Why I Oughta...

Huzzah, huzzah!  The new Lemax Christmas Village structures are up at Menards.  And that means that the fine folks running the government at Mantleburg are on the prowl for some fresh, new annexations.  With the local residents not happy about their property taxes, the Mayor is on the lookout for some new businesses that can both add and diversify its tax base.   This place - the Vintage Grind Coffee Company - seems to fit the bill.  With what appears to be a small retail operation out front and clearly a significant wholesale business, this place would offer both the benefits of sales tax and also some employment opportunities for Mantleburg's residents.  That is, unless all that fancy-schmancy automation you see in the image above has eliminated all the jobs?   I'm certain that the Village Board and the Mayor will decide soon enough if there's room in Mantleburg for an outfit like this.   If you find yourself in Menards, you can find the Vintage Grind Coffee

Yesterday, I posted a photo of an operating log dump car that I picked up for a Christmas present this year and mentioned that I scored a few operating accessories for the boys.  Above, you see one of those accessories in the Old St. Nick Operating Billboard.  This is the first time I've bought an operating billboard from Lionel but I know the basics:  there are two scenes that alternate in between by the rotating of the slats on the billboard.  The official product listing on Lionel.com show the two scenes and you can see them on the back of the box below.  For each of the boys that I've bought one of these for, I've been buying them boxcars/operating cars and/or track pieces/bridges/switches every year since they were born, so I figure they have enough rolling stock.  To keep their attention, they need operating accessories, right? And, like me, they only haul out their layout for the holidays and keep a holiday train so the St. Nick piece seems appropriate, righ

Here's another 'new' structure from the Spooky Town collection out of Lemax that Menards is carrying this year.  I posted photos/details on the Ghostly Manor and the Grim Reaper's Department Store already here on the blog.  This one - Creepy Crawlies Pet Sitting - is priced much lower at $39.99 and isn't animated/doesn't move in any way.  But it is pretty cute anyway.  Lots of colors and a nice idea to add to Spooky Town. You know...Mantleburg doesn't have a pet sitter...  Maybe the Mayor of Mantleburg will convince the powers that be to annex this one?  Seems doubtful being a one-off, but if other Spooky Town structures join Mantleburg's city limits, I would think this one would follow.  But, that's all wishing/hoping for now.  The City Council isn't meeting for weeks and by then, perhaps these will be on sale at Menards?  *That* might weigh on the council's decision, right?

Last week, I showed off the first 2017 Lemax Spooky Town structures at Menards in their new Halloween display.   That one was animated and was called Ghostly Manor .  Today, I'm posting a few photos of another large structure called The Grim Reaper's Department Store.  This one is in stock at Menards and is listed for $69.99.  Mantleburg doesn't have a department store, but I'm not sure that the Mayor is going to annex this one, despite the uptick in sales tax revenues that would certainly come along with it. This particular structure doesn't move or isn't animated, but it does have it's own, original soundtrack (with announcements and noises and such) and it has some interesting lighting effects. Here's the video from the Lemax YouTube Channel, where you can see the lights and hear the sounds.

Over on Addison Street in the Elmhurst City Centre, there's this place called Undercover Upholstery.  It is located south of the new parking deck with Orange Theory Fitness in it and north of the Coldwell Banker office and Pizza Palace on the east side of the street.  I parked over there recently when I was getting my haircut at JMC Barbershop . I never thought much of the Upholstery shop and neither saw anyone ever go inside nor did it ever really seem open.  But, it must have been because it's been there for a number of years. It caught my attention this time, because of the numerous flyers on the windows of the place that you can see in the photo above.  There's seven of the same flyer hung up in the front window. And here's a closeup of that flyer.  It is pretty cute and reads:  "Save this town - snow village." "All these buildings and homes must be moved to make room for another seven story parking deck.    The Historic Society of

Released in 2015, this building from Lemax is called "Twas the Night" and has all the bells and whistles that Lemax offers including lights, music and interior scenes.  It even has Santa in the house with his reindeer awaiting him on the roof.   Here's the official product page . Unfortunately for Mantleburg , there's a moratorium on residential construction in place until they get more businesses or the train station in place.

