Vintage Decor Styling Challenge: 4 Seasonal Decorating Prompts to Inspire Your Thrifted Style

The Countdown to Christmas is On

Welcome to the Christmas edition of the Vintage Decor Styling Challenge! This season, we’re bringing out the vintage ornaments, treasured antiques, thrifted Christmas finds, and all those little pieces that make holiday decorating so much fun.

You’ll find four creative decorating prompts plus one bonus challenge to inspire you to see your favorite vintage finds in a whole new Christmas light.

Try one prompt each week, tackle them all over a weekend, or simply pick the ideas that speak to you. There’s no schedule to follow and no need to buy anything new. Just a little Christmas inspiration and plenty of room to make it your own.

How The Vintage Decor Styling Challenge Works

Each season, I’ll share four fresh vintage decorating prompts plus a bonus idea to get your creativity going. Think of them as little invitations to experiment with your favorite antiques, thrifted treasures, and sentimental pieces in ways you might not have considered before.

I’ll share my own decorating experiences and photographs to get you started, but the fun is seeing what you come up with using your collections and personal style. That’s what Familiar Finds, Styled Your Way™ is all about.

Four Christmas Vintage Styling Prompts (Plus One Bonus!)

Ready to try something different with your Christmas decorating this year? From colorful retro Christmas lights and vintage ice skates to family heirlooms, antique musical instruments, and even your winter wardrobe, these five styling ideas invite you to look at familiar pieces in unexpected ways.

I’ll share a few of my favorite Christmas decorating experiences from our Vermont and Maine homes, along with photographs and ideas you can make your own. It’s Familiar Finds, Styled Your Way™, Christmas edition!

1. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone with Christmas Lights

I’ve always been a white Christmas lights kind of girl. I love their clean, classic look, especially on our covered porch. But a couple of years ago, I decided to shake things up and decorate one of our outdoor Christmas trees with oversized, old-fashioned colorful lights. They’re actually new, retro-style bulbs I found on Amazon, but they have that nostalgic Christmas look I remember so well. Even my husband wasn’t convinced at first! Well, let me tell you, those colorful lights completely changed the way I looked at Christmas decorating. Explore more in my Après Ski Christmas Porch Decor: Vintage Ski Lodge Style In The Vermont Mountains post.

Your challenge: Step outside your usual Christmas lighting routine this year! If you’ve always used white lights, try colorful retro bulbs, all blue, or even a bold red. And if you’re a colorful-lights person, experiment with warm white twinkle lights instead. From porch trees and outdoor greenery to indoor Christmas displays, sometimes changing something as simple as the lights can make everything feel new again. You might be surprised by what you love!

Homes & Gardens recently featured Ann’s Christmas thoughts in their article, “Years Later, Katie Holmes’ Vintage Christmas Tree Still Shines Bright – A Masterclass in Nostalgic Holiday Design That Never Goes Out of Style.” “Retro and vintage Christmas decorations flood us with memories of our youth or days gone by”. Read the article here for all the old-fashioned holiday insights.

2. Give Vintage Ice Skates a Place in Your Holiday Decor

Several years ago, I found the sweetest pair of light blue ice skates trimmed in fur on eBay, complete with their original box. My readers absolutely loved them, and I’ve wondered ever since why I don’t decorate with ice skates more often! Then, at the Country Living Fair this fall, I spotted a green antique hutch with its doors wide open and a pair of white ice skates hanging inside. I couldn’t stop looking at it! It’s exactly the kind of unexpected decorating idea I love discovering in vintage booth displays, and it reminded me just how much fun you can have with something as simple as a pair of old skates.

Your Challenge: Find a pair of ice skates and give them an unexpected place in your Christmas decorating this year! Swap the white laces for bright red ones, hang a pair from a wreath, tuck some greenery into the tops, or display old black leather hockey skates alongside a vintage sled. Look for them at thrift stores, antique shops, local swaps, or even in your own closet. I’ve collected a few pairs myself; see more in my 13 Vintage Ice Skates Decoration Ideas: Too Pretty to Put Away post. I’d love to see what you come up with, too!

