Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas: Best of the Holidays

Old World Christmas Magic

Decorating for a vintage Christmas is a celebration of nostalgia and timeless beauty.

Vintage decorations, with their intricate details and handcrafted designs, have an old-world charm that brings a sense of warmth and history to the holiday season.

Each piece, whether a retro ornament from a flea market or a cherished family heirloom, tells a story of Christmases past, connecting us to simpler times.

The unique patina, faded hues, and classic patterns create a cozy, endearing atmosphere that modern decorations often lack.

Embracing vintage Christmas decor allows you to infuse your home with personality, history, and a one-of-a-kind holiday magic that feels both authentic and enchanting.

If you are joining me from Cindy of DIY Beautify, welcome! Isn’t Cindy’s Christmas home tour just magical? All that time Cindy spent with us Thrifting with the Gals this past year as a guest host really paid off with all her beautiful vintage Christmas finds!

Vintage Christmas Traditions: 3 Holiday Wreaths

Starting or embracing family traditions with vintage Christmas decor adds a heartfelt touch to the holiday season. Incorporating vintage elements, like holiday wreaths, into your traditions brings a sense of continuity and charm that makes the season even more meaningful and reflective.

Six years ago, we inherited my parents’ home in coastal Maine. While going through some old photos, I found this picture of their 1930s front door decorated with three small wreaths.

The photo was taken the first year my parents built this home, a replica of an early American home called a Raeside & Dame, which is popular today on the New England seacoast.

At that time, my folks were in their 70s…

Vintage Christmas Tree Mannequin

Bring festive charm to your holiday decor this season with a thrifted vintage Christmas twist!

I have always wanted to style a vintage mannequin or bust form for the holiday season. And this is the year!

So far, this has been my favorite holiday addition, as we are still in the midst of holiday preparations.

This was so simple, and I’m sharing my easy tutorial in this How to Style a Tabletop Bust Form For Christmas post just for you.

Vintage Christmas Ornaments Craft Ideas

Do you have some vintage wooden spindles hanging around? If not, check your local thrift stores and flea markets for a few of these treasures. Did you know they make beautiful vintage Christmas ornaments?

And if you like easy craft ideas, this one’s for you!

This 3 Decorative Wood Spindles Finials Holiday Craft Ideas post contains all the details.

Natural Elements in Vintage Finds

Decorating for a vintage Christmas is a fun way to bring timeless charm to your home during the Christmas season.

Combining vintage pieces with natural elements like winterberries and paperwhites allows you to create retro Christmas decorations that feel both festive and unique.

These thoughtful touches add warmth and texture, transforming your vintage finds into stunning focal points full of vintage charm.

Adding natural elements to vintage kitchenware, such as old gravy boats, bowls, teacups, and stoneware, is a great way to bring a classic look to your home during winter.

Filling these pieces with sprigs of greenery, pinecones, or seasonal blooms adds a personal touch and highlights their timeless beauty.

Repurposing these cherished items is a great idea, creating displays that feel unique and heartfelt while infusing your home with warmth and character throughout the holiday season.

Paperwhites

Now is the time to plant your paperwhite bulbs so they are ready for Christmas. They take about 4-6 weeks to bloom. I planted my paperwhite bulbs in a vintage gravy bowl and antique stoneware that I found at flea markets.

Paperwhite bulbs planted in vintage pieces also make beautiful gifts.

This year, I planted a few paperwhite bulbs in a collection of blue and white vintage teacups and saucers that I had thrifted and gifted to a few of our neighbors and friends.

Winterberries

We are fortunate enough to have three winterberry bushes growing in our backyard. Their red berries are a favorite of mine to add to vintage pieces for a vintage Christmas at home.

A winterberry bush is a type of deciduous holly known for its vibrant display of red berries, which bring color to the winter landscape.

During the spring and summer, it features green leaves alongside clusters of red berries, but as the seasons shift, the foliage drops, leaving behind striking, bare branches adorned with bright red berries.

This seasonal transformation makes winterberry a favorite for holiday decor and winter arrangements.

And they’re not just for Christmas.

I also use winterberries to warm our living spaces during the winter months. From centerpieces to a simple bundle of winterberry branches wrapped with a velvet bow, they make for charming holiday displays.

