As Christmas fast approaches, we thought we'd count off some of The Harris Sisters favorite vintage decorating items in the famous Christmas-carol style. Starting with 12 and counting down to 1, we'll show you some fun treasures that we've incorporated into our holiday decorating over the years. Not every item on the list is strictly a holiday item, but they all blend into Christmas decorating seamlessly.
12. Shiny Brite Ornaments
The Shiny Brite company produced their most popular ornaments in the United States in the 1940s through 1960s. These are the ornaments that The Harris Sisters remember putting on our tree when we were children. Now we collect these vintage ornaments!
Vintage Shiny Brite ornaments are becoming increasingly difficult to find as collectors compete for them. Because they're breakable, many didn't survive until now, which makes the ones that did survive even more valuable.
Even though Shiny Brite might be the most familiar name in vintage ornaments, keep in mind that other manufacturers also made glass Christmas ornaments that are perfect for collecting too. If you collect a few at a time, you'll have enough to decorate a whole tree in no time!
Take a look at some of our prized possessions:
11. Milk Glass Pieces
While milk glass may not be the first thing you think of when Christmas decorating, it's certainly the perfect color to pair with the traditional red and green colors of the season. Whether you fill it with candles to cast a nighttime glow or with some of your more treasured ornaments, a vintage milk glass collection can provide some interesting holiday display opportunities. It's easy to build a collection of milk glass piece by piece. You can find pieces find at yard sales, flea markets, and antique malls.
If you'd like ideas for how to decorate your milk glass collection for Halloween and Thanksgiving, pop over to our Halloween Home Tour post for photos and ideas. And stop by our Vintage Easter and Spring Decor Ideas post to see ideas for how to decorate milk glass for Spring.
10. Punchbowl and Punch Cups
The holidays are always a time of gathering together with family, and one heirloom piece that we bring out every holiday is a vintage Anchor Hocking Arlington punchbowl and punch cups. This is the same punchbowl set that we used growing up, and we still use it to this day. I've put this one at #10 specifically because by the time I inherited this punchbowl set, two of the punch cups had broken and there were only 10 left with the set. But we still brought it out on special occasions to use!
Since then, I've replaced those two broken cups with matching cups that I found at our local thrift store (and added even a few more to the set to accommodate our BIG family). But, even if I hadn't been able to replace them, this serves as a good reminder to use your vintage items rather than saving them away. (I'm sure those original cups were broken at a family gathering while we were enjoying ourselves.) Make sure you try our Party Punch recipe to fill your punchbowl!
9. Santa Mugs
Vintage Santa mugs are some of the most sought-after Christmas collectibles these days. The Santa mugs date back to the 1940s. You can find them at thrift stores, antique stores, estate sales, yard sales, and even online at sites like eBay and Etsy. But, just like other items on this list, it's easy to acquire this collection slowly over time. Look for different varieties like left eye closed, right eye closed, both eyes closed, and both eyes opened. They also come in different sizes and by different makers. If you're just interested in the vintage "look" - many vintage-inspired options are available at different retailers.
8. Christmas Albums
This particular collection of Christmas albums are the ones that The Harris Sisters grew up listening to at Christmastime, so they carry a heavy dose of nostalgia along with them. They originally belonged to our Mama, and now I bring them out at Christmastime to infuse our house with the same sounds we enjoyed growing up.
The graphics on the sleeves of vintage Christmas records are often kitschy and make great additions to your Christmas decor, even if you're not interested in the music on the albums themselves. If you'd like to start your own collection of Christmas vinyl, you can find them at thrift stores and used book stores around this time of year. Estate sales may have Christmas records mixed into record collections throughout the year.
Make sure you bring your Christmas records out to enjoy and to introduce to the next generation. Nothing can compare to the sound of original artists on original vinyl.
7. Christmas Drinking Glasses
Vintage Christmas drinking glasses are a festive addition to your holiday barware. Mix some pretty Christmas cocktails and serve them up in these drinking glasses to add some vintage charm to your next party!
Fun fact - beginning in the late 1940s, jelly companies like Welch's and peanut butter companies like Boscul and Big Top started to put pretty designs on their jars knowing they were later being reused in households as drinking glasses. (Some of you might remember drinking out of jelly jars when you were a child? We sure do!) These companies released promotional designs in the hopes that families would continue to buy more of the same design to "complete a set" of glasses, and some of those designs were Christmas patterns. Since these jars were made out of thicker glass, they have the best chance of surviving until now, so often those will be the ones you'll find.
You can find full sets of Christmas drinking glasses on eBay or Etsy, or if you're interested in the thrill of the hunt and don't mind mixing and matching holiday patterns, you can often find singles or pairs at your local thrift store. Some glassware brands that you might want to keep your eyes peeled for are Anchor Hocking, Hazel Atlas, Indiana Glass, Libbey, and Luminarc. Happy hunting!
