My yearly vintage Christmas update is finally complete, and there are a few new treasures I'd like to share. In keeping with tradition, my living room live tree is imported from South Windsor, CT.
This year's is about 7.5' tall with a more classic shape than last year's. This year's also felt heavier as I dragged it up three flights of stairs.
New for this year is the tri-tone glass tree topper I found in Providence, RI back in November:
The original box says "COBY" and "American Made." The back of the box has a Woonsocket, RI address – pretty cool. I already have a collection of tri-tone ornaments on the tree, including balls, bells and even one that's egg-shaped, so this was a great find.
I also found a couple of 1970s satin ornaments (from CT) made from one of the do-it-yourself ornament kits that were popular at the time.
 |
| Bell, not a ball. |
 |
| In some places, Santa arrives by flying saucer. |
One of the best things about these is they're unbreakable, so no worries if you accidentally drop them onto a hardwood floor.
This year I also put a mini artificial tree on my fireplace mantel with C-6 lights and a 1940s/1950s plastic star at the top. The twisty red candles are new this year – from Home Goods. Also new is the plastic blow-mold Santa inside the fireplace. He looks vintage but he's actually from Lowe's. The plastic blow-mold Noel candles are vintage 1970s, purchased a few years back on eBay.
Also in the living room: the black iron floor candelabra I found at Brimfield in September, now with sparkly Christmas candles to fill it.
Every room in my house has holiday touches, including the kitchen. On a recent CT antiquing trip, I found a hanging wire mesh basket, which was originally intended for fruit, I imagine. I decided to pile vintage ornaments inside. The two metallic foil flowers I also found this year in Providence. They probably date from the late 1950s/early 1960s.
Also in my kitchen: the plastic pink flamingo I found in Provincetown this year, now wearing a festive wreath. Serendipitously, I already had the flamingo tray.
Finally, new in my home office is yet another vintage TV lamp. This one I found in CT, and it's also a planter. It's green ceramic with a brass scrolled base with black rubber feet. The bottom says "California" "1953."
I placed plastic holly branches and two of my pixie elves inside the planter.
