German and Japanese Vintage Thrifts

Yesterday, I was also lucky in finding some vintage goodies at the thrift stores.  I have been on the lookout for one of these German-Christmas-Rotating-Candle-Nativity-Scenes (or whatever they are called) for ages!  I bought this one for $2.

  



Whoever donated it was kind enough to tape the broken pieces on it, so it is complete. It just needs a little glue. It is not as nice as other ones, but this may be due to its origins.  Rather than coming from West Germany, it was made in East Germany!

But it is cute enough.  Plus when the candles are lit and it rotates, everything just becomes a fuzzy blur as it is so captivating.  I think I wanted one of these so much because it brings back childhood memories.  To my recollection, my family did not have one, but family friends that we ate Christmas dinner with every year, did.  As our parents droned on over Christmas dinner and I became more and more tired, the spinning nativity scene hypnotized me.  I've found an early 1980s picture of Christmas dinner with it in the foreground.

Here is me, middle sister, our dad, and a family friend.  You can see the red candles spinning the contraption in the foreground.  I actually remember that they had another one that was three-tiered.  This was in the basement of our friends' house, where it was very 1970s, and to my 1980s-mind, very ugly.  Now I think that swag lamp is kind of neat!

I also found a cool toothpick holder, made it Japan.  Besides being the shape of an owl, there is no story behind this, except that this is the first toothpick holder that I've ever bought.  

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