6. Christmas Tablecloths
Christmas tablecloths are a fun collection to build, and Harris Sister Deanna has started a collection of some of these beautiful linens. Because these items were holiday-specific and only brought out once-a-year, you've got a good chance of finding them still in good condition.
Mid-century vintage Christmas tablecloths had many different designs. Designs included Santas, angels, bells, ornaments, candy canes, cookies, poinsettias, candles, florals, wreaths, Christmas trees, Christmas villages, carolers, sleighs, and holiday greetings. So you're sure to find a design that matches your favorite holiday theme!
5. Other Christmas Linens
If you're not quite ready to jump in the deep end and start a Christmas tablecloth collection, there are all sorts of smaller vintage Christmas linens that also have beautiful graphics. Just like Christmas tablecloths, other types of vintage Christmas linens were only brought out for the holidays, so it's easy to find them in excellent condition. These include linen cocktail napkins, handkerchiefs, table runners, dresser scarves, tea towels, and aprons.
If you're not sure that you would use them for their original intended purpose, here are a few decorating ideas for you:
- Tuck napkins or handkerchiefs underneath other Christmas displays and let the vintage graphics peek out.
- Line napkins or handkerchiefs up to create a one-of-a-kind table runner.
- Fold napkins or handkerchiefs and display them in a circle underneath a small tree to create a unique Christmas tree skirt.
- Drape napkins or handkerchiefs on the diagonal to create a mantel scarf or curtain valance.
- Display tea towels over cabinet doors on your dining room hutch.
- Drape a tea towel or an apron over the side of a big bowl and then fill it with vintage cookie cutters for a fun display.
- Hang aprons from your kitchen cabinet knobs.
4. Family Photo Ornaments
This one's an easy DIY project for you to do! Simply print out vintage photos of your loved ones and frame them in small frames for hanging on your Christmas tree. The ornaments shown here were the handiwork of Harris Sister Misty, and each of The Harris Sisters have these hanging on our Christmas trees. She took old photos of Mama and Daddy and "framed" them in cookie cutters to make unique ornaments that we enjoy every year.
3. Hometown Christmas Decor
Show your hometown pride! A few years ago, a gentleman on Facebook Marketplace was selling 3 unused coal bags from The Harris Sisters' hometown of Roxboro, NC. He'd had them in his family forever, and he just wanted to make sure that they went to a good home. I immediately snatched them up to use as Christmas decor, keeping one and gifting the other two to Harris Sisters Deanna and Misty.
I don't know much about the specific age of these bags, but I was able to find a newspaper notice dated March 7, 1946 from the Roxboro Courier Times newspaper announcing the sale of the company and the new name City Ice & Fuel Co., which is printed on the bags. The seller had them in his possession for 52 years before selling them, and his dad owned them before that.
Of course, hometown Christmas decor will be a little different for everyone. Does your town host a holiday festival or light show with unique souvenirs? Or, if you happen to be from somewhere like Bethlehem, PA or Santa Claus, IN, you might have great luck finding Christmas items that others might not have a special connection to.
2. Wooden Sleds
If you're looking for a big statement piece to add to your Christmas decor, look no further than your old wooden sled. If you don't happen to have your own sled from your childhood, it's easy to find one on Facebook Marketplace, especially around this time of year. (Harris Sister Misty is the proud owner of The Harris Sisters' original sled now.) Wooden sleds offer lots of decorating possibilities. Here are a few Christmas decorating ideas for your vintage wooden sled:
- prop a sled up against a wall as-is (many sleds have graphics painted on them and you might not want other decorations to "compete" with those graphics)
- string it with lights
- hang a wreath, a Santa hat, ice skates, mittens, or stockings from it
- use it as a base for a Christmas tree
- lay it out flat and stack wrapped presents or vintage toys on it
1. Costume Jewelry Tree
Here's another craft project idea for you. If you've got lots of heirloom costume jewelry pieces or Christmas brooches and you're not quite sure what to do with them, you can craft them into a costume jewelry tree like Harris Sister Deanna did. You'll have a beautiful tree that is unlike any other and you'll be able to see your family's jewelry pieces beautifully on display. If this sounds like a project you'd love to complete, we have the full step-by-step DIY tutorial for you to follow so that you can create one of your very own.
There's something about the holiday season that makes us feel nostalgic. When we decorate with vintage Christmas decorations, it can remind us of our childhood. If you're lucky enough to have the original heirloom items passed down through generations of your family, make sure to incorporate those into your decorating. Or recreate those memories by shopping thrift stores, antique stores, estate sales, yard sales, and flea markets for vintage Christmas decor pieces that will bring the nostalgia back to the holiday season.
Hope we've given you some good ideas for how to incorporate vintage pieces into your Christmas decorations!
