I have a real soft spot for Christmas decor that looks like it spent the last 60 years in an attic, in a cardboard box with “XMAS” written on the side in red marker. It just reads warmer to me than a tree where every single ornament came from the same collection (those can be gorgeous too, it’s just not my thing). Fair warning, though. Most “vintage Christmas” lists out there are 24 photos of the same red truck. There’s no red truck here. (Okay, there’s ONE. Number 19. You’ll see.)
A Few Rules I Followed
Real vintage and vintage-inspired both count – a reproduction you can actually buy beats a $300 original you’ll be scared to touch. Nothing on here needs a glue gun and a free Saturday. And where old stuff can be genuinely unsafe (lights, tinsel), I say so.
Shiny Brite Ornaments In A Glass Bowl
Shiny Brite ornaments were made in the US starting in the late 1930s, and they’re the faded, slightly worn glass balls you picture when someone says “grandma’s tree”. Christopher Radko reissued the line, so you can get the look brand new. The easiest way to use them? Skip the tree and fill a big clear bowl on the coffee table. Done in two minutes.
Bubble Lights Clipped To A Real Tree
Bubble lights got really popular right after WWII (NOMA is the name you’ll see on old boxes), and nothing says 1950s faster. Two practical things: they have to stand upright to work, and they take a few minutes to warm up before they start bubbling – so don’t panic and return them on night one. They also look best mixed into a regular multicolor string, not as the only lights on the tree – 10 or 12 bubble lights scattered around is plenty. Buy new reproductions for anything that stays plugged in. Old wiring is NOT worth the risk.
A Ceramic Light-Up Tree On The Kitchen Counter
If you only do ONE thing from this list, do this one. Ceramic trees came out of the hobby ceramics classes of the 1960s and ’70s (a lot of them were poured from Atlantic Mold molds), with little plastic bulbs pushed into the holes. Originals have gotten expensive, but reproductions show up every year at Target, Walmart and Amazon. One of these on a counter and the whole kitchen suddenly feels like Christmas. If you’re going vintage, though, check the listing photos really carefully, because a lot of “vintage” ceramic trees on eBay are actually newer pieces (or a vintage base with a brand new top, which is fine, just not what the title says), and the giveaway is usually the bottom – old ones tend to have a maker’s mark or a hand-painted name and year, while the new ones are smooth and stamped. Also look at the cord. A frayed cord on a 50-year-old tree means a rewiring kit (cheap and easy) or a reproduction base. And if you’re torn between one big tree and two small ones? One big one. It has way more presence, and the small ones tend to get lost next to the toaster.
An Aluminum Tree With A Color Wheel
The Evergleam aluminum trees came out of Manitowoc, Wisconsin in 1959, and yes, they’re as shiny as you think. Note: you NEVER put string lights on a metal tree (shock hazard), which is exactly why the rotating color wheel existed – it washes the whole tree in red, blue, green and amber from the floor. Super kitschy. Super fun.
Originals still pop up at estate sales, usually in the long cardboard box with each branch in its own paper sleeve. If the sleeves are there, that’s a good sign the branches haven’t been crushed. Missing branches are the most common problem, so count the holes in the trunk against the branches before you pay. For ornaments, keep it to one color. All red or all blue glass balls on silver looks intentional; a mix starts to look like a tree that lost a fight.
Big C9 Bulbs In Mixed Colors
Multicolor or nothing. Warm white C9s read modern farmhouse, and the LED versions of the big colored bulbs look almost exactly like the old ones.
Tinsel Icicles, Hung One Strand At A Time
Tinsel gets a bad rap because people throw it at the tree by the handful. Don’t. Hang it strand by strand on the tips of the branches and it catches the light like actual icicles (yes, it takes forever, put a movie on). Quick safety thing: old lead-based tinsel was phased out in the early ’70s, so if you inherited a box from the attic, keep it away from kids and pets – or just buy new.
A Little Forest Of Bottle Brush Trees
Line up five or six on a shelf or mantel in different heights and colors (pastels lean very vintage). Target, Michaels and Amazon all sell them in packs. If you want the faded look, people dip the plain green ones in a bleach-and-water mix and then dye them – I haven’t tried it, so I’m passing it on with a grain of salt. Mixing heights matters more than the color. Three tall, two small, and one in the middle that’s a different shade from everything else.
Glitter Putz Houses On Cotton Snow
Put a little village under the tree, on a sheet of cotton batting “snow”. The originals are tiny glittered cardboard houses, a lot of them made in Japan from the 1930s to the ’50s, and they’re fragile and collectible. New ones are everywhere, and DIY versions with cardboard and mica flakes are a whole rabbit hole on Pinterest.
Knee-Hugger Elves Tucked Into The Branches
Felt pixie elves with their knees pulled up to their chins, mostly from the 1950s and ’60s. Are they a little creepy? Kinda. Do I love them anyway? Absolutely. Sit them on branches like they’re watching you wrap presents.
