Vintage Christmas Decorations 2020 | Part 2

Welcome back! I’m excited to finish showing you our Vintage Christmas Decorations 2020! You can see the post previous to this one for Part One!

This time let’s look closer at the details!

our simple Christmas decorations

Do you remember this spot from our last post? Our fireplace mantle has looked different through the seasons and this Christmas season I decided to dress it with several of the handmade snowmen we have made over the years.

living room with fireplace, Christmas tree, snowmen on mantle

snowmen galore!

This cute pair was made in masses! Several years ago, my friend Kathy and I made a ton of these snowmen together. She made them for her family and I made them for ours.

It was fun to give them as gifts but I must admit, the real fun and enjoyment came from time spent with my friend 🙂

handmade snowmen on top of fireplace mantle

vintage style Christmas decorations

This little fella was made with scraps of cotton batting as the body. At the time, I thought it was brilliant to use cotton batting for the body – that is until I started to stuff his body with poly-fill. I stuffed a little too much and tore the batting!!

Those areas were patched up with some wool scraps and were definitely a happy accident! Look closely and you will see the wool patch on the bottom.

I love the idea of patching up the damaged and torn especially with vintage wool scraps!

BTW, he sits nicely on top of a hand-turned wood candle holder, doesn’t he?

handmade snowman on mantle with spruce sapling in potted container

This snowman has the cutest sweater, don’t you think? It is a section from a real wool sweater, buttons, and all! And this one is holding a babe! See the shiny silver thingy in her hand? That was a gift ‘bow’ from a gift we received and I thought it was too cute to toss in the trash!

handmade snowman sitting on top of mantle in a vintage cast iron pot. snowman is dressed in upcycle seater hat and jacket

handmade snowman decorations

This fella is wearing a quilted jacket. Quilting is one of my hobbies (seriously, I have too many hobbies!), and using the scraps from several quilts, the sewing machine and I whipped this little jacket up. Many of the fabrics are vintage-inspired prints.

Snowmen need to be warm too 🙂

He sits on top of a vintage cast-iron pot. BTW, I have made stew in that pot using heat from the fireplace!

handmade snowman in quilted jacket holding terra cotta pot of pine cones

the fashion show continues…

This snowman is sporting an outfit from J.Crew (is this starting to sound like a fashion show for snowmen??)

The 100% wool sweater from J.Crew was used to dress this fella. We even found a use for the tag!

There is a whole blog post teaching how I made this snowman! Hop over and take a look. It would be a great project for the winter!

sweater snowman DIY Christmas project

mini tutorial

Do you like the snowman I made this year? I don’t have a full tutorial for him, but let me tell you the easy steps. I’m sure you can figure it out!

  • cut off the sleeve from a thrifted sweater
  • stitch up the wide end (the shoulder end)
  • stuff the sleeve from the cuff with poly-fil
  • tie into three sections making the bottom section fatter
  • stitch the opening closed (the cuff end)
  • add a hat and scarf from thrifted sweaters
  • buttons for the eyes and nose

This snowman is dressed in a similar way that we dressed the wooden snowmen in an Instagram tutorial for the wooden snowmen we made this year for our shop.

Hop over there to watch and use the steps to dress this sweater snowman! Grab a child and make snowmen together!!

close up of handmade snowman with painted gift boxes near and Christmas tree in background

Speaking of hand-turned wooden snowmen, my husband has made many snowmen for our local vendor booth. Our customers love seeing the new snowmen that we come up with!

Don’t they look adorable in the vintage Pfaltzgraff crocks? I have had the blue Yorktowne pattern for more than 30 years! We use them occasionally throughout the year and especially during the holidays.

Let me just say, our snowmen stay out all winter. They’re not just for vintage-style Christmas decorations, they also make wonderful winter decor!

close up of handturned wood snowmen dressed in upcycled sweater hats and scarves

more Christmas decor details

Let’s move into the dining room and take a closer look at the vintage Christmas decorations we have.

dining room showing Christmas tree, dining set and large vintage storage cabinet

vintage Christmas decorations on the buffet

Our buffet was decked out simply.

A gold pine cone from our yard. I sprayed these pine cones over 20 years ago. We lived in a different house then so it is special to still have these pines cones.

