Vintage Christmas Ornaments

There is something about the winter holiday season that brings up assorted memories of family, friends and times gone by. I think this is one reason that vintage decorations — even fake vintage decorations — are still popular today.

Each decade had its own trend in ornaments. For me, I remember the late 1980s and early 1990s for the Star Trek ornaments I collected from Hallmark. The first one was a shuttle from the original voyage that had an audio recording of Spock saying “Live long and prosper.”

In the 1960s, futuristic ornaments were also popular because of the Apollo space program. You can find plenty of wonderful Christmas ornaments from this time period that feature cosmonauts, space ships and iridescent orbs.

Once so futuristic, both these types of ornaments are now considered vintage, at least for some. When I think vintage, however, I think of ornaments from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

1930s Christmas Ornaments
Christmas tree decorations from the depression era included bells, balls, and tinsel. The most common topper was a golden haired angel.

The five-and-dime chain, F.W. Woolworth is credited with encouraging the tradition of Christmas ornaments in the U.S. In the 1930s, they began selling German glass ornaments, selling out in two days.

1940s
Around World War II, and American company, Corning Glass, began producing glass ornaments. So much of the ornaments from this time are made of glass.

1950s
Plastic ornaments really took of in the ’50s. So many were gaudy and bright, and most look so cheap … probably because they were.