Monkey Salt and Pepper Shaker Sets

Monkey lovers (those of us who grew up with Curious George!) and collectors of salt and pepper shakers alike will enjoy these perky little primate shaker sets. Name them after your eccentric relatives and your old high school math teacher! Play out key scenes of Planet of the Apes on your breakfast table!

There's no end to the fun to be had, and they don't pull nearly the same annoying tricks as a real live monkey would, plonked down on your kitchen table... Have you been to a zoo? Do you see what those apes get up to?

(But I digress. Back to the condiment holders!)

Cute and comical looking, a pair of chimps or monkeys will make a jolly addition to your kitchen or dining room. Featured here is Westland Giftware's Mwah Magnetic Chimp Kiss S/P shaker set, conveniently for sale at Amazon.com. These monkey salt and pepper shakers can be used for food service or simply use them for decorations in your home. C'mon now, don't they make you smile?

I have to show you the white Petit Singe ("little monkey" in French) set first, as they're such an unusual design - almost unique in the general run of ape-themed shakers and tableware - for both their color and their vintage-inspired design.

Why are we so fascinated by these furry little vaguely-human-looking animals? My theory, it's the same reason we're endlessly drawn to tall tales about aliens a la Roswell, because of the "vaguely human" part. Monkeys look like aliens, only with smaller heads and a lot more fur... what? You think Planet of the Apes was just film fiction? Check out these very strange primate shakers, and you'll see the resemblance.

These little monkey figures are so cute, they're exactly the kind of itsy-bitsy critters that make a certain type of person want to dress up a wild animal like a human child (ahem, IKEA Monkey leaps to mind)... but why not sensibly settle for a ceramic set to hold the seasonings on your kitchen table - or better yet, a stunning pewter and glass set of chimp shakers that combines elegance with whimsy?

All the cuteness of monkeykind as a pet - but much less of the maintenance, and there is almost no risk at all of you and your monkey tableware getting into the tabloids.

Don't these figures remind you of baby toys? I had a little red toy money called Mugo, when I was a toddler, and maybe that's why I've got a weakness for this Appletree set, though the realistic shaker figurines and the frankly comical are usually more to my taste. For the kitchen table or for the kids' dining table, though, why not?

There's a whole lot of shakin' ... er, kissing in the tableware monkey world, it seems. Is it the same among real live Simians, do you suppose? Thinking back to my last visit to the chimp enclosure at the zoo, I recall more grooming and nit-picking than actual bussing, but when you're looking for ceramic chimpanzee shakers for your table (where you plan to eat a meal) a little "monkey business" is a lot more appetizing than many other, more realistic things the chimp pairs could be doing!

Let's not go there...

Have you discovered the Baby Monkey Nala video channel? Let me tell you, it's quite addictive to go on and watch what a little scamp like that can get up to! Here are a few of my favorite clips where the cute little Black Capped Capuchin frolics around her home - just imagine, living with a real monkey, it would certainly keep you on your toes... Thanks, but I think I'll stick to the kind of monkeys who sit quietly and hold my salt and pepper!!