How to Use Vintage Decor At Christmas

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You don’t have to buy all new decorations to have a beautifully decorated home at Christmas. Scour yard sales, barn sales and antique stores year round to find vintage decor to use at for the holidays.

I love the nostalgia of Christmas, and that shows in all the vintage decor I use when I’m decking the halls.

Recently, my son told me he likes how I make things look “old fashioned” at Christmas.

That’s one of the highest compliments he could have paid me.

Tour Our Home Decorated for Christmas

To see how we have decorated our home for Christmas through the years, visit these posts:

• 2018 Christmas Home Tour
• 2017 Christmas Home Tour
• 2016 Christmas Home Tour
• 2015 Christmas Home Tour
• 2014 Christmas Home Tour
• 2013 Christmas Home Tour

As much as I enjoy browsing stores, magazines, catalogs and even blogs looking at all the gorgeous, brand-new designer Christmas displays, I can’t resist old, previously loved, timeless vintage decor pieces.

I’m joining the third annual Home for the Holidays blog tour sponsored by Sondra Lyn at Home! today. Since I’m still putting the finishing touches on my home tour, I’m sharing some a few sneak peeks and my favorite vintage Christmas looks.

The Home for the Holidays tour features some of the most awesome decor, craft and recipe ideas you’ll find anywhere with 30 blogs sharing over the week. Be sure you come back here every day to get the links for that day’s featured blogs! Here’s a run-down of the topics and featured blogs:

Monday – Holiday Mantels

Country Design Style | Duke Manor Farm | Domestically Speaking

Organize and Decorate Everything | Sondra Lyn at Home | Two Purple Couches

Tuesday – Holiday Recipes

An Alli Event | Not Just Paper and Paint  | Nourish and Nestle

StoneGable  | Sweet Pea | What Meegan Makes

Wednesday – Holiday Crafts

An Extraordinary Day | Lovely Etc | Lilacs and Longhorns

Lydi Out Loud | Salvage Sister and Mister | Weekend Craft

Thursday – Holiday Decor

Atta Girl Says | Chatfield Court | Create & Babble

Designers Sweet Spot | The Heathered Nest | Worthing Court

Friday – Holiday Tablescapes

Celebrating Everyday Life |Cottage at the Crossroads | Cottage in the Oaks

The Everyday Home | Postcards from the Ridge |  2 Bees in a Pod

Now let’s get back to my vintage decor for Christmas.

I shop yard sales, barn sales, thrift stores, antique shops and my mama’s house looking for vintage items I can use to decorate at Christmas and throughout the year. (I have even been known to grab things left as trash on the side of the road.)

This wooden stove board, decorated with a homemade swag made from Dollar Tree items, was a freebie from a friend.

A lot of these vintage finds show up on my Christmas porches.

Sometimes, the things I find are definitely Christmasy or wintry, like this vintage sports gear.

Or my collection of Shiny Brite ornaments.

I just love a tree all decorated in vintage glass ornaments.

But more often than not, the vintage decor pieces I use at Christmas are just everyday items, like a pile of old books, a plaid Scotch tape tin and a green seltzer bottle.

The colors, and the addition of things like greenery or bottlebrush trees, make them seasonally appropriate.

A milk glass bowl is perfect for setting a holiday scene.

I love old trucks and cars. Add some trees and snowballs, and you’re set. And the quilt? My mom bought it decades ago at a yard sale for 75 cents!

I love filling old vases and bowls at Christmas with florals, ornaments and greenery.

A silver ice bucket makes a nice planter for a poinsettia.

And this old tennis trophy bowl looks really festive filled with greenery, antlers and sleigh bells.

Thrifted blue-and-white chinoiserie vases and pottery are so pretty when paired with evergreens and seasonal ribbons.

Olive buckets are great for snowballs, pinecones or greenery.

Red enamelware vessels are great for holiday propping, for Christmas and the Fourth of July!

Vintage toys help set a festive scene.

Roller skates and ice skates are pretty when adorned with holiday patterns and ribbon.

I go mad for anything plaid, whether it’s a rug, a vintage train case or a Thermos.

If you need a pop of red, think outside of box! This vintage fire alarm box is definitely seasonally appropriate.

And let’s not forget about a little green…

This chippy crock sits on my kitchen island year round, but at Christmas, I’ll add a mini tree and ornaments to it.

A green Allsorts bin looks pretty styled with a tree inside.

An old wooden toolbox, painted a fabulous green, is the perfect Christmas coffee table.

A green demijohn filled with sparkling lights and a green glass decanter definitely give off Christmas vibes.

This vintage dough bowl that was part of my Christmas mantel decor didn’t have to go back into the attic on Dec. 26.

Sometimes, it’s all in how you style things.

This old silver tray isn’t Christmasy, but it sure looks that way with the addition of a boxwood wreath, jingle bell ribbon and other accessories.

Old books, especially green and red ones, make pretty Christmas displays.

A brass deer takes on a festive air in December.

Santa’s naughty and nice list is an old piano roll.

And did you see the Christmas wreath I made from vintage rhinestone jewelry?

These stockings are made from old burlap bags.

A message of joy turns a vintage child’s chalkboard into Christmas decor.

Vintage kitchen utensils and linens in a wire basket are a fun holiday touch on the kitchen table.

Fill thrifted teacups and Christmas mugs with bottlebrush trees and old ornaments to create a pretty vignette.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas for using vintage decor at Christmastime.

How do you plan to use vintage items in your holiday decorating? Do you collect vintage Christmas ornaments or other antique holiday decorations?

Pin This! How to Use Vintage Decor at Christmas

Now, be sure to visit the other bloggers on the Christmas tour. Start with today’s category, Home Decor, then come back and visit all the other participants.

Home for the Holidays 2016

Holiday Mantels

Holiday Recipes

Holiday Crafts

Holiday Decor

Holiday Tablescapes