Still a kid at heart…

by T.L. Huffman

“I think you have to be a kid at heart to like Christmas,” says Mona Eckelberry of Jamesport.

When Mona starts unpacking the Christmas decorations, she’s as excited as a kid opening presents on the big day. Before long every room of her and her husband, J.L.’s, house will be a winter wonderland.

“There’s a little bit of everything,” she says. “You name it, I’ve got it.”

She starts unpacking the first of November. It takes her three days to just get everything out.

“Unpacking takes forever because I have to be so careful. But I enjoy it once I get it out. Though sometimes I think I’ll never see the end of it. J.L. says he doesn’t care what I do, but he’s not going to do it for me.”

She starts decorating the upstairs, then works her way down. The greenery goes up first, then she brings out the Santas. Every room has a Santa. Or two. Or three.

“Santas galore,” she says.

Santas are perched on shelves, sit on counters, hang from the ceiling, and occupy nearly every corner. Santas are made out of batting, paper mache, tin and gourds. Santas are decked in leather and fur. It’s a fun assortment and includes music box Santas, a cowboy Santa, and a five foot tall singing and dancing Santa.

“People come in and look and bring the kids. The kids get really excited. That’s what makes it fun.”

Mona has bought some of the Santas. “Any kind that moves, or looks different.” But a lot of them she has made herself.

“People have to look at them at Christmas whether they want to or not.”

She began by making Santas from dough. Each of these Santa’s has a different expression and are dressed in different themes.

“I just make them to suit myself. I go with whatever idea pops into my head.”

Mona injured her leg about 10 years ago and was laid up for awhile and that’s when she started “whittling” out Santas. She started with one exacto knife and a block of wood.

“I didn’t want to put a lot of money into it and then find out I couldn’t do it.”

The carved figures turned out fine, but she still only uses one exacto knife with two different blades. The faces have meticulous detail and Santa’s beard is made from real hair from a wig that Mona glues on piece by piece.

J.L. cut down a cottonwood tree for her and blocked it out. Cottonwood is easier to carve out the details in than other types of wood.

“I do most of my carving in the summertime, so I can sit out doors and let the chips fly. The only problem is, once I start carving, I don’t want to do anything else.”

Mona also makes oil cloth Santas which she has given for gifts.

“I’ve given Santas to everybody within 90 counties.”

Mona believes the oldest Santa she has, is the one with ‘Occupied Japan’ stamped on it. Her daughter, Melanie, gave her a Santa for her birthday, which is probably the most expensive piece she owns.

Mona combines her Christmas collection with her enjoyment of antique furniture. Piece by piece she replaced her modern furniture with family heirlooms that have a personal history. Each room of the house is decorated with a different theme that has to do with Christmas. The small Christmas tree in the kitchen adds a whimsical air as it is hung with tiny copper pots and pans. One upstairs bedroom is stuffed with stuffed teddy bears. Another has an angel motif.

Paintings of Victorian women hang on the walls and antique toys are among the goodies under the trees.

Her son, Craig, is in the Navy. He sent her a doll he got while he was stationed in Spain.

“It’s nice to have a son that’s a world traveler. He’s able to send me things that aren’t real common around here.”

One tree in the hall is decorated with light bulb ornaments. “They sell for an arm and a leg,” says Mona. “And they don’t work.”

On the nine-foot tall Christmas tree in the living room are vibrantly colored ornaments in a variety of designs. There are the traditional hearts and angels and, of course, Santas, but there are also birds, fish, toadstools, penguins, shoes, peacocks, pipes, cats and clowns.

“Some of this stuff is weird,” Mona says. “You don’t think of it being associated with Christmas.”

All of the ornaments are made of glass. Among the antiques are three very old pieces, produced in Dresden, Germany. The paper thin ornaments are made of mouth blown glass filtered with silver. Mona’s are embossed with Santas and churches.

“Ornaments with a figure or a body to it are harder to find than just plain bells,” Mona says.

Mona says she really didn’t start collecting. Friends and family began giving her Christmas ornaments for gifts. It ignited her collecting bug. Now she’s hooked.

Ornament shopping isn’t a seasonal thing. There aren’t many antique pieces left on the market. A lot have been scooped up and squirreled away by private collectors.”I have to look year round and hope I get lucky. I visit a lot of antique shops.”

Once she began seriously collecting, she invested in a book that has proved worth owning.

She discovered she has many ornaments that according to her book are in the “rare” category. “Many of them are no longer available.”

She has three angel ornaments in perfect condition. She found them at an antique shop in a local town. “They cost $10,” says Mona. “When I got home I looked in the book and they were each worth $100. I was surprised because these were antique dealers I had bought them from. I thought they’d be smarter than I was.”

She found two little milk glass ornaments. One is a lantern and the other is a grape cluster. Mona was surprised by the source for those a ditch along their property. “I’ve never seen or found another one like them.”

Mona likes what she likes when it comes to collecting. There’s no telling what may catch her eye. “The stranger they are, and the rarer they are, the better I like them.”

Value is affected by several factors, Mona says. Rarity and the general condition of the ornament are very important. It’s hard to find ones that are in mint condition. “If it’s in good shape, I usually buy it, because they are few and far between.”

Mona has a bottom line. “It gets expensive. I’ll walk off and leave something if they’re asking for more than it’s worth.”

She has to be careful and watch that the tops aren’t busted under the metal cap and loop. “It’s no good if it won’t hang on the tree.”

Mona has no idea how many ornaments she has. “I’ve never counted them. But every branch of the tree has at least one on it. Some day, I’ll count them.”

And when Christmas is over?

“Well,” Mona says. “It doesn’t take nearly as long to take down as it does to put up.”