You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town...
Do you see my Santa? In all of his vintage glory... I do love those vintage finds I seem to stumble upon every now and then. I tried to find this guy online to see if I could learn more about him, but it seems there are only reproductions now available. From what I gathered, he is a little more than 50 years old.
His hat was a little scraped up, but that did not stop me from saying oh, you will be mine dear man with the white beard and jolly smile. I also knew the perfect place for him too, right inside our foyer is where I knew he would be perched to watch the comings and goings throughout the holiday season. You see, he also keeps a watchful eye on that rascally pup of ours too. ❤
I made this picture, one of my most favorite pastimes, creating art for our walls for zero or little money. It can be amazing what you can do with a little creativity and scraps I tend to keep. He also seemed to be just perfect in our foyer with our other vintage Santa's too. Do you love vintage Santa's like I do? I think I am obsessed, they always bring back so many fond memories.
You see, I remember Woolworth's in my hometown growing up. I still remember what it smelled like when I would enter their store. How you could find most everything while perusing their isles in search of anything and nothing at the same time.
I recall the long soda counter where you could grab a grilled cheese, an ice cream sundae, or a cherry slush, where the same folks day after day could be found in their "assigned seats" at the counter. No, there were not really assigned seating, but it often made me wonder when I could count on certain folks to be in the same seat day after day of visiting this establishment.
I recall looking at toys and books available on their shelves, begging for a new book at each visit, and then the pet section was my next most favorite place to be found looking at fish swimming about, birds squawking, and other pets I wanted to scoop up and bring home with me immediately.
So many memories came flooding back when I thought of our missed Woolworth's store located in our Plaza shopping center. It was "The Place" growing up... you know, I do not recall the exact year they closed their doors here, but I do recall being sad since I enjoyed so many afternoons there. Those aqua booths and many hours spent with my best friend were some pretty fond memories that I hung on to. Her mother would let us sit there in the booths for a quick bite while she shopped for what she needed.
Our vintage theme continues across the foyer with our 1950's toy chest, silver tinsel tree, and little red Ford truck. The tree topper was a family favorite growing up while visiting with grandma and grandpa. They always had it lit up at the top of their tree. Do you know I have never plugged it in so I am not sure if it still works?
We used a vintage milk crate as our tree box and filled in with a Christmas woven blanket covered all over with pups, it was a gift from my sister many years ago. Do you see nestled inside our silver tree is another vintage Santa riding in his sleigh with reindeer?
Every Christmas Eve I was greeted by this Santa and his reindeer as I could walk into my grandparent's home. It was always perched on the end table by the door. I remember wanting to play with it, but would never dare play with their Christmas decor items so I would just sit and study them and create stories in my mind. Not much has changed in the story creating, has it? I was drawn to those vintage pieces even all of those years ago as a child.
I had quite a bit of fun putting together our foyer this year. I went with nostalgia, so many memories flooded through my mind this year as I prepared our home for the holidays. It was my motto when decorating our foyer and dining room, and can I tell you it felt like being a child myself for a while anyway. Many of my vintage and vintage inspired pieces are sprinkled throughout.
I am a tweaker, in that I am always changing things up and keep tweaking as I go. Finally I said enough is enough, get these photos shared so others can get ideas for their vintage Christmas'! We will be sprinkling you with Christmas over the next several days filled with Christmas memories and traditions. I am pretty excited to share those with you, along with the decorations too.
That little toy chest is new to me, picked up from an online auction. We know how I love those auctions and always find the best pieces. When I researched this chest, I found it was from the 1950's. I imagined it was perhaps given to a little boy or girl for Christmas so their toys could be corralled when being unused. It was in the perfect vintage condition for me to scoop up and add to my collection.
I had not intended to use it in our Christmas decor, but then found it fit just perfectly with our silver tinsel tree and vintage inspired red Ford truck overflowing with pine.
You see, those small details are important to me when telling a story through my decorations. I imagined a small child sitting there playing with the Santa and reindeer as I had wanted to all of those years ago, running the truck round, and peeking inside that vintage toy chest to see what other goodies may be found.
Even our Santa picture from Antique Farmhouse made it into our foyer and hallway. I knew it would be just perfect hanging on my faux tin ceiling tile on our bench. Then I could not resist one of my Christmas pillows on the bench along with a tin that states "It's the most Wonderful Time of the year!" The tin is packed with pine garland and an antique looking Christmas ornament long since forgotten laying inside the tin on the bench.
Do you enjoy making up stories in your mind when decorating for the holidays? I know I sure do. One never knows what to expect when visiting our home and the stories expressed through our decor.
I cannot wait to tell you the true story of this lovely clock hanging on our wall. Isn't it just exquisite? One of the gentleman who I have worked with for many years asked if I would be interested in the clock and sent a photo of it to me.
