A reader writes:
A reader writes:

I just found a great Leonard Brynolf Johnson Santa and 8 reindeer set that I really want to display next Christmas. Can you help me with some instruction on how it goes together bad how to support it?

Thanks for getting in touch.

-----Our Reply. Please log in and add your own ---------------------------

GOOD Question! They came with precut stakes. Guess the stakes for your set have been lost?

I WOULD like to see which set you got - there were several and some were pretty spectacular.

To me the big problem of the big sets is storage. Yes, they are flat, but they still take up a lot of space.

Best of luck with it - Paul

Another reader writes:

I have a great vintage display I rescued from going into dumpster it has 8 reindeer and a two piece Santa .the Santa is identified to picture on your site. I have finished attaching a few broken hooves and 1 broken antler and I am ready to display. I'm desperate for info on how to attach them and how they look installed. Do reindeer go on top of each other or are they separated .....many more

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Glad you caught that one before it went into a landfil.

Could you send me photos of your set. Or just send me your set.
Basically they went on stakes. Are there stakes or holes where they might have been screwed to stakes.
Thanks for getting in touch.

Paul

The reader replied:

I just sent a bunch of pictures. Let me know if you recieve . There are definetly holes where screws of some sort went. Wooden stakes? Metal stakes?








---------------------Our Reply---------------------

That is sweet, even with the damage. Don't suppose you rescued the storage/shipping crate(s), too?

So glad you rescued this set. Most of the survivors are the smaller versions.

The original stakes were wooden. Some folks who have the REALLY big reindeer sets have used metal fence posts. But for this set wooden stakes would be fine. Probably 1"x2" sharpened to a point. "Doc" used wood that had been aged so it wouldn't warp, but I think I would try ordinary white pine (cheap) and see how that worked out.

Just cut them at an angle like tomato stakes.

You'll want to get them down 12" minimum, 18" if you can. - Paul

Ok so the last question is are the reindeer pairs attached to each other kind of one dimensional or are they apart....like 3 D. Same with Santa 1 d or 3 D ....does that make sense?

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The reader added:

Just discovered another thing, The eyeballs are all bigger
holes. Were there light bulbs or something that went in there?
-----------------Our reply----------

No, the eyes were originally painted on. Somebody got clever.
I can't imagine how that wasn't creepy. - Paul

------------------The Reader Replied--------------

Interesting.

The reader writes from his Cell phone

Ok so it's up. I think I need to space them out more....tomorrow . Add reins and harness of some sort . I'm three days in!

I used 3/4 in galvanized pipe and attached that to pieces by bolting a 2x4 to piece using existing holes and securing with pipe clamps. It's pretty sturdy.

[don't worry about the blurry cell phone photo - he sends better one later on]

Here are two more photos after he spread them out some.

Closeups - Thanks, these are GREAT. They will also make nice guidelines if someone needs to restore a set or even maybe replicate one.







Believe it or not, we already have over a thousand views on this thread. So you have no idea how many folks have enjoyed your photos and learned the potential of these old decorations. Thanks again for sharing them with our readers and ESPECIALLY for saving them!

Paul

Night Photos:





---------Our Reply------------------

Good work with the floodlights! Did a lot of folks slow down when they passed the house?

Thanks again for sharing!

Paul

The reader answered:

You cannot imagine how many people I ran into all over town that commented on the display. Many people stopped and took pictures. All packed away until next year!!

-------My response-----------

Now you're stuck!