A sign of Christmas

Those with photographic memories might recall this photograph posted on my Roland Rat special last year. Taken on Christmas morning 1984 it features (from left to right) the author, my grandmother and brother showing off our brand new plush Roland Rats, please note the plastic 3D sign above our heads that reads “A Merry Christmas to you All”. Bought circa. 1983 my grandparents would hang that sign up in their home each Christmas for over 30 years. Every gift I received in that time be it plush Roland Rat, Snake Mountain, BMX or Game Boy that sign was in the background wishing us all a Merry Christmas. The years had not been too kind to it however, the plastic had started to perish somewhat, and the annual ritual repining to the wall had taken its toll. Others might have seen that the writing was on the wall for this sign and taken advantage of its cheap brittle nature and just thrown it out, not me! You just can’t buy this kind of nostalgia, I look at this and I am reminded of “Christmases long, long ago” and the people that made it special sadly, no longer with us.

Now, aside from my rather lovely set of 10 ‘festival lights’ and my gingerbread themed mug you wouldn’t think it was Christmas here in the studio, so I decided that I needed something that wished everyone a Merry Christmas every time they walked in. Having reinforced the original plastic I made a wooden frame that surrounded the sign (that should hopefully protect it too) and made it look ‘christmassy’ with a traditional candy cane red and white motif and of course I distressed it too. I made some repairs and applied paint to some areas and then finished it off with a new section that finished the sentence that hangs from a chain. So there you have it, a 30+ year old Christmas decoration steeped in memories, repaired and customised into a purpose built sign designed to extend a festive greeting it also serves as an appropriate closing for this post. “A Merry Christmas to you All… from arfon.net”

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.