Of course, my immediate response was yes! It appeared to have some age to it, and I would rather he find someone to purchase it from him rather than just gift it to me. He told me the story of this clock, and indicated he would like for me to have it. I agreed, and he dropped it on my front porch one afternoon.
My husband went out and retrieved it from the porch and straight away, he sat down to work on it. My friend indicated it was a gift to him from his wife for Christmas, but when he opened it, the clock did not work.
Since he has heard my many tales of purchasing items from auctions, and my husband making repairs when needed, he thought I would be the perfect recipient of this beautiful clock. His wife was able to locate a replacement for his damaged one and so they were left with an extra clock and did not want to just dispose of it being wasteful.
I was so happy to receive this piece and that he had thought of me when trying to find the best match for it. Now it hangs in our entry way on the wall proudly, with the pendulum swinging this way and that, all fixed up, chiming the day away. I like to think it was always meant to be there, thank you dear friend. I miss all of the shenanigans in the office with you and our crew.
Changes will be coming to this wall after Christmas that I am excited to get started on, but are on hold while Christmas decor is out and about. I can only take on so many projects at once, and Christmas has had my full attention these last few weeks of course.
I thought our plaid rug was a nice touch for Christmas, and really reminded me of the 1950's. Our home was completed in 1950 so I thought it was quite fitting there at our front door. We all know how crazy I am about plaid.
After it arrived, I even commented, I think I want a larger one of this pattern and have it out 24/7! Time will tell if this becomes a part of our full time decor. I just can never seem to locate the pieces I want and tending to turn to the past for what I have envisioned for this ole gal, but that rug was a delightful new purchase I was only to eager to place in our foyer.
Do you know the leg lamp can be seen in our home in a variety of sizes? A nightlight plugged into the wall to light our path for those midnight outings with Bentley. I also painted our front door white on the inside since I was so tired of looking at that white paint turned yellow.
Are you decking the halls yet, and readying for the man in the big red suit, big black boots, and white fur all about? I started a while back, but we all know I do this every year.
I am loving the entryway of our home for the holidays this year. It has that vintage appeal I so love, and was an unexpected twist for me. I tend to be playful, yet it never really shows in our home. I changed that this year. I am hoping we have inspired you to get those decorations out, and start lighting up the house with your Christmas decor pieces.
Questions you may have regarding vintage Christmas decorations:
Where to buy vintage Christmas decorations?
- We have found our vintage Christmas decorations in various places including: online auctions, and in person auctions. I recently passed on an online auction consisting of only Blow Molds. I know... can you believe it? They were too large for me to store, and I really feel we are at max capacity these days.
- We have had many items handed down over generations to us, ask your parents or grandparents if they would like to rid out Christmas decorations. You may be surprised to learn they are only too eager to give you items they know you will take care of.
- Ebay and Etsy are wonderful sources for vintage Christmas decorations.
- Check out Facebook Marketplace, and don't forget Craig's List. I know many have forgotten about searching their site, but I have found some wonderful items there.
Reproduction vintage Christmas decorations.
- I have located some great finds with Antique Farmhouse and Decor Steals, Walmart, and Target that are vintage inspired pieces.
- Amazon has many vintage inspired Christmas pieces as well. I looked their site over and was so surprised by so many reproduction pieces, all at excellent prices too!
- I created the Woolworth's Santa art for our entryway simply by locating a vintage Santa I loved online, this one spoke to me and my childhood. I printed it out, and placed wrapping paper behind my print out to serve the purpose of a mat. I love it, it is simple, easy, and I already had everything on hand. Who doesn't love a bit of free art for your walls? I know I do!
- Any thrift store in your area will take vintage Christmas ornaments if you are wanting to donate those precious finds, which brings me to thrift stores! They are a wonderful resource for vintage finds, including vintage Christmas decorations and ornaments.
- Thrift stores can usually be found near you so this is a great way to find those decorations you have your vintage heart set on.
- If you are having difficulty locating those treasures, turn to pine wreaths, they are the most traditional of all Christmas decorations to add to your home.
- We have a pine wreath on our door that lights up at night with a simple red bow on it to keep in theme with our vintage holidays.
- I also have many sprays of pine throughout our home this year, I love those bits and pieces of pine during the holidays which also fall over into your winter decor with minimal effort.
- If you are still having a hard time decorating with those vintage finds, then just remember the most traditional Christmas colors are red, green, and gold. I like to think silver is in the mix too, but not everyone loves it the way I do.
- If you stay the path with these colors, you will end in accomplishing a traditional Christmas. Just make it yours, fill your home with the items you love and cherish and you will be happy with your decisions.
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Love your entryway the sleigh and reindeer I remember from my childhood. awesome toy box
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Colo Junkett. I enjoyed putting our entryway together this year, that toy chest came from an online auction. I could not resist, I am always drawn to items from the 1950's! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
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