gluckskafer moon house star house and sun house

Gluckskafer Sun House, Moon House and Star House

Wooden toys almost always come with a story–and if they don’t come with one, they’re quick to grow their own.  For us, the three celestial Gluckskafer (Glueckskaefer) Houses have a delightful set of stories.

I picked up the sun house first—on a bit of a whim—when I was browsing an online shop I hadn’t visited before.  I’d never seen any of the trio in person or even in photo, but the shape of the stacker was so appealing it jumped into my cart.   When it arrived, I was struck by the stunning grain, and the kids were quick to show me that it doesn’t just need to be a house—on its side it’s a rabbit burrow  or a fox’s den.   This was one of our early pieces, and one of the first to show me the value of open-ended toys when I let the kids discover it on their own instead of me first showing my idea.

Later, a friend and I did a little research and found that there were two other houses in the series—and so the hunt began. 

This good friend of mine is a whiz at searching, and a couple of months later she located a different shop that had one sun and one star house in stock.   (And the amazing part) she offered me the star house! It was such a kind thing!   The star came a little smashed, but nothing a little wood glue couldn’t fix (my first foray into fixing wood toys) and it has been loved ever since.   I love the trio together, but apart—this one looks so Christmasy to me.  Growing up, we always had a blue table cloth with stars on the dining table at Christmas—this house couldn’t be more perfect.

And then the hunt for the moon house began in earnest.  Neither the sun nor star houses are easy to track down—but the moon house?  Ooof. Be prepared for a long hunt. 

Remember the amazing friend who helped locate the star house?  She found a store in central Sweden that had it listed online (amazing in and of itself because at this point there aren’t many shops that even show that they ever did at one point have it in stock).  Getting in touch (and keeping in touch!) with this shop owner wasn’t easy. We asked about a few things she had listed on her website and were told “I have some things”. We tried again, asking for a few specifics, and she said she did actually have One moon house.   [and that wonderful friend of mine?  She insisted I should buy it]

And at first, yes, the shop owner said she would ship to the US. Then later, no, she would only ship in Scandinavia.  Then again later, no. Really she would only ship within Sweden.  Well. It happens that I have a friend from Kindergarten (that I haven’t seen since High School!) who studied in Sweden for a year—so I asked if she might know someone in Sweden to whom I could ship to who would be willing to ship it on to me. She did! .

Then I got even luckier—another friend of the Kindergarten friend was traveling to Sweden shortly thereafter, and was willing to meet up with the first friend of the friend (whom she didn’t know), pick it up, and carry it back home, and drop it off with the kindergarten friend.


And then I got to meet up with my kindergarten friend and rekindle a friendship! All over this Beautiful moon house. The kids of course do get to play with it, but I will really and truly treasure this one forever.  

They’re just magic, aren’t they?

2 thoughts on “Gluckskafer Sun House, Moon House and Star House”

  1. Wooooooooow! Now that’s a real journey of acquisition!! I love how friendship was crucial at every juncture for you to put this amazing set together.

Leave a Reply to Emily Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *