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You better watch out...

Look I found last weekend!  A little Japanese Santa.  I had a large one when I was a little girl.  I still have him.  Some people think they are a little creepy but not me!  When they pop up at yard sales I grab them.  They actually don't show up that often.  It is against my convoluted Christmas rules to Ebay or antique shop them.

I have strange rules about Christmas.  All of my decorations are pretty much secondhand, garage and church sale cast-offs. They have to be found objects.  I love rescuing them like little misfit toys and giving them a proper place on the tree again.  It makes me so happy that they get a second chance at Christmas.  I am allowed to buy 3 "new" ornaments a year.  One for me and one for each of my children.  Any others have to found throughout the year.   I put them all in a box in the attic and at Christmas it's very exciting to pull out that years booty.

Really I'm strange.

Also I found these lovely dessert plates monogrammed with the letter B.  (My last name starts with B.)  I'm going to pretend I inherited them and use them during the holidays. 

Shiny Brite joy

I haven't really touched on my love of vintage Christmas decorations here.  I adore them.  I've always snagged up old Christmas  balls and kitchy knee-hugging elves whenever I found them.  I've amassed quite a collection.  Let's just say a huge portion of my attic is devoted to Christmas.  But lately finds have been scarce.  I think that ever since Radko bought the Shiny Brite name and Country Living had an article about old ornaments people are more interested in them than they  used to be.  So when I do find them the prices tend to be much higher than the few dollars I used to pay.  So cheapo that I am I don't buy them if they are too expensive.  The plain balls are common enough, but the oversize ones are hard to come by.  Especially decorated ones.  So imagine my joy when I stumbled upon this box for $3.00 at a rummage sale this weekend.  My heart pounded and I looked around stunned that nobody had snagged them yet.  Joy to the World!  They are mine.  Old oversized decorated Shiny Brites made in West Germany in the original box!

They pink and turquoise ones will live on my vintage-silver-rotating-living-room Christmas tree.  This tree makes me so happy, it's ridiculous.  The others will be on the main tree in the family room.  (I have four trees!) As I buy ornaments I stick them up in the attic and don't peek again until Christmas.  Then when I go to decorate, it's a wonderful surprise to see all the things I've collected throughout the year.

I'm thinking I'd love to organize or participate in a vintage ornament swap.  Spread the Christmas joy!

Christmas is over.

I finally took the wreath off the front door.  Do NOT think that I am one of those people whose house is fully decorated past the new year!  Everything is packed up and put away immediately after New Year's Eve.  (That's what happens when you start in November!)   But the wreath on the front door was so welcoming, so cheery every time I pulled up the driveway, that I found myself waiting until well into January to pull it down.  For now I'll just have memories...and will have to wait until next Christmas before I can bring my treasures down again....