M&M Tiki Snack Shack Dispenser

I got this for Christmas from some friends. I didn't know it even existed, but I love it. It's plastic and ceramic and lights up from inside. It has a little unattached "lagoon" dish to hold the M&Ms. They got it for me from Department 56 at Disneyland. Apparently the shacks didn't sell very well, though, so they probably won't make any more. Here are a couple of shots:

W...w...w..wow! ANY native A-frame model is cool in my book, and this, cookie jar-tacky or not, is one of the more elaborate testimonies of the Tiki revival. Want one.

Yikes! I just entered the M&M Collectible universe! And I thought we Tiki collectors were nuts! No luck though, out of stock.

It always pays of to check though: I thought that the markings on the A-frame beams seemed familiar, but they are not from the Hale Tiki rendering BOT p.54 (others have used that, like Mark Ryden on his Martin Denny CD cover), but clearly from the Kon Tiki Montreal exterior on page 96/97 of the BOT.

Rats! I have to concede that, though it IS taken from that rendering, it is NOT from the BOT (hey, that rimes):

The very last pattern used on the top is cut off on the BOT pages (something I always regretted!) but visible in the original (which I once beheld!). Compare to its full reproduction on the back of Beachbum Berry's Grog Log!

Aaah, I love having time off to do this kind of extraneous research :)

PS: The Tikis on the hut seem to be taken from old plastic Tiki pendants

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2006-12-31 08:04 ]

Department 56 may be out of stock, but I Googled to see if anyone else had it and came up with http://www.giftcollector.com/product_isapi_p_63011-l_1241-m_30-a_243-store.htm?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=shopping.

They appear to have them for sale for about $25.00.

Good luck.

[ Edited by: Trader Tom 2006-12-31 12:16 ]

Hey, that's kind of fun. Does it acutally dispense the M&Ms or is it just for show?

The Snack Shack comes in two parts: the shack and the bowl. It doesn't actually dispense anything, but it sure looks cool.

Too Cute! bet it's gonna be hard to get soon, probably very limited.

On 2006-12-31 15:22, Hiphipahula wrote:
Too Cute! bet it's gonna be hard to get soon, probably very limited.

stock up now to fleece the newbies on ebay later!! whooohoooooo!!

it's kinda cool but the m&m tie-in sucks!!! is this plastic??? if so i can obliterate all signs of m&m off it, and re decorate it like it should be.....

hey holden- i think tiki farm should produce a new dish we could buy that replaces the lame m&m one.....that would be cool.

There are several M&M Snack Shacks on e-Bay right now. The low price is a Buy-It-Now for $21, but with shipping would be closer to $30. The Item Number is 320063143973.

Tipsy, I looked closely at it and I think you could strip the M&M stuff off if you wanted to. It's mostly ceramic, but with a little paint and patience it could be done.

I like the idea of Holden doing a version. What would also be cool is a Tiki Style Gingerbread House. Edible is always good but I was thinking in terms of a big ceramic one with flicker lights to put out for Christmas 2007. Just a thought...

check out http://www.hillshobby.com
they have them for 24.99

Thats very kool :) Gotta love something that combines tiki with chocolate!

Here's my de-M&Mmed Snack Shack. Because of its cartoony style, I decided to replace the uncool M&M figure with some STILL cool (despite being over-commercialized) cartoon characters:

I kinda enjoyed "desecrating" a "collectible".
Here's the full rendering of the first Stephen Crane Kon Tiki that the gable patterns were swiped from:

...by the way, while the BOT cuts off that last pattern, it IS visible in TIKI STYLE :)

Hahaha!
Excellent, Bigbro! Completely in character.

And I love the SHAG stationary sticker used to cover the highest offending M&M :lol:
F

BigBroTiki, that's awesome! Thanks for the pic!

Wwwwaaaaaaaaaaaa...none left on that link. Guess I will be the fleeced newbie soon. :)

On 2006-12-31 16:24, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
it's kinda cool but the m&m tie-in sucks!!! is this plastic??? if so i can obliterate all signs of m&m off it, and re decorate it like it should be.....

Funny I saw the m&m tiki hut and smiled. Everyone looked at the building and the tiki's on it but no one thought to look up m&m's. The following is an excerpt from the m&m's website's history page:

Who would have guessed that the idea for M&M'S® Plain Chocolate Candies was hatched against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War? Legend has it that, while on a trip to Spain, Forrest Mars Sr. encountered soldiers who were eating pellets of chocolate encased in a hard sugary coating. This prevented it from melting. Inspired by this idea, Mr. Mars went back to his kitchen and invented the recipe for M&M'S® Plain Chocolate Candies.

M&M'S® Chocolate Candies were first sold in 1941, and soon became a favorite of the American GIs serving in World War II. Packaged in cardboard tubes, they were sold to the military as a convenient snack that traveled well in any climate. By the late 1940s, they were widely available to the public, who gave them an excellent reception. In 1948, their packaging changed from a tube form to the characteristic brown pouch we know today.

I would like to suggest that m&m's and Tiki's spent a lot of time together in the Pacific theater during World War II. The GI's brought home their love of Tiki's and also for these great little candies.

So there's your tie in, m&m's another Poly-Pop phenomenon with it's roots in World War II.

My Hut stay's m&m it blends two of my favorite collections.

Tikisgrl

Nice post, Tikisgrl! I also feel the connection and have an additional suggestion. Last year for one of my tiki parties, I ordered turquoise (aqua) and white M&M's (as close to mid-century colors as I could get) and had my own inscription printed on them. Now that I have my tiki hut dispenser, I am going to order more M&M's this year. Last year I had them inscribed with our names, but this year it could be stuff like:

Tiki Lives
Live Aloha
Mahalo plenty
Okole Maluna
Hare Maru

Check it out...
http://www.mymms.com/celebrations/celebrations.asp

• Myke

They are still available from M&M's World in Las Vegas. They quoted me $30 +$10 shipping to California.