More Christmas village stuff, Jake?  Yep.  More. This time it is the East Lake Station that Menards is selling at $69.99 because of both the interior lights and the exterior ones, but also because it plays music.  That is, according to the product listing on the Lemax site . Mantleburg - as a once proud growing community - might need a commuter station, to inject some new life into the village, right?  Become a bit of a bedroom community to some other larger town (that we don't need to construct?), perhaps? Maybe.  But the federal grant didn't come through and funding is tight with the drop in sales tax, so the Mayor of Mantleburg has shelved the station project.  Too bad.  Maybe next year.

We might even be able to consider this one 'vintage' when it comes to Lemax at Menards.  From the Caddington Village Collection comes this Big Ben Pub .  And I'm thinking because it *is* four years old, that's part of the reason for the pricing at $29.99.  That's $10+ cheaper than most of the other Lemax buildings Menards is selling these days. And, no, Mantleburg isn't big enough these days for both a tavern and a pub.

Today we veer off from Lemax to the private label collection from Menards Christmas Village buildings under the banner of "Enchanted Forest".  Menards does this seemingly more and more - by bringing their own private label goods to market.   They've done it with O Gauge trains and now with Christmas Village buildings. This little Maple Syrup Workshop is boxed right next to the Lemax stuff - see below- but is in a bright red box. They price these a little bit cheaper than the Lemax versions, but if you look closely at the top photo, you can tell it is kinda sloppily painted. Does Mantleburg need a Maple Syrup Workshop?  Nope.  Sorry.  Not this year.

Another day, another Lemax lighted building.  This time, it is a new release from 2016 called the Village Wine & Beer Garden.  This is part of Lemax's Caddington Village , which they seem to have rolled out tons of new buildings for this season. None of which are destined for Mantleburg .  Sad face.  (kinda)

Next up in the parade of Lemax Christmas Village structures is this Lubbock's Bar-B-Que With An Attitude from the Harvest Crossing collection .  It came out in 2015, but I don't believe that Menards carried it last year.   Here's the official product page on Lemax's site . Menards is selling it for $39.99 (see photo below), but I don't think that the town of Mantleburg is quite ready for a rowdy Bar-B-Que joint.  I mean... they just got their first tavern in town back in 2012 , right? For those looking to keep up with all things Mantleburg, you can check out the tag page here .

We were at Wannamakers in Downers Grove for their Christmas open house over the weekend and while the rest of the crew was waiting in line to see the Big Guy, I took the Bird and the King of the Ball Tossers into the store to wander around the Christmas lights department.  And that's where I came across these National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation LED light sets. If you look at the box, you'll see that they bill them as being 'twice as bright' and have bigger/brighter/more bulbs than normal strands of lights. Kind of interesting licensing at play here and I suppose it is a cute concept, but I wonder if anyone is actually buying these things?  They're more money than comparable sets and it seems like there's very little bragging rights in these once they're out of the box, right? As for the brightness, I think there's some upside there.  We've put big C9 LEDs on our annual Elmhurst Front Yard Christmas tree every year and I always notice

Another day, another Lemax Christmas village building.  This time it is the Corner Barber Shop, which just like the piano bar from yesterday is new this year . Mantleburg could totally use a barber shop.  Alas, it isn't in the cards. Both the barber shop and the piano bar are part of the Caddington Village collection that also features quite a few 'new in 2016' structures .

Our Menards in Melrose Park is in full Christmas mode these days.  They've set up the entire Enchanted Forest and now have their Lemax Christmas Village set up.   It *is* the most wonderful time of the year , isn't it? There's a bunch of new structures up this year and we'll start with this one above: CJ's Piano Bar.   From the product listing on the Lemax site , this is a new building for 2016.  It has a nice 'inside scene' and would be a nice addition to anyone's mainstreet.  But, what about Mantleburg, you're probably asking yourself?  Welp, the Mayor has decided to keep the moratorium on new buildings and annexations until the entire town of Mantleburg gets settled into their new home, which is currently slated for Christmas of 2017.   The last addition was made official in January of 2016, but I'm pretty sure that the saw mill was sitting in my trunk for an entire year , so it was likely annexed in the fall of 2014 - two years ago. I&#

