Greeting Old Friends - Christmas Ornaments From The Past

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Tis the season and soon I will be greeting old friends ~ Christmas ornaments from past seasons. Each year I store away these wonderful treasures I have collected over the last decade or more and each year gingerly unwrapping each glass, spun cotton & scrap ornament it is like greeting old friends.

My ornaments span the time from late Victorian / early 1900's to the ones from the 1940's and '50's. The latter ornaments are like the ones I grew up seeing on our tree at home so they do bring back a sense of nostalgic. Some were from my husband's family but most have been purchased here and there. And yes, even though some of these are a bit worn they do not lose their appeal. Again and again a magical moment happens as each illuminate their brilliancy once they are placed upon the tree.

My tree is also a wonderful 6-1/2 foot feather tree dating from the late 1920's - 1930's. When the branches are open it has a span of about 48" wide so it is quite good size & does hold a good many ornaments. And yes, I do put small Christmas lights on it and believe me its a pain! Still the end result of seeing the tree decked in all its glory makes it worth the effort. It usually takes me about 5 hours to complete this whole task.

The ornament in the foreground is an earlier ornament of tinsel and spun wire. A bird scrap adorns the center of the ornament. The glass & enameled garland I am especially fond of & was so thrilled when I discovered it. Actually, I purchased about 8 garlands all at the same time and all from the same lot although only two were the same. The one pictured is about 2" diameter. Usually the smaller beaded ones can be found readily but the larger ones not as easily. If these were made though there definitely had to be others. The glass is very fragile on the garlands so they would have broken quite easily and possibly not many survived.

The beaded glass ornament with the long loops is a Japanese import to America from the 1920's maybe a little later. It is a special one found among my mother-in-law's boxes of Christmas ornaments and it always holds a special place on the tree each year.

I love old Christmas ornaments but I am not a true collector as other friends of mine that are members of the Golden Glow Club. If you want to know more about this organization read here

It is fun to share and hope you have enjoyed reading my post.