mostly polyethylene, the thimble is in a frangible polystyrene, while the jig-puzzle ball maybe a polypropylene?

 

Another set of mini tree-crackers, another Charity Shop purchase, and these were made for Safeway stores (bought by Morrisons in 2004) and are oozing that kitsch 1980's feel, people had (some poor miserable souls still have) whole bathroom tile suites of this silver/gold, sometimes with red stripes or patches of grey or black, the 80's were the start of The Decline!

 

 

But the toys are a little more interesting, being the same as you might find in the cheaper, full family-sized crackers, they would have been next to on the shelf. And more tropes with the mini-ship, ring, joke nail and hair-clip. While three of the figural toys (Troll, Angel musician and cat charm), which got me on to cracker toys, as a collection extension, in the first place! And all soft 'ethylene, unlike the harder 'styrene ones above.

 

This came in recently, I can't remember if it was something from Adrian, Peter or the late Michael Hyde, or even a large charity lot I got a while back, but it's clearly the same kind of cheapo-cracker fayre, and consists of a dollar loot-bag! It's soft polyethylene, which has probably saved its loop!

 

 

An evilBay (which has just locked me out again!) lot of similar items, this time showing musical instruments, animals and the sort of 'good luck' symbols which are also found rendered as traditional tattoos! The hedgehog seems to have more age than the others, being a much finer-etched sculpt. they look to be hard polystyrene, but it's hard to be sure.