Invoke childhood memories with vintage Christmas decorations: 12 creative ideas
Christmas is the time of year when, more than any other time, one indulges in traditions and recalls one's childhood. So, accompanying this "journey back in time" with vintage decorations can be a good idea, appreciated by adults and children alike at this special time of the year.
Reusing decorations from your childhood can certainly help recreate the holiday magic and the atmosphere that filled the house when you were a child. However, decorations inevitably get lost or damaged over the years.
Buying genuine vintage decorations and baubles can be quite expensive. So, if you don't have you old Christmas decorations any more, the ideal solution is to go the DIY route. This will allow you to add a retro charm to home for minimal cost.
Below, we suggest 12 creative ideas for decorating your home for Christmas with vintage-inspired decorations:
1. Retro candelabra
Grandma's old candlesticks can complete the decoration of the firepiece or a shelf, highlighting a Christmas wreath and creating a real retro feel.
2. Paper candles
Simple to make, paper candles only require some cardboard rolls, kitchen paper, cling film or aluminum foil, sheets of colored paper, glitter and pipe cleaners or chenille for the flames. The result will have a decidedly wonderful vintage look.
3. Door or window decorations
@cloverhouse_vintage/Instagram
For your doors or windows, replace the classic wreath with a cascade of vintage tree ball decorations (which you may still have in the attic); simply group them together with a large bow from which they will hang down and they will make a very original decoration.
4. Stuffed Christmas tree
Make a soft, stuffed Christmas tree by reusing old scraps of fabric - the result will be a beautiful Christmas decoration. And if the print is old-fashioned, so much the better.
5. A forest of spear tips
@sharonsvintagestyle/Instagram
If you have saved all the toppings of your Christmas trees (that look like spear tips), the time has come to reuse them. Display them grouped on a shelf or mantlepiece, creating a spear-tip forest.
6. Inspiration from the 80's
You will immediately feel transported to the 1980s if you paint your Christmas decorations a bright aqua green color. You can then use these retro-looking decorations on your tree or in wreaths scattered around the house.
7. Vintage centerpiece
For a centerpiece with a vintage flavour, recycle an old wooden box - preferably with a worn-out appearance - and simply fill it with jute strips, pine and fir branches and perhaps sprinkled with artificial snow.
8. Wall-mounted trees
Make tree-shaped wall decorations using cardboard, red and white striped fabric, a cinnamon stick and evergreen sprigs. These rustic and slightly vintage decorations will be a stylish addition to your festivities.
9. A worn-out tree
Take your old, small, worn-out Christmas tree from the cellar or attic and decorate it with the oldest decorations you can find. It will feel like you are returning to your grandparents' house.
10. Wicker stocking
@Julie's Designs and Signs/YouTube
A wicker stocking full of evergreen sprigs and pine cones will have a wonderfully rustic and vintage look. Perfect for hanging over the fireplace, but also on the staircase or placed on the banisters.
11. Door wreath
@ellenscraftsandmore/Instagram
A classic, evergreen door wreath can take on a vintage look if you decorate it with Christmas ornaments from your childhood, pine cones and old Christmas cookie cutters.
12. An alternative fir tree
Take a large tin can, paint it with ivory paint and apply a vintage print using the découpage technique. Then, fill it like a vase with an evergreen fir branches decorated with pine cones and red bows. This can then be an "alternative fir tree" with a decidedly retro flavour.
Do you like the idea of decorating for Christmas in a vintage style?