Vintage Christmas Snowshoes

One of my favorite holiday Christmas decor pieces is vintage snowshoes, which I use for interior and exterior decor.

This year, I’ve hung one snowshoe on each side of our fireside built-in bookcases and layered them with blue snowflakes that I found from The Collected online.

Then, I crisscrossed two larger snowshoes onto our front door and attached a burgundy bow—my chosen outdoor seasonal color.

Find more vintage Christmas snowshoe ideas in these posts:

Holiday Season Porch Preparations

I don’t think holiday preparations ever stop around here.

How about you?

Are you also constantly trimming, rearranging, and decorating for your vintage Christmas?

Vintage Skis and Evergreens

With an all-day snow forecast this past Thanksgiving, I began early decorating our front porch by wrapping each beam with 15-foot natural garlands.

Next, I added two pairs of vintage red skis, which I found at a yard sale this past summer.

Learn more about these yard sale red skis in this Red Decor Home Decorative Objects post.

And lastly, I filled these DIY urns with evergreens, white birch logs, pinecones, and natural twigs.

You may also find inspiration in this Holiday Preparations: Embracing Plaids and Tartans for Christmas post.

Vintage Christmas Lights

To complete our front porch’s vintage Christmas aesthetic, we’ve added a touch of old-world charm with large white bulb light strands.

These Christmas lights add a stunning focal point that illuminates the surrounding mountain views.

Our front porch is about 50 feet long, so we only needed two strands of these 25 ft old-school vintage lights. We placed hooks throughout the top beam, rested the strands into the hooks, and lit them up with an extension cord connected to an outdoor light socket.

Mountain Weaver Tablecloth

Porch Christmas Tree

And lastly, on the porch, we added this live Christmas tree with vintage-colored lights, similar to the vintage white lights we added to the porch trim above.

The tree rests inside an old whiskey barrel that we’ll allow to weather, giving it that rustic vintage vibe for future holidays.

And a little snow makes everything look a little prettier…

Vintage Christmas Wagon Wheel

What’s more classic in winter than an old wagon wheel?

This vintage wagon wheel was left to us by the previous owners of our Vermont home.

This year, I added a simple burgundy bow to match the ones on our vintage red skis and front door snowshoes and leaned it against our split rail fence.

I love the depth it adds to our mountain views. Its style is also so classic New England.

Swiss Nordic Alpine Theme

Living in Vermont, I am very drawn to the vintage ski lodge decor style, which includes vintage finds like old skis, skates, sleds, snowshoes, etc, so much so that I created an entire blog series around it.

This year, I’ll add our newest theme to this series, Nordic Alpine | Swiss Cross, to our holiday and winter decor. So be sure to sign up here for all the newest Christmas trimmings coming soon.

The Swiss Cross’s Significance

The Swiss Cross, as depicted on the Swiss flag, holds significant historical and cultural meaning. It features a white cross on a red background, symbolizing neutrality, peace, and protection. This design traces its origins to the medieval coat of arms of the Swiss Confederation.

The Swiss Cross has been widely adopted internationally as a symbol of aid, rescue, and reliability. For example:

The Swiss Cross’s association with trust, excellence, and service has made it a global symbol of dependability and care, and that is why I am adopting it as our vintage Christmas decor theme this year.

Christmas Wrapping Paper

Staying with our newly adopted vintage Nordic Alpine theme, I purchased this wrapping paper and ribbon to display the gifts under our Christmas tree.

I love the added pinecones and cinnamon sticks, too!

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In conclusion…

As you’ve seen, vintage Christmas decor can bring a touch of nostalgia and elegance to your holiday celebrations.

You can create a truly unique and personalized holiday display by incorporating vintage ornaments, vintage Christmas lights, and other antique finds.

Hand-made items like this pair of knit stockings I found at a Christmas Farmer’s Market make incredible Christmas decorations, too. This pair I hung on our fireplace with a burgundy bow. And after the holidays, they will serve as functional winter stockings!

Whether you source your decorations from local antique stores or online marketplaces, remember to add a modern twist to keep your space fresh and contemporary. So, embrace the past and present this holiday season, and let your vintage Christmas decor shine!

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This post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Next up on today’s Christmas home tours is Wendy of WM Design House, who is sharing her Blue and White Christmas Decor. Wendy is so creative; if you love blue, don’t miss her post; her ideas are stunning!