When it comes to Christmas, I am a traditionalist surrounded by all things sentimental. Now that I'm raising a child of my own, the holidays to seem evaporate before my very eyes. I wonder how these precious wonderous years for my son, now, seem to go by in a blink for me. When I take myself back to my own childhood, Christmas seems like it happened a million times over -- full of music, smells of pine and turkey, and the eagerness of Christmas morning. Because Christmas elicits some of my most paramountly happy memories of being a kid, I tend to gravitate towards those feelings of nostalgia and sentimentality when it comes to the holidays - especially as it pertain to decorating and continuing traditions for my own family. With time slipping away so quickly, I yearn, even more, to hold on to that sense of timeless celebration. So much is special to me about Christmas and even if the 80's and 90's aren't considered "vintage" quite yet - there's so much about the music, decorations, ornaments, and general ambiance of a holiday season that have different decades of the past influencing my now.
This is our family room from last year. Our vintage needlepoint stockings are on the left and our tree is chalk-full of glass ornaments.
Here are a few key elements that make a vintage Christmas feel extra special:
Nostalgic Decor
Ventiage Glass Ornaments: Shiny, delicate baubles with hand-painted details or patina add a storybook charm. When my husbands Grandmother passed away, we inherited many of her glass ornaments and it's fun to know we have ornaments on our tree from the 1940's.
Tinsel and Garlands: The sparkle of classic tinsel strands or popcorn garlands takes you back to simpler times. I'm not quite old enough to have used tinsel while it was still popular, but i do love the look now.
Vintage Lights: Those retro bulb lights (C7 or C9) or bubble lights create a warm, colorful glow. I only use multi-colored lights on my tree as it's what we had when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's.
Vintage Feather Trees: Instead of traditional firs, feather trees or aluminum trees with rotating color wheels are quirky and delightful throwbacks.
Old-Fashioned Traditions
Homemade Goodies: Recipes handed down from grandparents, like gingerbread cookies, fruitcake, or hot toddies, taste like holiday memories. My dad is a big baker and makes tons of homemade cookies every year - my faovrite being my Great Grandma's Ice Box cookies.
Handwritten Cards: Sending and receiving old-school Christmas cards beats email greetings. Even though many people send a picture using Shutterfly, Minted or some other card service, it's still fun to get cards in the mail and hang them up to see your loved ones faces in something other than a screen.
Stockings by the Fire: Classic embroidered stockings or simple felt or burlap versions evoke tradition. I know the tradition is all matching stockings that are more elegant, but we hang up cross stitch stockings that my Grandma made
Curated Music and Media
Vinyl Records or Carols: Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, Nat King Cole, and classic choirs transport you to the golden era of holiday tunes. My personal favorite? Little Drummer Boy with David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas never fails to make me tear up with Fairytale of New York coming in a close second.
Black-and-White Movies: Watching It’s a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street wraps you in cozy, nostalgic vibes. (However - you'll definately catch me watching Love Actually, The Holiday and Home Alone)
DIY Charm
Handmade Gifts: Embroidered handkerchiefs, knitted scarves, or mason jar jams feel personal and thoughtful. In a time when everything and anything can be bought online there is something nostalgic about gifting something handmade.
Homemade Ornaments: Salt dough or felt ornaments, just like in childhood, create a personal touch. I still have mine from when I was a kid.
Family-Centric Focus
Unplugged Evenings: Every Friday in December we turn off the iPads, Nintendos and VR in favor of playing playing board games or watching a holiday movie as a family.
Christmas Lights: We like to pile in the car and drive around looking at Christmas lights in our town. We pack the car with hot chocolate, snacks and blast Christmas music. One of my favorite nights on the year because it's quiet and it feels like we get a minute to relax and just savor the beauty of the holiday.
Classic Holiday Dinners: A beautifully set table with vintage china or silverware makes every meal feel timeless and elegant.
The Feeling of Simplicity
A vintage Christmas captures the joy of slowing down, celebrating tradition, and finding beauty in the little things—getting outside to play in the snow, delivering Christmas cookies to an elderly neighbor, or lighting some candles at night to read by the fire. I think in the rat race of life, we all have an innate desire to go back to simplier times so why not make that happen for yourself and loved ones?
More from our home - our Serena & Lily sidecart in our kitchen holds vintage Santas and a Spode pitcher, while our foyer includes additional vintage santas along with a retro piece of art.
As much as I'd love to share accessible, truly vintage decor, I'd have to take you all along as I visit antique shops. But in the meantime, I'm sharing some of my favorites that invoke that nostalgic vintage feel of Christmas. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you.
I had to start wtih Spode - it's such an iconic Christmas tree design. The Christmas tree pattern was first introduced in 1938 and made in England until 2006. I'd love to get my hands on anything made pre-2006, but did buy myself the plates and wine glasses.
Buy at Macy's: Spode Christmas Plates
Aluminum trees became fashionable in the 1960's. The Evergleam, produced by the Aluminum Specialty Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, was the most popular at the time. This is a good alternative if you want that 60's vibe.
Buy on Amazon: Vickerman 6' Vintage Aluminum Artificial Christmas Tree
The original artificial tree, the feather tree originated in Germany. It was initially made of a center pole that supported widely spaced branches covered in feathers. At the time, this artificial tree was created due to deforestation but remained popular due to its widespread branches, which made it perfect for showing off ornaments.
