Friday Favorite Flea Find: November 14, 2025
Every little girl dreams of having her own pony, and I am no exception. But adult me scored the perfect pony that even young me would love.
Some Friday Fabulous Flea Finds come from crowded flea market tables or the bottom shelf of an antique mall booth. But this handsome guy? He came from somewhere far more insidious. The dreaded office White Elephant gift exchange.
One of my coworkers, now real-life bestie, spotted him first: a glossy, mid-century-style ceramic horse lamp perched on a rocky base. He wrapped him up and brought him along to the Christmas party, primed for the White Elephant gift exchange. If you’ve ever participated in one, you know the rules: gifts can be opened, stolen, stolen back, snatched again, and fought over with more determination than actual gifts themselves probably deserve. But three times is the limit.
I drew an early number and opened Pony right out of the gate. It was love at first sight… until he was immediately stolen from me by the very next person in line. I grabbed a painting next, only to have that stolen down the line. As the rules dictated, I chose another gift from the pile and opened a set of coffee mugs with gourmet cocoa. Lucky me.
Meanwhile, Pony was making the rounds. Stolen from me, then stolen from his new owner, a carousel ride of thievery.
But the White Elephant has one final twist: after all players take their turns, the very first player gets one last chance to steal. And what did they want? My gourmet hot cocoa mix, which I happily surrendered. You better believe that I marched right over and reclaimed my beautiful Pony in the final round. Third time’s the charm...literally.
He came home with me tucked safely into my carry-on bag from Atlanta to Dallas, where he now stands on my bedside table, the most dramatic, hotly contested, holiday-surviving Fabulous Flea Find I’ve ever owned.
My research into his background indicates that he came from the table lamp line of Maddux of California. Similar styles have sold on eBay for between $35 and $75, depending on the color. But he's worth so much more to me.
Some treasures you discover by chance. Others you win with persistence and a very lucky Christmas heist.
This little guy? In my eyes, he was definitely worth the steal.
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