Popcorn And Cranberry Garland
The most old-fashioned thing on this list and basically free. Use popcorn that’s a day old (fresh popcorn crumbles when you thread it), and put something under the bowl because cranberries stain. Fair warning: it won’t last all season in a warm house. When it’s done, it goes outside for the birds. If you have a dog who eats things off the floor, skip this one.
Red Paper Honeycomb Bells
Three red tissue bells at different heights over the dining table, under $20 for the set.
Old Christmas Cards Strung Across The Mantel
eBay and Etsy sell lots of vintage cards from the ’40s through the ’60s, and the illustrations are SO good (the glittery ones especially). Clip them onto a velvet ribbon with mini wooden clothespins. Same idea as a garland, way more personality. Search for “unused vintage Christmas cards” on eBay if you want the clean ones, or “used” if you like the handwritten notes inside, which I kind of do.
Gurley Candles On A Windowsill
A row of little wax carolers on a deep windowsill. Gurley Novelty Company made them from roughly the 1940s to the ’70s, and almost nobody ever lit them (don’t start now, they’re collectibles).
Plaid – But Pick ONE Plaid
A red tartan throw, a tartan tree skirt, tartan ribbon on the wreath. Love it. Here’s my strong opinion though: one plaid pattern per room. The second you mix three different tartans, it stops looking like an old family living room and starts looking like a store display. Same goes for color. A red-and-green plaid next to a red-and-black buffalo check sounds fine on paper, and then you see them on the same sofa and the room just looks busy. If you already own a plaid you love, build around that one and keep everything else solid: a cream knit throw, red velvet pillows, a plain linen tree skirt. The plaid gets to be the loud one.
A Cluster Of Mercury Glass Votives
Group 7 or 9 on the dining table with LED tea lights inside. Odd numbers look better, I don’t make the rules. Real mercury glass is silvered on the inside, which is where the speckled, foggy look comes from, but from across a room you can’t tell a reproduction apart.
Thrifted Santa Mugs On Open Shelves
Ceramic Santa mugs are a thrift store staple in November and December. Line them up on an open shelf or a coffee bar. Use them for hot chocolate. Not just for show.
One thing to check before you drink from an old one: some vintage glazes (especially bright reds and yellows) can contain lead. If you’re not sure, either use it as a pen cup or pick up a lead test kit at the hardware store – they’re cheap and quick. Reproductions are dishwasher-safe and a lot less stressful.
A Flocked Tree
Two options: buy one pre-flocked, or flock a plain tree yourself with spray flocking. If you DIY, do it outside or in the garage. It gets everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
Felt Stockings With Sequins
The handmade-looking felt ones with sequin Santas and names stitched across the top. Etsy sellers make personalized versions in the old style. They’re a little lopsided on purpose, which is the charm.
The Red Truck (The ONE I Allowed)
Yes, the red truck. A real metal toy truck carrying a tiny bottle brush tree in the back beats the printed red-truck pillow by a mile. It’s the grown-up version. Put it on a bookshelf and call it a day.
Blow Molds On The Porch
Start with a pair of light-up plastic candles by the front door. If you get hooked, the old Union Products and General Foam Santas and snowmen are what collectors hunt for, and prices are all over the place.
Mismatched Brass Candlesticks With Red Tapers
Thrift stores are full of brass candlesticks. Grab 5 in different heights, don’t polish them, add red taper candles. That’s it. That’s the idea. (Okay, one more tip: a little ball of museum putty at the bottom of each candle keeps the tapers from leaning, because old candlestick holes are never quite the right size.)
An Old Quilt As A Tree Skirt
Wrap a thrifted quilt around the base of the tree instead of a tree skirt. It’s softer, it’s warmer, and it looks like it’s been there for 30 years. Just please don’t cut up a good one – look for a “cutter” quilt (one that’s already damaged) if you want to trim it to size. Wash it on cold and gentle first (old quilts can smell like a basement), and skip the dryer.
Ribbon Candy In A Glass Jar
Those wavy, shiny candies nobody actually eats? Perfect for decor. Fill a footed glass jar or an old apothecary jar and put it on the entryway table. It looks like a Christmas card from 1955 for, like, $10 of candy.
A Red And Green Paper Chain Countdown
Construction paper, a stapler, 25 links. Tear one off every day in December until Christmas. It’s the simplest thing here and somehow the one that feels the most like an actual old-fashioned Christmas.
If I could only do one, it’s the ceramic tree. No question. Then probably the bubble lights, if I can convince myself not to buy an original box on eBay at midnight.
OKAY, THAT’S 24.
Tell me in the comments – do you have one real vintage piece you pull out every year? I want to see it.
Talk soon ♥
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