More On Gale Santas

Polly Hacket-Morley, a writer for many antiques magazines, wrote us with more information about the Santa Claus dolls we mentioned in the December 2017 newsletter. The dolls were first made about 1946 and continued until 1987 or 1988. The animated dolls had no identification but a sheet of paper with the Gale name packed with the figure. The dolls changed slightly over the years. There were three sizes – 15, 20 and 26 inches high. Many were store displays for products. Both Santa and Mrs. Santa had red clothes, but from 1962 to 1965, Santa was dressed in a blue suit for the Kansas City Royals. Their hands were “mitts” and only some larger had thumbs. After 1957, some 15-inch dolls were made for home sales and clothes were more elaborate. There were pink or gold mesh jackets, beige, yellow and baby blue outfits, and velvet pants. Larger still dolls had red velvet or satin clothes with black vinyl boots and white vinyl shoes. There was even white fur. The figures are still sold on eBay and other online sites.