TRADITION!

With Chrismas just days away I'm packing as much into one post as possible, so if you are here for Vintage Christmas Monday, the ornaments are for you. If you stopped in for Metamorphosis Monday, it's immediately after the photos of the ornaments. If it's Deck the Halls that brought you here, well then I guess all applies. LOL

These ornaments are not the glistening glass ornaments that so many associate with vintage Christmas ornaments, but the paper mache ornaments I'm sharing today are definitely vintage. The four little members of the marching band were among the very first ornaments I ever purchased for myself. It was 1970, and I had recently graduated from the University, was on my own teaching school, and I wanted a Christmas tree for my apartment.

Like many young girls at the time, I was a regular at The Pappagallo Shop. These ornaments, handmade and imported from Mexico, were available there. I surmise that the signature, De Sela, is that of the artist. These paper mache ornaments and a few boxes of shiny red balls were the decorations on that first tree.

"Pa rum pa pum pum" Hear the little drummer boy?

Sweet Little Miss Sunshine

"Angels We Have Heard on High"

And Jolly Old St. Nick says:

Wishing each of you the Happiest of Holidays!

Each of you have been so kind and thoughtful to me since I began this blog in August. I've made many wonderful friends throughout Blogville and truly appreciate each of you.

With less than a week till Christmas, time is precious so I'm posting this for both Pink Saturday and Metmorphosis Monday. Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound has declared this week to be all about holiday traditions. Christmas for me is TRADITION. There are so many wonderful memories tied up in the things we repeat year after year, and the decorations are like old friends returning as we unpack them each year during this special holiday.

Last Monday I shared the tradition of "Our Own Little Forest" and some of the ornaments we've gathered through the years here. Today is the tradition of our mantel dressed for Christmas. The holidays for us are fairly simple times. We decorate the house and enjoy spending special times with family and friends, but you'll not find stacks of wrapped packages under our trees. As I said in the earlier "The Stockings Were Hung . . ." post, my husband and I continue the stocking tradition with a bit of a twist. We don't wrap gifts for each other to have under our tree. Instead we fill each other's stocking with presents. Our tradition requires a bit of creativity to find things that will fit in the stockings, but you'd be surprised at what wonderful gifts can fit into Christmas stockings.

This year our fall mantel was simply dressed with a few small antique boxes, a grouping of wooden pears, and . . .

this heart shaped wreath of faux berries and wooden leaves.

For the Christmas season the mantel has experienced a bit of a Metmorphosis. Though I always decorate the mantel, I usually do something different each year. In recent years some of our Santa figures have taken center stage on the mantel, but this year I wanted to use more natural elements.

The simple heart shaped berry wreath for fall was switched out for a wreath of red berries. I added wired ribbon bows used in previous years and an adorable Mac Kenzie-Childs inspired reindeer ornament that was a special gift from a friend last Christmas.

I started with fresh cut magnolia leaves and laced them across the top of the mantel. Then I added a few of the wooden pears back in along with an antique English tea caddy.

I liked the way the various textures and wood finishes mixed in with the leathery magnolia leaves.

The tall pear on the right is actually a music box. It was a thank you gift from Susan, the friend I recently co-chaired with on the Quimper Club International Annual Meeting. Her note said, "We make a good pair!" It's a treasure from a treasured friend!

A couple of weeks ago I shared my childhood memory of my pink Christmas stocking here. I mentioned that my husband and I carry on the stocking tradition with a bit of a twist. We began this tradition the first year we were married. I truthfully don't recall why we did it, but I think it had to do with the limitations of our budget. My Christmas stocking had always been my favorite part of Christmas.

My husband was in graduate school, and we were living on a slim budget. I knew stitching a pair of needlepoint stockings for us was out of the question, so I decided instead to purchase some fabric and simply sew us each a stocking. These large stockings of quilted patchwork trimed in eyelet and rick-rack served us well for the first twenty years of our marriage. We even had a stocking for our beloved lasho apso.

When we moved into our current home, I felt this fire place and mantel dictated a bit more sophistication. I purchased a pair of velvet stockings. The velvets are a rich red and emerald green. The green embossed with a swirl, and the red with stylized stars. They still aren't the needlepoint stockings I intended to stitch for us, but they are certainly an improvement over the folksy quilted fabric.