3. Bring Back a Family Heirloom or Start a Christmas Tradition of Your Own

Every Christmas, I find myself returning to the attic, pulling out pieces my mother collected over the years, from old Christmas mangers and vintage ornaments to antique horns and bugles. Some have been part of our family’s Christmas celebrations for decades. Others inspire traditions of my own, like the three wreaths I hang on our Maine front door each Christmas, a tradition inspired by my mother’s very first Christmas in the house. It’s amazing how a familiar decoration, an old photograph, or even a childhood memory can become something we look forward to bringing back year after year.

Your Challenge: Bring a family Christmas heirloom out of storage and find a special way to display it this year. Decorate a tree with inherited ornaments, frame an old Christmas photograph, or revisit a holiday tradition you remember from childhood. And if you don’t have family heirlooms, why not start a tradition of your own? Choose something meaningful that you’ll enjoy bringing out every December, whether it’s a collection of vintage Christmas cards, a special wreath, or an ornament you add to each year. Who knows? Someday, it might become someone else’s treasured Christmas memory.

Looking for more family heirloom decorating ideas? Explore a few more of these reader favorites:

4. Decorate with Something That Makes a Sound

One of my favorite Christmas collections belonged to my mother: antique bugles and horns that she used to hang right on her Christmas tree! These days, I bring out her collection every holiday season, often decorating our mantel with the old brass instruments and fresh greenery. And wouldn’t you know it, while cleaning out our attic this summer, I discovered even more of her collection! I’ve always loved the idea of decorating with musical instruments at Christmas, from old trumpets and violins to vintage drums, sleigh bells, and antique cowbells. There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about bringing these forgotten instruments into holiday decorating.

Your Challenge: Find something that makes a sound and give it a place in your Christmas decor! Hang an old trumpet with a sprig of evergreen, display a violin on a bookshelf, tuck a vintage drum beneath the tree, or gather a few brass bells along your mantel. Look for inexpensive instruments at thrift stores, flea markets, school sales, and antique shops. Even a single sleigh bell or old brass dinner bell can make a charming Christmas decoration. Think beyond traditional ornaments and see what musical treasures you can find!

5. Bonus Prompt: Decorate with Something You Can Wear!

Who says your favorite winter accessories belong tucked away in a closet? Some of my favorite vintage ski lodge decorating ideas come from things you can actually wear! Think handmade wool mittens, old-fashioned winter boots, vintage ski sweaters, fur collars, leather gloves, and colorful scarves. I love draping a vintage sweater over a chair for an après-ski gathering, hanging winter hats on antique hooks, or tucking greenery into a pair of old boots. These everyday winter pieces bring so much personality to Christmas decorating, especially here in New England.

And I can’t wait to share with you what I’m doing with an old thrifted fur muff I recently found at a thrift store!

Your Bonus Challenge: Head into your closet, attic, or favorite antique shop and find something wearable to decorate with this Christmas! String handmade mittens into a garland, drape a wool scarf over vintage snowshoes or an old sled, hang a fur muff from an antique hook, or display a favorite ski sweater on a chair or vintage hanger. Even a pair of well-worn leather gloves can become part of a charming winter vignette. Have fun mixing your winter wardrobe with your Christmas decorations. You might never look at your closet quite the same way again!

Until Next Season…

I hope these Christmas vintage styling prompts inspire you to try something a little different this holiday season. Whether you’re experimenting with colorful Christmas lights, decorating with old ice skates, or bringing out a treasured family collection, I hope you discover a few new ways to enjoy the pieces you already love.

I’ll see you back here for our Winter Vintage Decor Styling Challenge, with fresh decorating ideas for the New Year, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day! There will be plenty of vintage finds, unexpected styling ideas, and a little New England winter inspiration along the way.

Be sure to sign up here so you don’t miss the next challenge. Until then, happy vintage decorating!

More Vintage Christmas Decorating Ideas

Want to keep the Christmas decorating inspiration going? Explore more of my favorite vintage Christmas decorating ideas, from antique holiday collections and festive New England porches to unexpected thrifted finds and old-fashioned Christmas displays. You might just discover your next decorating idea!

Pin it for later!