When most people think of cigar boxes they don’t think of anything near this nice. But cigars today often come in boxes of very fine woodwork that make beautiful homes for valuables of all types – beyond the cigars they originally carried. Cigar stores charge varying prices for the empty boxes, but if you are friendly, ask nicely, and show an interest they will hold the nice one for you and you won’t have to pay too much. If you are good regular customer you might not have to pay anything at all! (Just saying …)
So, for the small Christmas set I put together for a friend I used a limited edition Camacho cigar box. Now this is one that is not going to be easy to find, but there are many others out there. The only modifications I made to this box were the two clasps on the front (purchased from Michael’s Crafts for $4) and some small pieces of felt for feet underneath and in the clasp area to keep the lid closed a little tighter. Total price for the box including all modifications, um, yep, between $4 and $5.
I had all the various train components from being a pack-rat over the years. All I had to do was sort through boxes and put it all together and make sure it all worked together. Oh, and a bit of cleaning and dusting. The Hornby locomotives and three cars and cars are wrapped in soft cloth cut from a t-shirt. The oval of track and transformer are from a Bachmann set.
The best thing about this? It made some friend very happy over over Christmas. It doesn’t hurt that the mother and grandmother are both English born and bread. Yes, that is why the British OO outline locos and cars. The young daughters in the family were thrilled. Who said girls don’t like trains? And with it all packaged up in a very nice box, it will make for a fun and attractive Christmas tradition.
