Today is National Animal Cracker Day! Remember the sweet little treats we all enjoyed during our childhoods?
Of course, I had to pull out my carousel glasses since they seemed in keeping with animal crackers! You may recall seeing these in previous tablescapes. Each glass shows a different animal. The set had belonged to my grandparents and although one of the glasses had been broken over the years, I stumbled upon the replacement at a yard sale (click on an exciting find to read about it).
This cookie-filled carousel tin was a gift from a student years ago.
Animal crackers can be traced back to the late 1800s. Later, in 1902, they became known as "Barnum's Animals" (since they resembled circus creatures) and were packaged in the iconic little containers. Remember the animal cracker boxes with the string handles? They're still sold today, but did you know that the box was originally intended to be hung from the branches of your Christmas tree? We all ate the plain treats growing up, but today chocolate and frosted animal cookies are also available.
Today I ate a tiger...and then a tall giraffe
And when I ate an elephant,
It really made me laugh!
Now if you think it's funny that I ate such a meal...
They were animal crackers and none of them were real!