I don’t know about you all, but I love vintage ornaments. I think ornaments and decorations can give a fun fresh look when done right. They are always so colorful and the shapes are so interesting. Especially the delicate glass ornaments that were made in Germany.
Since I am a 1950’s child I have some fond family memories attached to some particular Christmas decorations. Do you remember these????……..
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Funky aluminum stars with lights, but they were the big lights not the small ones like the lights pictured here.
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The tree was covered with the large multi-colored lights and of course the fascinating bubble lights.
My Grandpa use to always say, “Don’t touch those. They will burn you!”
I touched them anyhow and I never got burned!!! That was my naughty girl behavior, but I made sure I had on my nice behavior before Santa arrived.
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These little cardboard houses always had snow sprinkles and glitter on them. The light went in the hole in the back.
I use to lay on my tummy at my Grandparents home and pretend that little Christmas people lived inside the little houses that were placed on cotton batting with sprinkles of multi-colored glitter and sometimes angel hair.
The tree was always a fresh tree and it had silver tinsel covering its limbs.
My husband actually remembers having to put it on one by one so when Christmas was over they could take it off and use it for the next year. Oh my! I am glad that tradition skipped my family!!! Yikes!!
I have a collection of vintage ornaments ranging from the 1930’s to the 1970’s. My very first vintage ornaments were the ornaments my mom and my husband’s mom gave us that were on their very first tree in the late 1940’s. Those sweet memories now hang on my very own family tree every year!
One year for Christmas I did a tree for my dining room that I called my Grandma,Grandpa tree. I used all the vintage ornaments and put up an aluminum star, bubble lights, tinsel and the little houses underneath sitting on batting. It really brought back sweet memories.
One year for Christmas I did a tree for my dining room that I called my Grandma,Grandpa tree. I used all the vintage ornaments and put up an aluminum star, bubble lights, tinsel and the little houses underneath sitting on batting. It really brought back sweet memories.
Do any of you have vintage ornaments? How do you display yours?
On tomorrow's post I will show you one of the ways I displayed my vintage ornaments last year. Be sure and come back!!
“Enjoy the Process” Of:
Making something new again by displaying it in an updated fresh look!!
Kathysue
Holiday Hint:
Pick up vintage ornaments at local thrift stores and flea markets to start your own collection.
Don’t wait to display them until you have enough for a tree full! Add them right along with your existing ornaments for a fun and colorful display!!
23 comments:
We kept a couple of strands of the bubble lights for memories, I love them! My hubby has fond memories of those lights, they are so much fun. Hope you are having a great weekend Kathysue!
Nancy xo
Hi Kathysue,
I love all of your precious vintage ornaments and yes, I do have quite a few. I display them in a large glass bowl. I have mostly pinks and pastel colors.
They do bring back so many memories. I have the angel that went on our family tree and she comes out every year. Even though she's tarnished and tattered, I still love her.
hugs
Sissie
I do remember all those. My parents even had the aluminum tree that you put the rotating color wheel in front of that turned the tree different colors back in the sixties.
I don't have any of the real vintage ornaments...and I remember all these very well...but I have tons of reproductions and tinsel. I am looking forward to seeing how you display them...I am sure it will be lovely.
And...thank you so much for visiting me and leaving such a nice comment...it is indeed good to meet you. (-:
I love them. I so wish I had my grandmother's aluminum tree that I thought was so "tacky" when I was a child!
I have some of mine in a glass jar this year (pictures for Marty's cloche party).
i love these vintage ornaments! yes, they bring back great memories. The tinsel too. I saw a tinsel tree at an antique store this weekend and was very tempted.....
Dearest Kathysue,
We had the same in The Netherlands and since I'm only a couple of months younger than you are, they look very familiar to me!
Have a great first Advent Sunday!
Mariette's Back to Basics
I saw some really pretty ones the other day but they were 3.00 each....I guess that is kind of a deal when you think that now some single ones are 4 and 5 each!
