» Collecting Christmas Ornaments & Vintage Decorations

Sponsors »

I love my Christmas tree ornaments.

My children will testify to how incredibly fussy I am over what goes on my tree and even its placement.

For this generally very ‘non fussy’ type mom, my Christmas tree (more so the ornaments) are one of the very few things that they have had to come to terms with over the years.

The decorations on my tree range from ones that I don’t even like- handed down from my grandmother’s youth; to ones I have spent a small fortune collecting. They range from antique Christmas tree ornaments, to even a few cartoon characters.

Vintage Christmas Ornaments

But I am not alone in my obsession with ornaments (of which I purchased 6 today). Many people, who would not even consider themselves to be collectors, have great collections of Christmas ornaments and Christmas decorations. They cherish and proudly display these collections each year at family gatherings and Christmas celebration parties with friends.

Some Christmas ornament collectors (like me) add a new Christmas ornament (or 6.) to their collection each year without fail. Others have relatives who give them a new Christmas ornament each Christmas as a family tradition. Christmas ornaments contributed by family members always become so much more treasured collections.

Every year I give my sisters and my best friend one ornament from MY tree. This is a special occasion for them, as they know letting someone take an ornament from my collection is akin to me donating a vital organ.

Serious collectors can’t wait for the Christmas season to come around again, so they can once again display their full collection with new additions for friends and relatives. Many of these seasoned Christmas ornament collectors, have up to four large Christmas trees in the home and extras shelves and tables etc to display their whole collection at once. Part of their fun is creating a new look display each year, so that the home looks different every Christmas.

Many collectors deliberately display only a part of their collection each year so that they can create a different look each Christmas. Some people go crazy with lights outside the home…others have their own obsessions.
Collectors also specialize in many different aspects of Christmas. Some collect only ornaments that are hung on trees. Others collect only standing ornaments that are displayed on tables and shelves.

Some specialize in Nativity sets, others in ceramic Santa’s, some might love snowmen or angels or reindeer. Some only Glass hanging or standing ornaments, some collect only paper hanging ornaments.

Some collectors collect brand labels, I have heard of one collector who only collects ceramic pieces that have some kind of floor in their design or manufacture. I have a friend who is obsessed with all of her ornaments being oval shaped. There are no rules of course and everyone has their own ideas about what is most interesting to collect.

My collection, while not as extensive as some (all my ornaments fit on my tree…although come to think of it, I have had to begin to buy bigger trees.) was not always as large as it is now. When I first moved out of my mother’s home at age 18 – my first tree was decorated with the glass balls you buy from discount stores. I don’t particularly care for glass balls, but it was all I could afford at the time. While most of them have long since ‘disappeared’…a few remain to remind me of where my collection began.

When you start collecting, begin a collection of unique ornaments and look for pieces throughout the year. Additionally specialized year round Christmas shops tend to have great prices for some of their more expensive collector pieces outside of the Christmas season when their trade is much quieter.

Collecting New Lighted Christmas Ornaments

Recent years have seen the introduction of a new range of lighted Christmas ornaments that can add a wealth of beauty to a Christmas ornament display. Fiber Optic pieces and LED & IC lighted Christmas ornaments come in both plug-in and battery operated styles. Sometimes the battery-operated styles can be more effective for presentation as you don’t have a messy electrical cord to hide. They also make great children’s night-lights for your precious little ones. I prefer the ones that you can attach directly to a light from your strand of tree lights- this way the ornament lights up automatically with the tree- you don’t have to worry about plugging it in, or worse, changing batteries.

Collecting Antique Christmas Ornaments

Antique Christmas ornaments can add that vintage Old World appeal to your holiday decor. This can be a specialized form of collecting and it is wise to become familiar with the antique ornament market. The best way to learn about antique ornaments is to ‘make a friend’ with someone who also collects them. Second best is a good reference book. A book will be the best way to learn if what you have is priceless- or just priceless to you.

There are a wide variety of ornament types, from German, blown-glass ornaments to paper mache ornaments, from goose-feather trees to antique paper cards and tree ornaments and even antique Christmas lights. Once you know what you like, you’ll know what to focus on collecting.

Antique Christmas Ornaments

Most antique Christmas Ornament collectors search the internet and local antique stores, garage sales and flea markets for antique Christmas ornaments. Prices will vary greatly with the ornament’s age, color, condition and manufacturer. You really need a passion and a lot of time to seriously collect Antique Christmas ornaments & decoration.

We also recommend that you carefully check second hand and antique ornaments for stickers before purchase, because price stickers can also be used to camouflage damage or chips in ornament. Before you purchase, always lift the sticker to check for damage.

Collecting Vintage Santa Claus

Vintage Santa Collectors are basically a separate category of antique collectors. Antique Santa Figurines are very collectible as evidenced by the prices at antique shows and shops where they are quite popular whenever they come up. It is important to do a lot of research if you are looking for the very old pieces. The older pieces were made of bits of cotton batting, paper mache, chenille, twigs and die cut scraps. All of these are being reproduced, so be sure and know what you are purchasing.

Beware of pieces marked as old that are in good condition, although vintage Santas are sometimes found in high quality condition, such items are rare and extremely expensive.
Some manufactures are selling wonderful vintage reproduction pieces. They have the old world appeal that many collectors prefer without the huge prices.

Santa figurines are being made in almost as many different ways as there are collectors to buy them. So take your time, look around and see what appeals most to your and your budget. Always let your heart decide what you are doing, so you will always be pleased with your collections.

Pricing Stickers and Christmas Ornaments

Many budget-priced ceramic Christmas ornaments are glazed with clear gloss type paint, but not fired like a traditional ceramic ornament. Also you will find poly products that are painted as apposed to those that use colored resins. If you look closely at the ornaments you can see the difference. Such products appear almost as good. They should not necessarily be discriminated against; they are just different manufacturing processes that are cheaper to produce.

What you should be careful of however, is items stuck to them, like retailers pricing tags, which can occasionally take the paint off when removed and spoil the item, so we suggest you carefully check for stickers on ornaments. This can also be an issue with painted wooden and metal Christmas ornaments.