Doug admired this red glass plate with an outline of Switzerland, at Meilen's Christmas market.
There is no shortage of inspiration in the Swiss Christmas Markets!
I spent hours exploring the gift items at the various Christmas chalets in Zurich, Rapperswil, Winterthur, and Bern. Some were hand-crafted; others were mass produced. My favorites tended to be unusual and handmade in Switzerland. Some were quite affordable (5 to 40 CHF), while others were very steep: some cost over 300 CHF.
We took pictures of many and made a few purchases. Below are some pictures of handiwork that attracted Doug's attention or mine.
Hand knit Swiss caps, each with a large white cross in the center. (Zurich Bahnhofstrasse)
Beeswax to the max! All the items in this display were made of beeswax; many were candles. (Winterthur)
A wooden-helix tree ornament with a crystal in the center. This one will adorn our Christmas tree for years to come. (Bern)
Hand knit sweaters, scarves, gloves, mittens, hats and more...
Festive candles - hand dipped and formed. (Zurich)
Costume jewelry... earrings, bracelets, brooches, and more.
I loved these miniature wood chalets, but at at a cost of 300 CHF or more, it just wasn't in this year's Christmas budget. Maybe sometime in the future.
I also fell in love with these fine scissor-cut silhouettes, each trio enclosing a votive candle within protective glass plates. The technique is called Scherenschnitte (shear-n-SHNIT-a), which is a German word for 'scissor cuts', as in the art of papercutting design. The vendor was Scherenschnitte von Esther Gerber.
The two pictures shown above were from a vendor who handcrafted these spectacular Weinachtspyramide (Christmas pyramids). Jessica, who writes Swisstoryblog, has some great pictures of these treasures on her Christmas Advent Day 14. Again, not in my price range, but something to put on my Christmas wish list in the future.
I also fell in love with these paper lanterns. I found myself drawn again and again to them. See the Swisstoryblog Christmas Advent Day #19 for some additional great photos of these lanterns.
Doug and I both have a passion for things made of wood. These silhouettes in tree-branch slices caught our eye at the Bern Christmas market, and the one in the lower left corner with the nativity scene will adorn our future Christmas trees.
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