Wednesday, February 20, 2013

What to do with an empty box of Animal Crackers?


   I was going through some old photos yesterday and found this one, (below), taken ten years ago back when we lived in Chesapeake, Virginia. It's interesting what sparks a memory when you look at old photos.
   I remember living in this house when the kids were 5 and 7 and they'd play with these little plastic toy animals for hours on end - in the bathtub, the pink Barbie Volkswagon, the sandbox - everywhere. My daughter's favorite animal was the meerkat and my son's favorite was the elephant, (not seen in this photo but it was there at his level so he could take it down and play with it).   
   I used to treat the kids to a box of these animal crackers every now and then when we went to the grocery store. My son would always save the animal's face to eat last. My daughter would sing "Animal Crackers in my Soup" as she marched each animal up her arm and along her shoulder before popping it into her mouth, (she was a big Shirley Temple fan back then).
   Being the packrat that I am, I just couldn't throw those beautiful empty animal cracker boxes away. I tacked the boxes to the wall using push pins and perched the little animals on top of the boxes when they weren't being played with, (which was usually at the end of the day). The wall display was absolutely adorable and always a show stopper when new friends came over.   
   Maybe now that we're in a new home in a new part of Virginia, I'll surprise my kids, (who are now 15 and 17), to some delicious animal crackers and we'll re-create the animal cracker wall - anyone up for making one too? Thanks, Barnum's Animals for 101 years of FUN in a box!    
   Fun Facts about Barnum's Animals: The circus box on Barnum's Animals was designed for the 1902 Christmas season and sold for five cents. The string was used to attach the box to the Christmas tree. To date there have been 54 different animals represented on the boxes since it's conception in 1902. Read more about Barnum's Animals at: http://collectibles.about.com/od/advertisingstuff/a/blTFbarnums.htm

1 comment:

I apologize for having to moderate comments, but I've been getting enough spam messages I've had no choice. Please don't let that keep you from sharing your thoughts!