Christmas Tips

My husband hates when I ask him to drag out the Christmas decorations every year. It continually is a fiasco because we never store them correctly or in an organized way, and they are never in a convenient place. The Christmas decorations generally end up behind all of the summer items that were brought into the basement from outside, so I usually have to set aside an entire day for him to drag everything up to the main floor.

I love Christmas decorations, which doesn’t help the situation. We have boxes and boxes full, and we’re only had our own place to decorate for about four years. I really don’t know where all of our decorations came from but I love all of them. I know we inherited some of my grandmother’s Christmas decorations, which of course are my most cherished. They may not be the most beautiful Christmas decorations, but they hold special meaning and many childhood memories so they are displayed most prominently. Then there are the decorations that my mother purchased for us, or that his mother purchased, or even that friends and extended family purchased. We have a huge amount of Christmas decorations, but they are always tastefully displayed.

Now, my mother in law’s house looks like Santa threw up in it every time Christmas rolls around. She is a total craft nut, so she has countless Christmas decorations that are just scattered everywhere around the house. And I mean everywhere. I don’t think there is one inch in that house that is not covered in red, green or gold during the holiday season. There are knitted tissue box covers, toilet seat covers, wall hangings, quilts; you name it and it is there. So many Christmas decorations that you can’t even distinguish where one ends and where another begins. But she loves them, so I suppose that is all that matters.

Then there is my family. Hardly any decorations because they clutter the house, and they even started using an artificial tree the past few years. There are a few poinsettias, a few spatterings of gold bows and green wreaths but nowhere near the explosion of my mother in laws home. I am now seeing that the home my husband and I have created is certainly a mixture of both of our backgrounds, melding into the perfect display of Christmas decorations. I don’t think we’d have it any other way.

Walking through our local antique store several years ago, I came upon the most exquisite antique Christmas decoration that I had ever seen. I frequent antique stores fairly often, usually just for browsing. Every once in a while something catches my eye that I absolutely must have. This antique Christmas decoration was one of those items. The cost for this antique Christmas decoration was only $20 and I scooped the tiny angel up and proudly took her home. After I cleaned her up somewhat, very delicately, it revealed a tiny angel sitting on top of a gold ornament with elegant filigree surrounding it. I assumed that there had once been a small bell inside of the ornament but that had long since been lost. After doing a bit of research, I discovered that she most likely dated back to the early 1900’s. I was enthralled. She was gently placed on top of our family Christmas tree when the time came.

Often times, treasures such as the antique Christmas decoration that I found can be found in antique stores or at auctions. I’ve even found some simple treasures at flea markets. You simply have to have patience and a keen eye for them. Of course, everyone sees something different in antiques. What I find to be breathtaking, someone else may find to be appalling. It is all in the eyes of the beholder. But, I knew that I had found something very special in my angel antique Christmas decoration. After doing more research, I found that it was valued at approximately $150. Not only had I been lucky enough to find such an antique Christmas decoration, but I had gotten a real bargain on it as well.

The reason that I am drawn to antique Christmas decorations is because of the elegance of the years gone by. More time and elegance was placed on holiday dñÄor many years ago. People took the time to make decorations by hand and make each one differently. Today, decorations are produced in factories and many households across the world have the exact same decorations. Previous time periods didn’t have the luxury of factories. Everything was different and made with care. When things were made in that manner, the elegance was always obvious. It still is. With the antique Christmas decoration that I’d managed to find, you could tell that someone had put quite a bit of time and energy into making it. The etchings were perfect and the sense was that someone had put quite a bit of time into creating it. When finding such a treasured antique Christmas decoration, it is almost as if you are keeping that time period and that creator alive in a sense. The memories and the story of that antique Christmas decoration
continue to live on when it is seen at the top of my family’s Christmas tree. Take some time to walk through an antique store. See if anything catches your attention. Perhaps you will be fortunate enough to find an antique Christmas decoration like I did. Or something even better.