Our kids helped to gather them and I’m pretty sure they helped to spray them too 🙂

mistletoe

We’ve added pine cones from the yard where we live now. It’s a nice mix of the old and the new 🙂

Hubby collected some mistletoe for us this year. He walks in the woods near our home often and came back with this bunch one day. He had to shoot it down because mistletoe grows high in the treetops!

hand built creche

Hubby loves to be in his workshop! If you have been around here long, you know how many amazing things he can produce in that workshop!

Like this hand-built creche made from reclaimed barn wood!

Chipping paint, a ladder, and fencing make up the unique little structure. We bought each other the Hestia figurines over a span of several years. They are substantial pieces that our grandkids will be able to play with one day.

For them to grow up knowing that God intends us to be in a relationship with Him and to not keep Him at a distance is so important! That is my prayer with this nativity 🙂

Did you notice the children’s chairs hanging on the wall above the nativity? They are a great place to hang this strand of handmade vintage-style bell garland.

close up of handmade bell garland hanging from children's chairs

woodland critter tree

Our woodland critter tree sits on top of a vintage high chair in the dining room. We filled it with little birds and squirrels. As I see more woodland critters over the next years, I will add to this tree 🙂

Some of the birdies didn’t have the best hangers so I glued clothespins to their bodies. Now they sit exactly where I want them!

Our local Hobby Lobby was stocked full of these adorable owls! Isn’t he the cutest? And that squirrel is just too much fun! I found the squirrels and the little tree at Wilderlove Handmade and Vintage, the Delaware shop where we have a vendor booth. I knew they would be perfect for my vintage Christmas decorations this year.

creative outlet

A fair amount of my time is spent right here. Watercolor painting is a creative outlet and a way to feed the creativity needed to keep our business fresh.

Want to watch a video of how to paint these robins for yourself?? You can check out this YouTube video. It’s a super easy painting and so fun to do!

dining table with small Christmas tree and candle centerpiece with watercolor supplies

kitchen vintage Christmas decorations

Let’s see some of the vintage Christmas decorations we have in our kitchen!

BTW, look hard into the background and you will see life. What I mean is, we live here and I never want to give the appearance that our home is always perfect. It’s not by any means. And I like that.

Tidy is good but if it makes your people uncomfortable, then it’s not so good. You find that balance for your home, ok?

view from dining room looking into kitchen. small tree and candles on dining table

Here are my people. As of this writing, we just added one to our group! Little Benjamin arrived this month! He is the perfect little bundle and it will be sooooo good to see him in person!

Vintage Christmas decorations start with this antique dresser. It has been in my hubby’s family for years. I’ve used an ironstone bowl, an ironstone sugar bowl and of course, an ironstone pitcher to hold old-fashioned Christmas decorations like dried orange slices, pine cones, and baby’s breath.

Did you notice the tennis ball under the antique dresser? That’s Barkly’s idea of vintage Christmas decorations. The tennis ball is circa 2019!

dresser with Christmas decor on top including handmade snowmen, small Christmas tree, brass/copper lantern and ironstone dishes

3-star general

This snowman came to be during the time our son served in the military. He’s a 3-star general with a sweet carrot nose 🙂

We also have one of the first snowmen hubby turned! Don’t you love the little stick nose??

An ironstone bowl filled with dried orange slices, pine cones, and real cotton sits on top of a hand-turned pedestal. I’m thinking of permanently attaching the pedestal to the ironstone bowl because it’s just so cute!! What are your thoughts??

And yes, that brass and copper lantern in the background has one of our price tags on it!! Nothing is safe around here!

vintage Christmas decorations in the entryway

Just to the right of that dresser is our front door. This area gets changed quite a bit. This organ stool had the perfect original chippy paint so I sealed it with General Finishes High Performance in Flat (my fave finish for an authentic vintage finish!) All it needs is a quick reupholstery of the seat.

It was too cute to sit in my workshop so into the house it came. This is the perfect spot for it, don’t you think?

front entryway corner with vintage piano stool as a table with handmade snowmen, plant and little lamp on top

snowmen triplets

Triplet snowmen sit in a handmade wood bowl (yes, hubby makes bowls too!!), a little Watermelon Peperomia plant, and a little lamp sit together perfectly!

