Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Koziar's Christmas Village
Bernville, PA

This marks our third year visiting this place during the holiday season after coming here in 2021 and 2023.  We came on a Thursday this year, and it was a very pleasant crowd size; busy enough to not feel empty, but not insanely busy as it was three years ago when we visited on the weekend.

If you live within driving distance of Bernville, PA and you want a pleasant night out to get in the Christmas spirit, you can't go wrong with this place.  Be sure to layer up and bring a few Hot Hands because it can get frigid, and don't pass by the snack stand without stopping in.  The hot chocolate here is outstanding and absolutely adds to the experience.

There's A World Outside Your Window

Do They Know It's Christmas
Band Aid (1984)

The iconic 80's Christmas song that raised over $24 million dollars to help people who were suffering from a famine in Ethiopia is turning forty years old today.

God Bless Us, Every Kernel

Mickey's Christmas Carol Coloring Book
Orville Redenbacher (1983)
During the holiday season of 1983, shoppers could pick up a free Mickey's Christmas Carol coloring book with the purchase of two jars of Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

These days, you can usually find these coloring books on eBay for ten dollars or less, but you'll have to supply your own popcorn.

Chef Wendell's Bringing Home The Bacon

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bacon
Hormel (2024)

I mean really... how in the hell was I supposed to resist this?

This isn't as overly sweet as the cereal branding would suggest.  It's got a hint of cinnamon sugar, but it's not overpowering.  I'm not sure if I'd want to eat this every time I have bacon, but it's very tasty and worth getting again.

Big Deborah

Christmas Tree Cakes: Big Pack
Little Debbie (2024)
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that one of the first things that I learned when I started working for a candy company back in 2011 is that people don't read the package.  Turns out that I'm just as guilty of this as anyone.

Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes are one of my favorite snacks in the world.  I look forward to them coming out every year.  I noticed on my last trip to Wal-Mart that they had two different packages for them on their shelves; the regular one that they always have every year, and a larger, heavier box called the "Big Pack".  At a glance, the boxes looked pretty much the same, so I figured the "Big Pack" was just a box that had twice as many snack cakes inside.  If I had taken two seconds to read the package, I would have noticed that this wasn't the case, but my brain went as far as "Snack Cake... good... big pack... better" and in the shopping cart they went.

Before anyone gets the idea that I am complaining, please know that I am the exact opposite of disappointed.  The "Big Pack" does have six snack cakes inside as opposed to the five that are in the regular box, but each of the cakes are much larger.  The Big Pack Christmas Tree Cakes are about as big as a good sized slice of pie.  They don't seem to have as many sprinkles on them, but I can live with that.  These are freaking delightful!

Krampus and Friends

Scary Book Of Christmas Lore
Tim Rayborn (2024)
The cover of this book is a bit misleading.  The phrase "50 terrifying yuletide tales from around the world" gives the impression that this is a collection of short stories, but there aren't really any.  This is more of an encyclopedia of horror folklore that's related to the holiday season.  It's not bad for what it is, but I'm disappointed in the way that it was marketed.

Single File Santas

The Slatington Marketplace
Route 873 - Slatington, PA
This row of plastic Santas made me think of The Rockettes for some reason.

Even More Stuff From Slatington

The Slatington Marketplace
Route 873 - Slatington, PA

We paid another visit to our new favorite antiques mall a couple of weeks ago.  The place is massive, so we only got through about half of it.  Here are some of the more interesting oddities that I came across.

Well this will haunt my nightmares for the foreseeable future.

This corner was like a miniaturized version of an independent bookstore. It's the kind of place that I'd want to bring a beanbag chair and a thermos of coffee to chill out for a few hours.

 

Haunted houses are probably my least favorite subgenre of horror fiction, but for some reason, they're my favorite type of Halloween decoration.  The plastic popcorn wall hangings are awesome regardless of the holiday.

The Lime Pine drink on this sign got my attention.  It sounds more like a hardwood floor cleaner than a beverage, but I'd still try it.  I did a little research and found the recipe in an old newspaper ad.

Lime Pine

First, pre-chill a bottle of King-size Coke.  Then dip rim of glass in lime juice and then in granulated sugar, coating heavily.  Let sugar dry and fill glass with ice-cold Coca-Cola.  Garnish rim of glass with cartwheel slice of lime.  A "punch" in a glass.  A novel idea.  Ideal for a party of 2-3.

Here are the other recipes if you're curious, along with a recipe for the Lemon Log which isn't represented on this sign.  Click to enlarge:

Santa Cruz Sentinel (December 19, 1962)

The Candy Cane Jingle with peppermint ice cream looks especially good to me.

The Ben Revere garden gnome will cover a lot of ground in your back yard, but don't expect him to hit for power.

 

Fun Fact: In the 1950's, Hasbro sold a line of Mr. Potato Head's friends.  In addition to Oscar the Orange, the toy company also produced Katie the Carrot, Kooky the Cucumber, and Pete the Pepper.  In those days, the package only included the plastic eyes, nose, ears, and other features, and you were meant to plug them into an actual vegetable or piece of fruit from your kitchen.  It didn't come with a plastic potato until 1964.

Procter & Gamble produced a series of three Star Wars promotional posters, with original artwork by Ken Goldammer, as a giveaway in the year after the release of the first film.  You can usually find these on eBay for less than ten dollars, with some going for as little as three bucks.

This metal wall hanging was in my bedroom when I lived with my mother and stepfather in Nuremberg when I was a kid.  I never really cared too much about cars, but I guess it fit into whatever decorating scheme they had in mind.

This is a Videosphere television.  JVC produced these from the early 70's to the early 80's.  You can find them in the background of a few scenes in Soylent Green, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, and The Matrix.  I've been on the lookout for an inexpensive one since I first learned of their existence to use as a monitor for an Atari 2600, but they usually sell for far more than I'm willing to pay.  This one was priced at $795.

 

Even at 40% off, this 1964 Beatles poster cost almost as much as my first car.

This sign caught my eye because my grandfather worked at Spaulding Bakery in Hazleton for many years until it closed the year after I was born.

When I see old packaging at antique stores, I wonder how much money the contents of an average trash bag would go for after a few decades.

 

And that's a wrap on our latest trip to Slatington.