Buy at Williams Sonoma: Goose Feather Ornament Display Tree
My grandparents always had a cranberrty garland on their tree and it instantly reminds me of being at their house on Christmas day. Cranberry Garlands go back as far as the 1800's and were popular due to the fact that they would last a long time.
Buy on Amazon: Realistic Artificial Cranberry Garland
While I love to fill our tree wtih as many different kinds of ornaments (we do NOT adhere to a theme or set color scheme), I will say there is a reason why glass ornaments have been around for long. They are so beautiful when they reflect the lights on the tree. It makes for a very misty magical look. (Pro Tip: HomeGoods always has an amazing selection of glass ornaments if you have one hear you).
Buy at Crate and Barrel: Glass Mercury Christmas Ornaments
I love glass ornaments that are also something other than the typical ball or cone shape. This is such a happy little Santa!
Buy at Pottery Barn: Lit Mercury Santa Ornament
For those of you brave souls that want to try out tinsel for that extra added retro look, this is the way to go! Tinsel may be a pain, but per the reviews, it does add something extra to your tree.
Buy on Amazon: Brite Star Tinsel Icicles
Who can resist the retro vibe of these Christmas pillow covers? The sweet little deer is my personal favorite.
Buy on Amazon: Christmas Pillow Covers
I have a vintage Caroler I put out every year and the candles remind of it so much. These are so quaint and sweet.
Buy on Amazon: Decorative Vintage Style Christmas Caroler Candles
I love this. My mother in law has one that she made in 6th grade home-ec class and every year she puts it out, I always comment how much I love the kitchy feel of this. These tabletop ceramic Christmas trees became popular in the 1960's and 70's.
Buy on Amazon: Ceramic Christmas Tree
Harking back to the mid 1940's, these bubble lights were a huge hit for many years. For those of you with older parents, I bet putting these on your tree will immediately take them back to their youth.
Buy on Amazon: Vanpein Multicolor Bubble Lights
I didn't know much about bottle brush Christmas trees until I started researching for this blog post. Apparently, sometime in the mid 1930's a manufacturer of toilet brushes began to dye the bristles green and assemble them into Christmas trees. Who knew? They would be cute on any mantle or side table.
Buy on Amazon: Bottle Brush Christmas Trees
Toy trains around Christmas Trees began to appear in the mid 1800's but really picked up steam (haha, see what i did there?) and began to really pick up popularity in the early to mid 1900's. At that time, trains were one of the main ways people traveled to see their loved ones during Christmas, so the trains now harken back to those times.
Buy at Wayfair: Christmas Train Set
Do you love the idea of vintage but are not ready to fully commit to an overall vintage vibe? Then add a little pop of days-gone-by with gifts wrapped in this vintage-like holiday wrappying paper.
Buy at Rifle Paper Co.: Holiday Wrapping Paper
It is thought that tree toppers began as one single large candle meant to represent the Star of Bethlehem. In the years to follow, tree toppers evolved into stars, angels and other varying symbols. The glass treetopper similar the one depicted are considered mid century modern.
Buy on Amazon: Kurt Adler Glass Treetopper
If you want to add that classic nostalgic Christmas vibe to your mantle or a staircase banner, this is a perfect addition.
Buy on Amazon: Old Fashioned Christmas Banner
As I mentioned above, my Grandma made our entire family needlepoint stockings. Looking at mine instantly takes me back to my childhood. When I got married and had my son, I ordered these vintage looking needlepoint stockings from L.L. Bean to get as close a match as I could to what my Grandma made. They are great quality and match mine perfectly.
Buy at L.L.Bean: Christmas Needlepoint Stocking
There are several reasons why bells evoke nostalgia during the holiday season: favorite Christmas carols like "Jingle Bells" and "Silver Bells," Salvation Army bell ringers, sleigh bells, "Everytime a bell rings, an angel gets its wings," and church bells. These are iconic and look so pretty attached to a wreath or mantle.
Buy on Amazon: Christmas Bells
While these may not look vintage, Christmas crackers are traditional in the United Kingdom and were first made by a sweets-maker in the mid-1800s. We have incorporated this tradition into my family, where each cracker is laid by your dinner plate, and we all crack at the same time to wear our paper crowns and share the goodies and jokes inside. (These are a huge hit with kids!)
Buy on Amazon: Christmas Crackers
Another English tradition, Mistletoe, was thought to have been hung on the Old English Kissing Bough/Christmas Bough, which were very popular in the 1700s. Nothing sweeter than this little tradition! (I'm sure mistletoe in the 1700's did not include glitter but I love this one!)
Buy on Amazon: Ornativity Mistletoe Glitter Hanging Ornament
And last but not least, these retro Christmas cards are a perfect way to remind us all of days gone by and hopefully reawaken happy memories for any of our older friends and family opening your holiday greeting.
Buy on Amazon: Retro Christmas Greeting Cards
And remember, if you want to source true vintage pieces, Etsy is a wealth of amazing finds as is any local vintage or antique store!
Disclaimer: The Betty Edit is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you purchase something through the links above, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. I'm a former digital marketer turned stay-at-home mom looking to make a few extra bucks for coffee runs and new books. I only recommend products I genuinely like, use, or come recommended by trusted friends. Thank you for supporting me!
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