This is the fourth and I think final post on Lemax Spooky Town for the year and it features the Spooky Hollow Pumpkin Patch structure.  This one was released last year, but is being carried this year at Menards along with the others that I covered including: the  Scariest Halloween House ,  the Black Cauldron Boutique and Wanda's Wicked Cupcake Shop . This one has some exterior and interior lights but is the smallest of the bunch.  Again...the Mayor of Mantleburg has ruled and while he does, indeed, celebrate Halloween, he's not having any city expansion nor annexing any new structures into Mantleburg this year.  Who knows...maybe there will be an uprising on the town council to overrule the Mayor of Mantleburg next year?  Once we have a place for all the structures of Mantleburg to be displayed properly?  Time will tell.

The third building from Lemax's Spooky Town this year on the blog is Wanda's Cupcake Shop.  You can see the official listing here on the Lemax site . Earlier, we showed the Black Cauldron Bootique and the Scariest Halloween House on the blog as part of the setup at Menard's in Melrose Park. This one isn't animated and Wanda appears to have just some interior lights to show off her wares, but would be a cute addition to the town part of your own Spooky Town.  Unfortunately, Mantleburg isn't in the Halloween spirit.  And at $39.99, I don't blame the Mayor for not decorating for the fall.

Second in the series of Lemax Spookytown structures as featured at our Menards this Halloween season is this Black Cauldron Bootique.  I posted some photos of another building last week that was called the 'Scariest Halloween House' here on the blog .   This one retails for $10 more but it seems that you get a bit more including a taller structure, more lights and a few different witches in various spots around the place. Still not able to convince myself that Mantleburg needs a fall season.  Might have something to do with our housing situation.  Next year, I might be in a different mood come late summer for Spookytown.

If you looked closely at the photo I posted last week of the girls at Menards in front of the Halloween section , you may have noticed the Lemax Halloween house display.  Oh, that's right.  You're normal, so you wouldn't notice such things.  But me?  The keeper of Mantleburg?  And lover of Christmas Villages ?  I see these things.  And that's why, on our subsequent trips to Menards, I looked closely at all the various Lemax Spooky Town buildings. This first one, up top in the box, and down below unboxed, is the "Scariest Halloween House".  You can find the official description and details here on the Lemax site . Alas, we're not in the business of having a 'spooky town' for Mantleburg.  It has been a few years since Mantleburg even made it out of it's boxes and I know the Mayor isn't happy about that. Maybe when we have the new house - and the library (hint, hint, Nat???), there might be a way to bring out Mantleburg and who knows?

A week or so ago, we cleaned out the trunk of Nat's old Honda Accord, which has been sitting in the alley at Equation Boy/Man's house for the past 8 months.  It is being transitioned to a new owner who will be able to utilize the car and we couldn't be more happy for that.   But, one of the happy by-products of cleaning out the car and getting it ready for the new owner was discovering some long-lost treasures.  One of them was a bouncy horse that needs a few springs to get back operational. But another was this Lemax Animated and Exterior Lighted Saw Mill from Menards.  I must have bought this two Christmas'es ago.  Maybe it was post-Christmas when they go on sale?  I can't recall, but I know that I usually won't add a new building to Mantleburg unless it is either awesome or super cheap. Mantleburg didn't come out this year because of our housing situation but once we figure out where we're going to end up, I'm certain that we'll have a n

Over the past week, the folks at our Menards in Melrose Park put up even more Lemax Christmas Village structures including this East Lake Station.  The side facing us in the photo is the 'track side' as indicated by the elevated platform in front.  There's a sign laying on the platform for the Freight Office that probably goes in the roofline somewhere, but the person setting this up either forgot or couldn't figure it out.  This building is a bit nicer than some of the other Lemax structures Menards is carrying and would look good in Mantleburg.  Alas...it wasn't meant to be.  The Mayor of Mantleburg says that the town isn't quite ready to be a railroad town.