![]() Many Erzgebirge Christmas decorations honor the region’s mining history. Today the region is famous among collectors around the world for its handcrafted wooden Christmas ornaments, including nutcrackers, pyramids that spin in the heat of candles, and smoking men (wooden incense holders carved as miners and other figurines). Instead, she described a place I’d never heard of: the “Christmas ornament town” of Seiffen in the Erzgebirge, or Ore Mountains, a rural part of Saxony so devoted to holiday décor that Germans call it the “home of Christmas.” Was my vision of Christmas a relic of fairy tales? Or could it still exist in a country that celebrates the Christmas tree with a traditional folk song, “O Tannenbaum”? When I recently reconnected with a high school friend who had moved to Germany, I asked her about German Christmas markets, expecting her to extol the storybook wonders of Nuremberg or Dresden. Yet upon closer inspection, the decorations were flimsy, their designs repeating from vendor to vendor as if they shared the same supplier: an industrial factory in a distant land. Yes, the market stalls displayed an array of glittering ornaments for the tree and home. Yes, the fairy lights twinkled, the sweet scent of mulled wine drifted, and sometimes snow crunched under my heels. Though I visited the Christmas markets in European capitals like London, Paris and Vienna, I never really found it. Most kids know about Santa’s sleigh, but I believed he traveled on a magic speedboat.Īs an adult, I’ve searched for that old-fashioned Christmas, one of snow-tipped Yuletide cheer, sleigh rides, sugarplums and freshly cut pine trees trimmed with handcrafted ornaments. Growing up in sunny Southern California, my family strung lights on the palm trees in our yard and went to the beach on Christmas Eve. So pick and choose a handful of favorites- and get ready to ring in the holidays the old-fashioned way.For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this image of Christmas: a village nestled in a snowy valley, candlelit windows glowing against a night sky. ![]() Some nod to the near past, celebrating the festive traditions you grew up with, and others look even further back, drawing on the best Christmas decor ideas from previous decades. ![]() To help you piece together the perfect holiday decor scheme, we’ve rounded up some vintage Christmas decor ideas worth considering. By putting a fresh spin on vintage Christmas decorating ideas, you can craft a decor scheme that feels classic but fun and you can save the stress for less avoidable holiday horrors, like last-minute gift shopping or impromptu visits from family. Instead, revisit some old favorites- and make them feel new again. Don’t stress yourself out trying to dream up never-before-seen Christmas ideas. So, this Christmas, give yourself a break. People have had centuries to come up with great ways to celebrate the season, and they’ve left us with tons of festive ideas to pick through. Great Christmas decorations don’t have to be new or inventive.
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