Vintage Christmas Display at Naper Settlement

Sure, you can go out to Naper Settlement for the Christkindl market and get some searing hot chocolate and pick up a cuckoo clock and ornament from some booths.  And that'd be just fine.  In fact, that's what we did a few weekends ago.  It was a great time.  But, do yourself a favor and ask for the main building where the bathrooms are located.  (skip the porta-potties!)

Inside that building, you'll see a setup of a 1950's home all trimmed out for Christmas morning.  Along with some display cases of decorations and toys from the period.  Above and below you can see one of the cases with little vintage Christmas figures (we have the lady on top!  And some "NOEL" angels that are similar but not exactly the same.) and some toys that kids in the 1950's were getting under the tree.

In another corner, they have this little vignette set up that shows toys like Tiddly winks and a riding horse that are typical from the period.

They also have some specialized display cases like this one with all sorts of Cowboy and Western stuff from the 1950's.  I wrote about some cowboy stuff last year when we came across this kids dinner set at the Kane County Flea Market.  

And on your way out the door, there are a few podiums with binders on them.  Make sure you open them up and you'll see some copies of vintage Sears catalogs with awesome images like this JC Higgins 1954 set of bicycles.  Dreamy with that big tank on the one on the right side, amirite?!?

And, toy trains!  Lionel.  Marx, too.   $20 for a five car Lionel O Gauge set?  Awesome.