Monday, December 3, 2018

I'm dreaming of a retro Christmas

Like many of you, I imagine, I now have so many Christmas decorations that I could decorate my house several times over. This year, I have developed a real hankering for the retro colors and designs from the fifties and sixties, so that's what I used to surround some of my Christmas teacups on the tea trolley this year.

My favorite antique mall find of the season: a white plastic tree with flocked velvet poinsettias and fake pinecones. (I can remember when ladies wore plastic floral corsages at Christmas. Can any of you?)

For those of you who, like me, were born between 1930 and 1970 (I was born the last year of the Baby Boom, 1964), I highly recommend this book, Under the Tree, which shows the dolls, trains, games, and other toys that were so popular during these years. I shared it with my husband for the first time recently, and he spotted an erector set just like the one he got as a child.

I've also started collecting vintage Christmas cards when I spot them for a reasonable price. I love the bright colors and designs on these. (I've also discovered vintage nativity cards, and I'll share those another day once I've got my nativity sets placed.)

I love pulling out my Christmas teacups each year, and it's almost like discovering a new gift when I reach into the box and find poinsettias and holly gracing some bone china cups and saucers. And I will indeed use them all during the month of December. It makes sipping so much more festive!

Another fun antique mall find this year was this Rushton Santa Claus doll. I loved his vintage look and thought he'd be fun to decorate with. As I was paying for him, a man came up and told me he believed this doll was from the thirties. 

Santa's shoes looked pretty old, so I thought, "Hmm. Maybe." But then I got home, did a little research, and discovered Santa is actually a doll produced by Coca-Cola in the fifties (if you look at his left hand in the photo, he is missing the Coke bottle), and it sold for $3. Not surprising, really, that I'd find one of these in this area since I live near Coke's home office.

And this is the topper on the cute little Santa mug arrangement I got last month at that Christmas market. My tea-themed tree is up (I'm saving those photos for another day), and it's truly beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! How about at your house?



5 comments:

  1. You tree cart looks wonderful! I had one of those Santas when I was a child (and I dearly loved it) but it didn't survive when my parents' basement got flooded. I found one in an antique shop a few years ago, and was surprised when my daughters thought it was “ugly” and “scary”. ��. I display it anyway, as a cherished reminder of my childhood.

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  2. I know I typed “tea cart” but autocorrect thought otherwise!

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  3. i love your cups and saucers. I have replaced all my tree glass ornaments with ones from the 40's and 50's. I love it and this post was a delight!

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  4. Cute decorations. I imagine classic Christmas music playing in the background.

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  5. Yes, it is beginning to look like Christmas here too. Love your retro look.

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