Atlantis Riders

Atlantis Riders, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

I am posting these cute shakers in honor of the last space shuttle Atlantis take off yesterday.

Easter Shakes

Another very popular holiday for salt and pepper shakers is Easter. Some are very specific to the usual Easter themes, but many have more of a Spring theme. Below are three examples of those featuring a traditional Easter theme. Rabbits and bunnies are very common subject matter.

Bunny family in carrot mobile and egg trailer. Must be celebs in an Airstream. Made by OCI in China.

Not sure who made this cute rabbit and Easter egg.

Also not sure who made this cute round bunny couple in their polka-dot outfits. They were a lesson in shop-a-round however. They were featured in several antique stores and most wanted $30 (way too much!) and then they were found for $10. 

Happy Easter!

Feb/March Shakers

Believe it or not, there are salt and pepper shakers that are appropriate for President's Day. Below are an original and reproduction set featuring JFK, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in his rocking chair.

This above photo shows the original. It was made in Japan for the Arrow Company in 1962. It is much more detailed; has finer features and a better paint job.


The reproduction is in the photo to the right and while a decent job, it is much cruder and not nearly as nice as the original. I don't know where the reproductions were made. I was able to purchase several of them from a "JFK" exhibit in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. I saw them in a window and when I went to the exhibit, they were gone. I asked what happened to them and the clerk said that they had to be removed from the gift shop as a relative of JFK saw them and said that they were not of sufficient quality or likeness to the original. The exhibit had a set of the original shakers in it.

There is a festival in Tampa that occurs every February and March, called the Gasparilla. It features a pirate invasion. So the below Mwah! shakers are perfect for this festival. This set features a pirate and his maiden.

Valentine's Day Shakers

This is another very popular holiday for salt and pepper shakers. Not your traditional gift for your sweetheart, but if they collect salt and pepper shakers, a set for Valentine's Day will surely warm their heart.

This is another set of the magnetic shakers by Mwah called "Kissing Kids." This little boy is going to give his girlfriend a bouquet of flowers, when he is surprised by her kissing him on the cheek.

Pepe Le Pew and Penelope Pussycat are riding bumper cars at the local fair. Pepe is hot on her tail to give her a kiss, but Penelope will have no part of it. These are made by Warner Brothers from 1999. Below is a composite video from YouTube of some of their cartoons.

The World of magnetic shakers

One of the most popular types of salt and pepper shakers today are ones with a little magnet on them and they are often in a kissable pose.  This is handy as it keeps the S&P together and they are less likely to fall and get broken. Cracker Barrel is becoming a good source for obtaining these. These are photos of some of my most recent acquisitions.

This last photo shows how the magnet is attached to the S&P.

Christmas Shakers

Christmas is one of the largest categories for decorative salt and pepper shakers and this category most likely comprises the largest segment of my collection. These are two recent acquisitions and represent a very small fraction of the Christmas salt and pepper shakers that I own.

Above is a cute dog wearing his Christmas sweater and sitting next to a fire hydrant that is decked out with a big red and green striped bow and mistletoe.

Below are two sock monkeys adorned with their red and green bows. Both sets came from Cracker Barrel in 2009.

Thanksgiving Shakers

These are some of my oldest Thanksgiving Salt and Pepper shakers. They are made by Fitz and Floyd.

These are the Publix Pilgrim and Lil'grim shakers that were always for sale at the store during the holidays. Some years they were so popular that people would buy up every set and then sell them on Ebay for a higher amount. There was a commercial that featured them, which was part of what made them so popular. Below is a YouTube link to the video.