Nobody wants to see a naked gnome

– Time For A Tiara: Column by Ginna Young –

Remember when Trolls were THE thing in the 1980s-1990s? Everybody had one of the little plastic figures, with the long hair that stuck up above their ugly little heads.

’Cause, let’s be honest, they were ugly little things, with little pot bellies and – well – naked. Thankfully, they weren’t anatomically correct, because I was kind of scarred anyway, by their bare little bottoms.

That didn’t stop me from having three of them, in varying sizes and hair colors. They were all gifts and back then, you didn’t throw away gifts, even if you hated them. So, the little dolls stood on my dresser and I have to admit, it was soothing to smooth their hair into an even more up-combed style.

Although I didn’t know it until recently, apparently, in the 1960s, the dolls were first created and became popular, then had a comeback between the 1970s and 1990s.

They were invented by Danish fisherman/ woodcutter Thomas Dam, who carved one out of wood for his daughter for a Christmas present. Other children in their village fell in love with the figure, which, in European culture, stands for good luck, and orders for the Trolls poured in.

Dam then marketed them in plastic, under the company name of Dam Things, which makes a whole lot of sense to me now, why “Dam Things” was in raised lettering on the bare butt cheeks of my littlest troll. At the time, I just thought some crass idiot didn’t even know how to spell the simplest swear word.

In the beginning, the dolls had hair made of wool and real glass eyes. When they came back into existence in the 1970s, they had synthetic hair and blank, plastic googly eyes, with sappy grins. I always had the impression they were just waiting for me to fall asleep, so they could come to life and hack me to bits with an ax.

Eventually, like all fads, the Trolls lost popularity for the next big thing, but never completely faded out of existence. A type of reboot was made a few years ago in theaters, aptly called Trolls, but these versions were sassy, adorable, multi-colored and clothed, thank the powers above.

They became a hit in their own right, but those of us who grew up in the ’80s, still think of the clothingless little plastic figures we grew up with when we hear “trolls.” I think I might still have at least one of my Trolls somewhere in a box, but I’m not positive.

Later on, much later after the fad was past, I found a Troll as a vampire at a garage sale. I was in my “it’s Halloween, just buy it” stage, so I had it for a few years, but finally got rid of it, because it creeped me out too much.

I looked up how much a 1980s-1990s doll would go for on Ebay, but was disappointed to learn they only sell for a few dollars. I guess being a fad isn’t as lucrative as it used to be.

Over the last couple years, a new type of fad has arisen, very similar to the Trolls. This fad is in the form of gnomes. No brand name, just gnomes, sporting all kinds of looks for holidays and seasons, in all shapes, sizes and colors.

All you see of the gnomes, are their big, round noses, with the rest of the face hidden under a long beard and a pointy hat, and the tips of their oversized shoes. Unlike the Trolls, these gnomes don’t creep me out. I think they are cute and have to rein myself in from buying every single one that catches my eye.

I don’t know how long this fad will last, but I’m enjoying it while it’s here and will hold onto them after it’s done. They’re just too cute for words, plus, they are fully dressed, which is good, because nobody wants to see a naked gnome.