Thrifted Christmas: part 1 - December 12, 2023

It's that time.  Time to share some of the highlights of the Christmas items I've been thrifting in the past few months since the Christmas in July post.  

The Goodwill Outlet (Bins) always has a wealth of holiday items.

From the big outdoor décor... 

...to the small tree ornaments. 

These are not Putz houses.  Or, they aren't the vintage, collectible Putz houses.  They are very nicely made replicas though. The smallest has a label from Bethany Lowe Design. 

An 18" carved wooden reindeer pulling Santa in a sleigh.

I LOVE old chalkware!  The nativity sheep is made in Japan, and the base is a big 4" long.

To go with the chalkware sheep, although way out of proportion,  I got this 1950s chalkware donkey at a Goodwill for 71¢.  

Back to Bins Finds...

Here's something I never heard of until I got it and looked it up!  A German smoking snowman.  Smoking because it's an incense burner.  Yes, it's wooden, but the bottom snow ball has a metal plate where you put the incense cone, the middle and top snow balls are hollow.  The middle one has a hole for air flow.  The smoke rises up and out the snowman's mouth!  He's missing a nose and the end of his pipe, easy fixes.

One of my favorite holiday finds is this 11" vintage plastic wall hanging of Santa and his sleigh full of toys.  

I uncovered a little nest of vintage Christmas odds and ends in the bottom of of a bin.  The wooden trees are from a spilled Brio train set.  The little angel is missing her wings, and the Santa face would be on a pick (I have two intact ones in next week's post).  The pickle is glass.  You do know about the Christmas pickle, right?  The three small Santas are all rubbery. I'm not sure what that big flat Santa is, he has no hole to hang him.  His back is beige, like he was a decorated "cookie" perhaps.  

A vintage plastic Santa from a different day than that above.

There is always holiday salvage.  I am one who likes the mix and match mish-mash look to Christmas. No "theme" like in magazines.  No totally pink, or all silver balls.  The messy look isn't for everyone. I had a friend in elementary school whose mother was precise about decorating. So precise she placed her tinsel one by one on each branch of the silver tip fir, so many per branch.  I know, because one was on the floor, and when I picked it up and tried to put it on the tree she stopped me!  She had to find which branch was lacking one strand of tinsel.  

Part two next week.