Did you notice the timer for the lamp? Timers are my best friend. Well, except for our Roomba named Hazel. She’s really my besty!

front entryway corner with vintage piano stool as a table with handmade snowmen, plant and little lamp on top

Our kitchen island centerpiece is simple and practical. Gathered together in this vintage metal tool caddy are a few oranges, a candle, and salt and pepper shakers. Just enough vintage Christmas decorations for the kitchen island!

vintage metal tool caddy with small Christmas tree, oranges, salt & pepper shakers used as kitchen island centerpiece

Look at the metal tool caddy closely and you will see it has a copper banding on the handle. Tool caddies and toolboxes are so useful and such an easy way to bring the vintage farmhouse look that is also useful!

vintage metal tool caddy with small Christmas tree, several oranges, candle and salt & pepper shakers used as kitchen island centerpiece

our cafe

Our cafe is the hub of our morning around here. It sits to the right of the fridge. The last thing we need is a bunch of frills getting in the way of our beloved coffee pot!! Move over and let me get to the coffee!

A hand-painted Christmas card attached to the wall with Washi tape, a small tree from Hobby Lobby, and let’s call it a day!

graphic showing show piano stool with snowmen, plant and small lamp on top

To the left of the fridge is our back entryway. We come into our home from the back door that enters the laundry and pantry area. This spot is just inside the kitchen and is the perfect spot to put shoes on.

A handpainted nativity scene hangs and continues to remind us of the meaning of this season. Even though the exact dates could be off a bit, this season is a good reminder of the birth that happened and the death that followed 33 years later so that we could have life.

Let’s always remember that He is the best gift. All we need to do is accept and believe.

wall decor including printed canvas with birthdates and a watercolor painting of the nativity

The canvas print has all the dates of our birthdays and our wedding day 🙂

wall decor artwork - printed canvas with birthdates and watercolor painting of nativity

Thank you for stopping by for a visit with our vintage Christmas decorations! We have truly enjoyed having you and sharing our Christmas decor with you 🙂

We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

fireplace with Christmas tree, mantle with snowmen and a stack of firewood

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Pinterest graphic showing vintage organ stool with various Christmas decor items, snowmen, lamp and small plant

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Blessings to you and yours. Thanks so much for your support!

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13 Comments

  1. Patti Donophan says:

    This was a great post on your blog, Cindy! I really enjoyed seeing your Christmas decorations and the detailed explanations of the rooms. I like how you pointed out so many details of the decorations that would have missed by the naked eye. You have a wonderful way of visually describing what we’re about to notice in each picture! I also like the snowmen you’ve made over the years. You gave me a great idea for pine cones-I have a ton that I’ve been wanting to do something with. Spray painting them gold-such a great idea!

    1. Cynthia Gayle says:

      Thanks Patti! Hope you have fun spray painting some pine cones🥰

  2. You have such a beautiful home, Cindy! I love all the festive touches you added around the house to make everything feel really special. It’s all fabulous! I hope you and your family had a blessed holiday season and 2021 will be filled with lots of adventure. Happy New Year, CoCo

    1. Cynthia Gayle says:

      Thank you so much for stopping by!! And for your kind words about our home! Stay safe and Happy New Year to you too!

  3. I loved this tour, Cindy! Your ‘fashion forward” snowmen are adorable and I adore that woodland critters tree. Congratulations on your newest family member and wishing you all a Blessed Christmas season!

    1. Merry Christmas to you Janet! Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Such a pretty home tour, Cindy!! Those little snowmen are so adorable!

    1. They are one of my favorite things to make each year!

  5. Cindy, your home looks so beautiful for Christmas! Those snowman have to be the cutest ones I have ever seen. Your house feels so inviting and cosy. Thanks for sharing with us at the Home Imagined party. Have a great week my friend. Pinned!

  6. Hi Cindy – We loved this post so much that it will be featured in our Home Imagined Link Party this Tuesday. Thank you for submitting this post. The snowmen are so darn cute!

    1. Thanks for the feature Anna!

  7. Love your many ideas! ❤️ Thank you ! You both are a true inspiration!

    1. So glad you are inspired! Thanks for stopping by Ronna!