Cherishing the Cheap Christmas Decorations
“Christmas Time's A-Comin, Christmas Time's A-Comin’”…. is stuck in my head this morning as I sit at my computer at 4:30am on a December Saturday morning! It’s an old Bluegrass tune, but I know it best by a version done by Dolly Parton. It is coming, but I’ve been pretty well filled with the Holiday Spirit since Thanksgiving. Probably before! In fact, when I put my Halloween decorations away the first week of November, I immediately brought my Christmas decorations from my storage building and had them waiting in the garage to go into service. My wife kept telling me the “after Thanksgiving” and on Thanksgiving Day I started! After all, it was PAST 12am, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day! Good enough for me!
I think one of the reasons I really enjoy putting out Christmas decorations is because of the flood of memories that come with them. And it started dawning on me the past few years that so many of the Christmas decorations that I cherish the most were originally REALLY CHEAP! I posted an article before on my website about long gone dime stores, and it really ties in to some of my favorite items coming out at this time of the year. You can spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars, on a single piece of Christmas decoration – but it might just be some plastic, mass produced, cheap imported decoration that makes a true connection with a kid!
If you are a Baby Boomer or Gen-Xer, who remembers getting little plastic snow globes made in Hong Kong? Taiwanese plastic Nativity Scenes? Light up Blow Molds or little plastic dancing Santa pins? These were staples of places like Woolworths, WOOLCO, G. C. Murphy’s, and the like! Even K-Mart, Gold Circle, and your local pharmacy and other places in your town that you grew up with sold them as well. Christmas themed bottles of cologne from AVON? These things didn’t cost much then, often well under a dollar (free when you are a kid of course), yet they hold a mysterious charm over me – maybe you too. I absolutely love the higher end German made Nutcrackers that my wife and I have collected over the years as a married couple. But when I look at my little Santa and Reindeer blow mold that always sat in the window glowing when I grew up in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, it takes me back decades to the childlike wonder of Christmas. The lights, the smell of candies and holiday foods, the sound of wrapping paper tearing off of gifts as Mom and Dad looked on, my brother and I going through our stockings to see the little goodies left the night before, playing with brand new toys… and of course, knowing you would soon be traveling to see your grandparents and cousins to spend time with the people you loved the most!
At my house growing up our decorations were a mixed bag of these cheaper mass produced decorations, vintage pieces that spanned to my parent's and even Grandparent's times. Then there was a plethora of homemade items from aunts, grandmothers, and others that were really crafty! Some in my family painted a lot of ceramics, and then you had Santas made out of folded Readers Digest magazines, the ever popular ceramic light up Christmas tree, felt and cloth Santa dolls made from straw or big Coke bottles, and beautiful items that were crocheted and knitted. As a kid, these hand made things didn’t really connect to me. But as an older adult, I got it. And these items are priceless and hit at a deeper level in the holidays - especially when those people that so lovingly made them are all long gone. This year because of new furniture in the living room at my house, I had a space that opened up that was perfect for a second Christmas tree. I bought one of those tall, thin, trees at Hobby Lobby – but because I am a vintage nerd, I sat it up on a tall vintage Coke crate as the base, and was able to use one of my Grandma’s decades old crocheted tree skirts for the first time! Perfect! But one thing most of these handmade decorations had in common with many of the ones bought at the store is cost. Usually these crafts didn’t cost much to make, but they were paid for with the time and love.
I’ve said before that places like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and other stores like that are today’s Woolworths and Ben Franklin stores. What decorations bought at a Dollar General today, maybe without much thought, ends up being a small child or grandchild’s most beloved piece? Most likely it would be “Made in China”, which is about what “Made in Hong Kong” or “Made in Japan” seemed like 40, 50, and 60 years ago. A cheap mass produced piece of plastic, felt, or tin made by people that probably don’t celebrate the holiday at all. It might not be a “ROSEBUD!” type connection for the kid, but it might create a little spark in a child’s eye that they will carry with them at Christmastime for the rest of their lives! So I think there is value in even the cheapest of Holiday décor as there is on a decoration you spent several hundred dollars for!
A few months ago while talking about Christmas decorations with my family, I asked my 20 year old son what his favorite decoration of ours was and he said it was my little blow mold Santa and reindeer that I mentioned earlier. When he moves out, gets his own place, and starts his own Christmas traditions it will go with him. It’s given me so much joy over the years looking at it, that I hope it continues to do the same for him this time of the year for decades to come.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
Thoughts? Comments? Please email me at [email protected]