The little reindeer ornaments are from our first Christmas together. It's tradition to hang them on our stockings. The wooden S is a handmade ornament that my brother-in-law made and gave to us in the early years of our marriage. Since we don't have names on the stockings these wooden initials, along with the gender specific reindeer, identify whose stocking belongs to who.

Yes, the stockings have changed through the years, but the tradition of "stocking gifts" remains steadfast in our home. Thanks for stopping by today. I do hope you'll take time to leave a comment below before visiting Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound for more holiday traditons shared for Pink Saturday. Be certain to stop by to see Liz @ Life at the Gables. Liz lives in Scotland, she has shared some fun family traditions, and she is having a Christmas Eve giveaway.

On Monday, click here to visit Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch. Susan is sure to have something creative to share and here for Vintage Christmas Monday. Then head over to Joan's @ Thoughts From Over the Rainbow for Deck the Halls on Tuesday.

Childhood Treasures

Miniature Handpainted Bell

Another Vintage Christmas Monday, and this one takes us back to the 1940s-1950s. This little bell hangs on our Christmas tree each year. The tiny 1" porcelian bell is handpainted and simply marked with the words "Japan" on the inside. It was tied to a Christmas present that my husband received as a young child. My mother-in-law had kept it and hung it on the family tree each year. She gave it to us for our tree the first year we were married. It has the sweetest little sound, but more than that it holds the sweetest of memories. It is obviously a small trinket but my mother-in-law valued this little bell enough to keep it safe all these years so that her son could have it for his family Christmas trees years later.

Plaster of Paris Santa Dated 1940

This little Santa figure is another Christmas piece from my husband's childhood. The paint is chippy and flaking off here and there, but then it does have 1940 imprinted on the back rim of the base. So at close to 70 years of age, I think this Santa looks pretty good! This little guy was one of a pair that was among my mother-in-law's Christmas decorations. One of my sisters-in-law has the other. The Santa figures are made of plaster of Paris or gypsum plaster. Curious as to why this is called plaster of Paris, I googled and found the answer in Wikipedia. "A large gypsum depoist in Montmarte in Paris is the source of the name." I have many Santa figures that have found their way into our home through the years, but this one and the one featured below are very dear to my heart.

Plastic Santa Light Cover, c 1950

The jolly red Santa above is from my childhood Christmas trees. When I was a child the Christmas lights that we placed on our trees were large colored blubs. They would get hot and were both dangerous to touch and a fire hazard. I much prefer the tiny white lights of today. Not only are they much safer, but I prefer the tiny sparkle of the white lights as they glisten through out the branches of the tree. You can see in the photo below that this Santa was meant to attach to one of the large bulbs as a type of shade. When the lights were on, Santa would glow from within as he hung on the Christmas tree. I recall other such shades in various forms on our tree, but this one was always my favorite. My mom gave it to me after I married. You can see that he, too, is a bit worn. I always have him out during the holidays. The two little mice figures by his side are a bit newer. They were given to me in 1973 by the aunt who made my pink Christmas stocking that I shared here last week.

Back of Santa Light Cover, c 1950

In this photo you can see where this little guy could be attached to a light bulb on the string of Christmas lights. Such a simple piece of plastic that reflects the joys of childhood Christmas trees.

Thank you for joining me today for Vintage Christmas Monday. Please leave a comment and tell me about something that hung on your childhood Christmas tree. Then click here to join Joan @ Anything Goes Here to see more vintage Christmas treasures.

The Stockings Were Hung....

It's Pink Saturday and for the month of December Beverly has asked us to share a response to a weekly theme. This week we are to share a childhood memory of a special holiday.

I suspect that as a child I considered every Christmas a special holiday, but I do remember when I received this pink stocking. I was one of four children, and one of our aunts hand beaded each of us a special Christmas stocking one year. Each was made of felt and adorned with sequins, beads, and little jingle bells.

My stocking was pink with a baby blue cuff, and my name was spelled out in sequins and glass beads. I thought it was the most beautiful Christmas stocking I'd ever seen. I was so excited at the thought that Santa would fill it with goodies just for me.

