Jingle, Jangle, Jingle....I found Mr. Bingle !

'Tis the season.....for Mr. Bingle, Santa's little snowman helper. More on that in a minute.

Today we went to Walhalla, SC, for "business" and pleasure. One part of the pleasure was eating at the Steakhouse Cafeteria, where they don't serve steak. Well, maybe country fried steak. We have heard that they only have steak ONCE a year....Christmas Eve, I think. But if you ever go and have their fried chicken, then you are hooked on it! Today they had my favorite dessert, Apple Dumpling.

We missed the Christmas parade this year in Walhalla. We like to attend every year. Their parade is not so "citified" and commercial. They have tractors! Lots of them. My favorite is an old red Farmall. And horses every year after Santa! This years best theme float winner was Sons of Confederate Veterans, Rebels in Gray. Wonder if they fired their rifles this year? One year they did and it was deafening.

After our visit in Walhalla, we came back by way of Seneca and Easley, stopping at several thrift stores along the way. At one store in Seneca, I looked at the Christmas decorations, remembering a couple of years ago when I found a Mr. Bingle at a Goodwill in Greenville, and said to my husband, "Wish I could find another Mr. Bingle." One last Goodwill on our way home was in Easley. I looked at the clothes while my husband looked at other stuff. I wandered over his way and there, sitting right on the top of a pile of stuffed toys was.....MR. BINGLE!! Waiting there just for me!! I have never had a wish granted so quickly! I grabbed him up and hugged him to my chest and off we went to the register to make Mr. Bingle mine. He rode home on my lap. Now, here is my new Mr. Bingle. He is from 1996 and is in very good condition.

For those who don't know, Mr. Bingle is a New Orleans institution! He was created and designed by Emile Alline, an employee of Maison Blanche department store, in 1947. Mr. Bingle shares his initials "MB" with the store.

Here is a video to show you how Mr. Bingle became Santa's little helper.

If you want to know more about Mr. Bingle you can go here:

Mr. Bingle

or here:

Mr. Bingle Fans

Now I have to get my Christmas decorations down so my other two Mr. Bingle's can join my new one. Here is a picture from a couple of Christmases ago. That is me with my 1987 Mr. Bingle (the Goodwill find) on the left and my 2007 Mr. Bingle which I purchased at Dillard's on our trip to NOLA that year.

Jingle, jangle, jingle
Here comes Mr. Bingle
With another message from Kris Kringle
Time to launch your Christmas season
Maison Blanche makes Christmas pleasin'
Gifts galore for you to see
Each a gem from MB!