Greeting cards have all been sent, the Christmas rush is through...

Well, not exactly - cards, yes; Christmas rush, not so much. Happy Holidays to all! I have been wanting to post for a week or so but just haven't seemed to get around to it. This year I have been about a week behind on everything - I don't know if it is because for the 2nd year in a row, we are celebrating our family Christmas on New Year's Day or I am just a slug. I did get the house decorated and I must say, it looks vintageous! Too bad the only ones who have enjoyed it are my husband, 3 dogs, 2 cats and me! Not a single visitor in the month of December unless you count the UPS driver who has been here countless times! Oh yes, shopping, country style!

For the past few years, I have been trying to decorate with mostly vintage Christmas decorations. Some of these things are from my childhood (wow, that's hard to say), some were my grandma's, and some are from thrifting. My most prized Christmas decorations are my ever growing collection of vintage and vintage-inspired glass ornaments. My favorite are Shiny Brite but almost any glass ball will do including the small ones (which are actually Shiny Brite) that made their way into a mid-century modern ashtray I picked up at Urban Mining this fall. I really love the little plastic reindeer nestled amongst them, too!

Most of the vintage glass ornaments, however, end up in a more traditional spot hanging from an aluminum tree. Now, I have a vintage aluminum pom pom Christmas tree but my favorite one is this tree that I bought new for $30 after Christmas about 5-6 years ago. Even though someone on HGTV said that if you over indulge on a Christmas tree it should be with lights and not ornaments, I loaded mine with as many glass ornaments as I could. I don't care what they say - I think it turned out fantastic! I also found some vintage plastic garland with plastic candy canes hanging from it at a flea market that really filled in the tree and completed the look. Plus, of course, I have a color wheel! Under the tree, I put old ornament boxes and the "ugly angel" that my grandma had in the 1960's and 1970's.  I think some of my cousin's would probably fight me for her but she is mine, all mine! This is all resting on a tattered vintage alphabet quilt I bought for $5 at Big Brown Dog Antiques.

Another thing I love at Christmas are greeting cards and this year I sent out over 90 vintage Christmas cards. The last few years I have made my own cards (usually with some vintage and thrifted items on them) but since 2010 is the 100th anniversary of Hallmark, I had to celebrate by giving everyone their own. The cards came from various sources including garage sales, eBay, and Urban Mining and were from the 1940's - 1970's. I have always had a fondness for Hallmark cards and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share them with my friends and family. I hope they thought it was a treat!

As 2010 comes to a close, I wish you the very best! I hope the next year will bring you lots of occasions to show your vintage style. And in the melodic sounds of Karen Carpenter "Merry Christmas, Darling. Happy New Year, too."