I promised this post a while ago so without further delay here is the Christmas Stuff Found Edition - all found at the thrift store except the elf that Mom gave me.
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| Holt Howard Candle Holder $1 |
My Holt Howard collection has grown to 3 with the addition of this little candle holder. I found two but one was chipped so I sold it (for $3 - even chipped). They are worth about $15-20 on the resale market but this one is a keeper.
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| Box of vintage 1960s indents $1.50 |
Indents - if I could only find unlimited indents I would be a rich woman. I kept them all, vintage indents are so hard to find.
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| 1960's German paper candy tray - Hansel & Gretel |
A very neat old German paper candy tray for .50. I've never seen one.
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| Our family 1960's elf - Mom gifted me this last Christmas |
Mom knows I love vintage Christmas (she now helps me hunt for it) so gifted me the family elf that has been part of our Christmases since 1960 (slightly before my time).
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| Rare Bing Crosby Decco Records 1949 set $1 |
I have had good luck finding vintage Christmas records but am keeping this rare set of Bing Crosby Decca records from 1949. We are buying ourselves a vintage record player for Christmas...hubby is kicking himself about ever getting rid of his record player along with his record collection but at least we still have a good amplifier and speakers so just need the turntable. I keep finding amazing records on the cheap so now we can hunt for them and rebuild it.
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| 1962 glass garland |
One of the most valuable/rare finds was this gigantic lot of glass mercury bead garland. I know it is from 1962 and made in Canada as one of the tags were still on it. The original mercury glass garland was from Victorian times and meant to go on feather trees. This stuff is so delicate that it is very rare and worth about $10-$15 per strand. I am definitely keeping this as have only seen it in antique shops. I found it in a thrift store for .50 cents stuck in among all the other modern plastic crap garland.
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| Ugly Santa - 1970 (as seen on an old episode of Mary Tyler Moore) $3 |
I made exactly one error in my vintage reselling and should have gone with my gut and bought only things I love, that way if they don't sell I am happy to keep them. Everything I have put up for auction has sold except Ugly Santa. Oh well, he shall stay with me for this season and I will try and sell him next year as November is the best time for this reselling. I happened to watch an old episode of Mary Tyler Moore and spotted the exact same one on her desk...definitely from 1970.
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| Old Children's Annual |
These two old Children's annuals I bought off the 24 hr facebook bidding site in summer, along with a group of other books for $10. I haven't shared them here but they are part of my holiday decorating and are part of my antique children's book collection.
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| Christmas Annual - has inscription from 1918 |
And finally, hubby took these pictures after I finished decorating our house - yes, I really do display/use all the vintage Christmas crap I keep. I am definitely reselling vintage Christmas every year as have sold over $100 worth and am now stockpiling things to sell next November - always keeping the coolest/best for myself of course.
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| Our Mantle |
The lights on the mantle were a thrift store find - .25 cents, they were brand new in the box and have 8 different blinking programs. A keeper for sure since my last-years mantle lights quit working and will now be harvested for bulbs only.
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| Mexican Creche from our Travels, light was a gift from hubby last Christmas |
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| Our tree - proof I use all of this vintage "Stuff" |
We are about to go out and buy the last 2 presents on the list - must get them wrapped as we fly out for our family visit this week. I also need to do Christmas cards, the only major thing lurking on my list. The Christmas party was Friday night and was a lot of fun, so nice to see my friends and we had a fabulous meal and got to dance the night away to a live band.
Have a great week everyone!
You found some pretty Christmas things, including the candle holder and the glass beads.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terra!
DeleteI truly love all your vintage Christmas!! I am so old now that I now own vintage - from when I was young. I still have some ornaments from the tree we had in the 1950's as well as some things I purchased in the early 60's. I keep nearly everything!
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me!!! One would never know you got these items anywhere but an antique shop! The thrill of the hunt! You do it all year long!
Mom gifted me all our really old family stuff, like 2 glass ornaments and a plastic bird that Grandma and Grandpa used to put on their tree when Mom was little - I love the stuff
DeleteSince Mary Tyler Moore is from my back yard (well St Paul) I should bid on ugly Santa when you try selling him again.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty certain if you walked into a local thrift store you would find him on the cheap there too :)
DeleteSo much history in your finds. I love the indents too.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm a sucker for those, Mom is becoming good at spotting as she found those when I was on the other side of the store.
DeleteYour Eiffel Tower light is stunning. I love it! My favorite holiday ornaments are the craft ones the kids make (think, copious glue, glitter, & pine cones), and a mini sweater ornament my grandmother knitted for me. It has toothpicks for knitting needles, and I adore it.
ReplyDeleteWe have all of those kind of ornaments on the tree too, every ornament the kids made and a few odd ones from childhood (stuffed boot my aunt made me). They all seem to fit together well
DeleteI am so impressed with your finds I think I must visit charity shops with my eyes shut. I love all your finds and your displays look lovely. I must confess I love that ugly Santa so cute lol and your family elf. Enjoy your family get together X
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if charity shops in your area have anything worthwhile, but you can bet one day when I visit there I will be checking it out! Thanks Wendy
DeleteReminds me of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteI think that is why I like collecting it!
DeleteOh my God! Jerry's mother had that elf and, when I met him,Jerry had that "Ugly" Santa. A friend of his (who gave it to him one Christmas) even dressed it up in leather (badly) and called it S&M Santa! Yours is so much better!
ReplyDeletePerhaps I should dress him up in S&M gear...might sell better :)
DeleteWhy are they called "mercury" beads? Did you use them on the tree?Poor ugly Santa - it's those dark lines on his forehead! We had one of those elves - have no idea where it is now. I have one decoration that was my mother's - it was an ashtray back in the day; I use it as a candy dish now. Plus I have a few of her old tree decorations. Love those ties to the past :)
ReplyDeleteBack up until the 1940s they actually were made with mercury....some of mine have them. They are safe but the workers who made them weren't. The mercury makes them silvery.
DeleteS&M Santa! That's the kind of Xmas ornament I could grow to like! x
ReplyDeleteWow, I thought you might skip this posting altogether! Yes, I might use that as a marketing ploy :)
DeleteVix:
DeleteI have to say I found it to be a fairly ugly S&M Santa, but that's just me. There was a jumbo safety pin through his back and moccasin leather lacing was used to create his wardrobe. But maybe it was just because the started with, as Cheapchick called him, Ugly Santa.
I used to have that "ugly Santa." I bought it in the early 70's when I was working in San Francisco, to dress upmy office desk. I kept it for years. Good seeing it again on your blog.
ReplyDeleteHe's growing on me, sitting on my antique store cabinet in my dining room right now. He will get displayed at least through this Christmas...next year we shall see.
DeleteLove all your Xmas decorations! Funny how the resale business goes....some stuff I loved and nobody bought, but other things were bought within an hour of posting (like the Flintstones wallpaper I didn't really care about!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, and I am not even marking them up nearly as much as if I was selling on EBAY or ETSY as there is zero packing/shipping involved and no fees. I am aiming for 1/2 the EBAY or ETSY price :)
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