Note: This is an archive of "Papa" Ted Althof's online tribute to cardboard Christmas "putz" houses and their history. At Ted's request, his friend Paul Race established this archive in early 2012. Except for critical updates and announcements, it will remain as Ted left it in October, 2012.
For more information, and for links to related resources, please scroll to the bottom of the page.




Santa and sleigh
Under the tree at:

- "Papa Ted's Place!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Last Updated: - - - - October, 2013
Christmas village houses display
An In-Depth History of
The Old Dimestore Christmas Village Houses


- AN ONLINE MUSEUM -
-the Full History-
-and more!



Announcement, October 30, 2012

After years of acting, performing music, and collecting and writing about his favorite Christmas traditions, "Papa" Ted Althof has succumbed to illness, on October 29, 2012. A Celebration of his life and work is planned, although we have no details yet.

When he realized his was ill, Ted contacted Paul Race, who had recently started CardboardChristmas.com to establish this archive of his "Putz house" site. Ted also started answering questions and interacting with his readers on the Cardboard Christmas Forums page. Sadly, Ted isn't there to answer questions any more, but most of Ted's friends and colleagues have stuck around. So if you have any questions or want to see what's currently happening in the world of putz houses and related collectibles, please check it out.

In the meantime we appreciate Ted's diligence, his generousity, and his love of Christmas traditions. We are keeping this site online so that Ted's hard work can inform, encourage, and bless other lovers of Christmas tradition for years to come. We also want to express our ongoing thankfulness for the folks who showed so much support in his last months.

Keep in touch. Sign up for the Family Christmas Online? NewsletterIf you would like more information about what has happened to Ted's site and resources, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you need to contact us please use the Cardboard Christmas contact page.

To paraphrase Dickens, Ted was a man who:

    honored Christmas in his heart, and tried to keep it all the year.

I don't think there is a more fitting tribute than to follow his example.

Paul Race, Howard Lamey, Maria Cudequest, Nan Corby, Jack Ahearn, Linda Starek, Tom Hull, Antoinette Stockenberg, Lynn Disley, Lissa Leto, and the rest of the CardboardChristmas.com family.

This website is dedicated to my Inner Child, and is -
Rated: G Rated:
Wholesome for kids and adults alike.

Click on the GREEN BOXES to go anywhere on the site!

*TABLE of CONTENTS*

****THE MAGIC WINDOW****

*THE NEW CHAT FORUM!
Register and Join the Gang!*

CATEGORIES/HISTORY

___REALLY GREAT___
_____RELATED______
______LINKS!________

-A PHOTO JOURNAL-
HOUSE of the MONTH
"PUTZES:"(DISPLAYS)

- and -
Previously the WORLD'S ONLY SOURCE for REPLACEMENT DOORS and WINDOWS!
Sadly, I have had to suspend the sale of doors and windows
- Both paper and CELLOPHANES!
-Just Click -
___REPLACEMENT___
_DOORS & WINDOWS
For a look at what we once had. !

REPAIR - RESTORATION

Santa Claus NEW STUFF: - for 2012 -

*UPDATE: PAPA TED'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE*

T.T.O.S. "The Side Track
- Papated's Place Feature
- Thanks to Jack Ahearn.


ANTOINETTE'S NEW MANTEL
- - -And Townsfolk Stories
Best ever! Don't miss this one!.


*LETTERS FROM FOLKS*

LAST REGULAR HOUSE of the MONTH
- - - - - December, 2010 - - - -

*NEW BACK-UP HOST for PAPA TED"S PLACE*
Paul Race hosts duplicate of site for safety






holly

Christmas Star Little World:
Between Thanksgiving and the Big Day, I would run directly to the five-and-tens after school and look at all the sparkly stuff, would see the bright and intricate cardboard houses, the bottlebrush trees, the celluloids and fences , the lights and ornaments and tinsel arrayed brilliantly before me. I had the intense feeling that someone had dismantled an entire little world and there it lay in pieces! It was up to me, personally, to put it all back together and if I did - it would somehow come to life again: A Lost Christmas Atlantis, if you will.

I still feel that way ...

candle
holly
For information about this site, please contact us at:
http://cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/contact.htm

Copyright 2000-2012 Theodore H. Althof,Jr.Except where noted, the contents of this website and all it's pages and submissions therein contained are the intellectual property of Theodore H.Althof,Jr. All rights are reserved. (Background musical selections are,of course, excepted.)

Note:
This archive was set up at Ted's request in early 2012, and, except for critical updates and
announcements, will remain as Ted left it in October, 2012.
The archive is kept online with the help of volunteers from the following affiliated sites and resources:
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit our collection of resources for collecting, restoring, and making your own cardboard Christmas houses. Return to the OldChristmasTreeLights Welcome page Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Visit Papa Ted Althof's extensive history and collection of putz houses, the largest and most complete such resource on the Internet. Craft and collectibles blog with local news of Croton NY.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories.
- Trains and Hobbies -
Visit the Internet's largest resource on choosing and displaying Christmas trains. Visit Lionel Trains. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages.
Learn about backyard railroading with Family Garden Trains
Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
Resources for O gauge and On30 model railroading
- Music -
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable.
The struggles and influences of early Jesus Musicians and others who laid the groundwork for the Christian music and worship that is part of our lives today.