SHOP TALK : Deck the House With Those Bargain Follies : Don’t spend a fortune on seasonal novelties. A variety of Santas and snowmen will snore or dance for a song.
So many people go around saying things like “Ho, ho, ho,” and “Merrrrry Christmas.” Easy enough sentiments to express verbally, but do these folks really mean what they say?
The holiday season can be so high-pressure, high-stress, and high-cost that sometimes things tend to turn tense and serious. The “joy of Christmas” can become the “oh boy of Christmas” really fast.
In hopes of helping everyone stay festive, we chose to stick with the lighter side of the holidays, and last week went shopping for offbeat Christmas items. We visited a couple of shops at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, the It’s a Party store in Oakview and Connie’s Hallmark in Ventura.
If you’re really into goofy, we might save you some time by suggesting that your first stop be the Dapy outlet at The Oaks. Just about everything in the place is a little warped or wacky. For our money, it would be tough to beat the plush Santa hat with reindeer antlers for $15, or the Santa hat with dreadlocks for $22.
Dapy also had several items in the “Rompin’ Xmas” line of products. The dancing Santa Clauses, Christmas trees and snowmen move by magnetic force to upbeat Christmas tunes emanating from the battery-operated base of the contraption. These items were selling for $19.95. The store also had a battery-operated “Snoring Santa” (with a really quality snore, by the way, complete with tummy moving up and down) for $24.95.
Now, don’t be misled. Just because we fell in love with the Dapy merchandise, doesn’t mean they have a monopoly on the holiday weirdness.
At the Joys store, also at The Oaks, we discovered a whole collection of nutcrackers--one of the more timeless gifts of the season. True, the traditional, uniformed Nutcracker depicted in many a Suite doesn’t exactly make one chuckle, but how about a nutcracker that looks like Uncle Sam. Maybe that’s not funny either, but it is a little odd. The Nutcracker Sam had red and white pants, a blue military-style coat, and a white hat with a blue stripe and white stars. Cost $10.88, marked down from $21.99. All of the nutcrackers were priced the same.
Joys also had a ceramic, hand-painted Santa Claus-head salt and pepper shaker set for $25.99.
Over in Ventura, at the renovated and significantly larger Connie’s Hallmark store, our favorite fun items, were the “Glowing Melody” musical candles priced at $7.95. These candles, shaped like Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, and snowmen, are equipped with light-activated musical chips. When the candle is lit, the chip plays Christmas carols.
The store also had a series of “Squeeze Pals” in stock. Our favorite was the reindeer in jumpsuit and holiday sweater. When you poke its stomach it says, “Merry Christmas and a happy New Year,” followed by a chorus of voices singing the line “Santa Claus is coming to town.” The reindeer (or Santa, or elf) was priced at $10.95, batteries included.
Finally, how lighthearted can a Christmas really be without a troll? Trolls are still hot items, so you can find them in any number of locations. We particularly liked one we saw at It’s a Party. The green-haired guy is dressed in traditional Dickens Christmas style, down to the red scarf and black hat, and is cradling a book of Christmas carols. Price: $8.50.
Now wouldn’t some green hair help stamp out the holiday blues?
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On an unrelated note, an Office Depot outlet opened last week at 4371 Telephone Road in Ventura. The stock of office supplies looked comprehensive, as expected, and the store even had a few gift baskets and tins in stock for the holidays.