Santa was even right there on my stocking toting his bag of toys. My aunt had beautifully appliquéd different figures on each stocking, and meticulously outlined each appliqué with shiny glass beads.

The Christmas tree on my stocking was filled with sparkly sequins to represent ornaments and more sequins sprinkled across below and on the little packages under the tree.

On the toe were two shiny jingle bells positioned on a blue strap so they would ring when the stocking moved. We didn't have a fireplace and mantel, but we always hung our stockings somewhere in the living room near our Christmas tree. Santa came to our house on Christmas Eve, and we woke to delights of surprise on Christmas morning. There would always be two or three gifts from Santa for each of us children along with something that we all could share and enjoy as a family. I have vivid memories of rushing into the room on Christmas morning to find my gifts from Santa. One year it was a little red cash register, another my beloved teddy bear, and some years it was a special doll. My stocking would be filled to the top. Santa always filled it with an apple, an orange, nuts, a big peppermint candy cane, other candies, and some special gift. Sometimes there would be coloring books with a new box of crayons, a paint set, or perhaps a book of paper dolls. As the years passed and we became teenagers, Santa continued to fill our stockings. He always knew just what would make us happy! My stocking was my favorite part of Christmas. Today this little pink stocking has lost its luster of my youth, but it will always be special to me. I appreciated the love that went into making this treasure.

My husband and I continue the stocking tradition with a bit of a twist. We don't wrap gifts for each other to have under our tree. Instead we fill each other's stockings with presents. Our stockings are larger than the pink felt stocking of my childhood, but still it is a challenge to find things that fit within these special socks. I often find things through the year and save them for my husband's Christmas stocking. Our tradition requires a bit of creativity as well. Sometimes there might be a clue that leads one of us to something too large to fit within the stocking. One year my stocking was filled with lots of old, costume jewelry, but when I pulled out the last piece it was a beautiful strand of pearls. Wonderful gifts can come in small packages!

Thanks for visiting today. Please leave a comment below to let me know you stopped by.

And a big thank you to our hostess Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound for organizing Pink Saturday each week. Be sure to visit all the other participants who've left a post today sharing a childhood memory about a special holiday.

Don't forget to stop by Anything Goes Here on Monday for more Vintage Christmas.

Christmas 1914

The Princess Mary Christmas Tin 1914

Today I'm joining Joan over at Anything Goes Here for Vintage Christmas Monday. Joan has asked others to share their vintage Christmas items, so today I'm sharing a special gift I received from a friend a few years ago. This is a beautiful brass Christmas tin that was produced in 1914. I have it sitting on a table in my living room during the holiday season.

This tin and thousands of others just like it were a gift from their nation for those men and women serving in the British armed forces on Christmas Day 1914. Princess Mary, the seventeen year old daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, wanted to do something special for the men and women serving their country on the battlefield. She created the "Sailors and Soldier Christmas Fund" to provide a gift for those serving in the war on Christmas Day. The response was so great that the plan eventually included all those in the King's uniform both at home and abroad.

The brass boxes about 3" x 5" x 1.5" deep contained a variety of gifts. For the men on the front lines, the boxes contained tobacco related items. Those who did not smoke received tins with sweets, and the tins for the nurses contained chocolates. Most of the tins also contained a pencil within a bullet case holder.

The polished brass tins were embossed with IMPERIUM BRITANNICUM, Princess Mary's profile surrounded by a laurel wreath with the monogram M on either side, and the names of Britain's allies: France, Russia, Japan, Belgium, Serbia, and Montenegro.

My little tin is in excellent condition. I wonder to whom it might have once belonged and what the original contents might have been. It's a sweet remembrance of those who sacrificed so much during the first World War.

Perhaps you have a family member who served in the British forces during this time and one of these tins is in your possession. Thank you for stopping by today. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. I always appreciate your notes.

Deana @ Alchemy fine Living has recently posted about the Pay It Forward gift that she received from me. Deana owns a store that sells a unique blend of antiques and vintage home decor items. She is always sharing a great design idea or a fabulous makeover of a vintage item. Deana is one talented lady! If you would like to play the game, hurry on over to Deana's. The first three to respond will receive a PIF gift from Deana.

Then visit Joan @ Anything Goes Here for a list of participants who have vintage Christmas treasures to share.