I love the idea of a Grandma/Grandpa tree! I have some vintage ornaments I have picked up here and there but I'm not sure if I have enough for a whole tree!!
All of the ornaments in your post bring back memories of my parents tree. Now that is a walk down memory lane!
Hope you are having a wonderful Sunday, Kathysue!
XO,
Jane
Kathysue - when I married my Mom divided her original Christmas ornaments between my sister and I. It was "old five and dime" ornaments Mom and Dad had purchased the first year they married in 1951. They are the most beautiful works of art, and I display them simply in a cut Waterford Crystal pedestal bowl. I usually leave them out year round, but since the little ones have moved back, I thought it wise to put them away. I would be heartbroken if anything happened to them. I accidently broke one and cried for hours. You just can't replace anything with that kind of sentimental value. Hope you're having a beautiful Cali weekend. Love you, Barb
(ps - we gotta start planning our next get together. :) )
Kathysue what wonderful memories this post brought back for me! I have some of my parent's and grandparent's vintage ornaments and I hang them on my traditional tree and I also scatter them inside my china cabinet.
Like your husband, we put the tinsel up strand by strand and took it off after Christmas to use for the next year. I actually liked doing it so maybe I'm weird lol!
Kat :)
I love using vintage items in my Christmas decorating! I'm going to the thrift store tomorrow in search of more! Hugs! ♥
Vintage...well..not really that old, but full of memories and very unique.
When we were first married and living in New York City, near my mother-in-law (!), she always bought us ornaments from the Women's Exchange on Madison Ave. Does anyone remember that place? It was unique. All handmade items. We have little wooden, carved reindeer, sleighs, and snowmen. But the very best were the felt pieces: the tree skirt and the hanging door ornaments with bells. Beautifully made; each piece of glitter put on by hand. And they have lasted so well through the years!
My life passed before my eyes while I read this! I so remember the silver star! We also had a silver tree for a while...the kind that turned with the colored lights! Mom's favorite thing was to get a flocked tree. She made tons of matching handmade ornaments from velvet and ribbon and sequins. She was very stylish and wanted a matching tree at one point. I also remember that she had little stuffed Christmas trees made of felt and covered in white sequins that she attached to the tree skirt. Miss those days, and miss my parents at this time of year.
I remember all those things, KS. I don't have any vintage ornaments anymore though.
Great post for all us baby boomers. I have a small artifical tree that sits in the living room and holds just my inherited childhood ornaments ( our large family tree is real and sits in the family room holding what I hope will be my daughters cherished memories in the years to come..at 23 she is not so interested right now) that look exactly like yours! I treasure each and every one of them and remember (not so fondly)_ putting the icicles on the tree one by one.
Those little houses are called Putz houses and I have an entire collection of those as well. I place them on the bookshelf with the old fashioned glitter batting just like your grandma did. You can find those on ebay very easily.
Looking forward to seeing your display.
None of my own, Kathysue but saw some great ones this weekend!!
I think that is a great idea. I am now looking for wonderful treasure at Thrift stores. Those Vintage decorations are awesome. I grew up in the 50's too. I am your newest follower. Stop by and say hello. Linda
Hi Kathysue, I'm happy to have found you. Child of the 50's huh? Nice to meet another! ;) Oh yes, I remember those ornaments well and many of the other pictures you shared today. That silver tinsel will always be embedded in my memory and yes, we were one of those families who occasionally saved it for the next year! I'm sure my mother will laugh when I remind her of that tomorrow!
Donna
what a fun tour down memory lane kathy sue! one other thing i really liked as a kid were the wax singers, snowman, claus......remember those? what a fun post, hope all is great with you
debra
What beautiful ornaments! I Love!
Luvs!
Oh I just love everything about Xmas, and the decorations you are sharing are just perfect!
Btw, I have my first giveaway so do stop by my blog :)
All the best,
Anna
I grew up putting the tinsel on strand-by-strand and then removing them to re-use them the next year, as well. I gave that tradition a pass on our own tree.
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