Collecting Christmas
It starts out with a few favorite things - maybe a Santa Claus ornament that you have had for years, or something that you purchased on sale one year after the holidays. Perhaps you have a few ornaments or decorations that were from your family, or from when you were ‘little’ and that have somehow remained with you. These things you hang on the tree, or display in your home every year when the autumn leaves have dropped, the days have shortened and December rolls around again. Many people go through this same ritual year after year, just as you or I, as the holidays announce their impending arrival.
But what happens when you start to add to those simple beginnings and you begin to buy a few more things - just to build upon what you already have? What if you actually do this regularly, or for a few years? And how about those ornaments that you get every year from ‘secret Santas’, friends or co-workers? And don’t forget the January sales that no one is able to refuse - tucking away bargains from that fifty-percent-off sale that caught your attention. What happens when one box of Christmas decorations in the basement or attic suddenly grows into several? What happens when you find an online site that sells everything fabulous and vintage and exactly what you have been looking for? What happens when we start to seek things out, indeed, just to add on to what we already have?
Well, then you are certainly on your way to ‘collecting Christmas’! Many people who celebrate Christmas already feel like collectors - they know they have a good ‘box or two’ of holiday decorations that they happily look forward to decorating their homes with each year. This collection is also most likely added to little by little each year - if even unknowingly so. Who can resist that beautiful ornament that you find in some small shop during your summer vacation? A little addition here, a sale there, a gift or two from good friends, and suddenly our ‘collections’ grow; this is how one small box can easily become many more over the years - which is not a bad thing at all!
Of course, true collectors of Christmas - who fully identify as such - go well beyond the ‘summer vacation’ ornament purchase and can find themselves anywhere in between a true passion, an obsession, or perhaps even a bit of an addiction - albeit a happy one. Just like with any other type of collection - from stamps or coins to books or antique transferware china - once one begins to acquire a ‘particular something’, one usually wishes to keep acquiring that particular something and to ‘build up’ the collection. And there may even be particular items - wants and wishes, or even that very hard-to-find ‘holy grail’ item that you so desperately want, that you then begin to make very targeted searches for something much more specific, or nuanced. This is when you are indeed a true collector, and not merely one who has randomly ‘acquired things’.
Here at Elm Cottage, our Christmas collection is rather extensive. We are also fortunate enough to still have many of our family holiday decorations, which have been passed down through the generations. We are now the lucky caretakers of wonderful memories of Christmas past, and could not be happier to proudly display our collection each year. Of course, we have greatly added to this initial collection, as collectors do; an antique store or estate sale is not something that we can easily pass up when presented with the opportunity. I cannot tell you how many boxes of beautiful, vintage glass ornaments that we have stumbled upon rather randomly while simply stopping at a local house or garage sale. We also cannot pass up the opportunity to stop at nearly any antique store that we pass, so of course from time to time we do find additional treasures to add to our own collection, merely by default, it sometimes seems. Online shopping sites such as eBay and Etsy are also the perfect venues for finding something particular and wonderful to add to a collection.
And as collections grow, they tend to become much more particular, or narrow of search. Instead of simply collecting ‘Christmas’, one may choose to, or be more drawn towards, a specific category - such as Shiny Brite ornaments or vintage snowmen. Personally, I would never pass by anything that truly spoke to me and said that it wanted to come home with me (yes, things do say that); sometimes I just see something and know that it belongs in our house. Other times I may very much like something, but resist the temptation of purchasing, realizing that there are times when enough is enough; restraint is important for collectors with any addictive tendency! And that is why sometimes collectors with a larger collection do become much more particular over time. I would never pass by a well-priced grouping of vintage ornaments, but since we do have so many at this point, I am no longer on the ‘hunt’ for additional ornaments (at least not of a more typical variety). Nowadays, I look for things that are more unique instead of just adding additional ‘things’ to my collection. I am also currently drawn towards anything of an older vintage - the true antiques of the Christmas world, which are getting harder and harder to find, and pricier in cost, as well.
Of course, no matter what you collect - whether it be metal ice skaters, nativity sets, figural light bulbs, vintage houses or Victorian ornaments - your collection should be made up of the things that make you most happy and that you enjoy having in your home. Hopefully your collection is also full of good memories too. A Christmas display in particular, should be something that we are happy to share with others who may visit with us over the holiday season. Many of us work very hard trimming our trees, arranging the wreaths and getting that last little elf to look just as perfect as possible on top of the bookshelf, just so that we can invite our friends and family into our homes to see exactly what we have done and how we have ‘decorated’ for the holidays. Proudly showcasing our homes, and our collections, is just another way to celebrate this festive season. So go and unpack those boxes, trim your tree, dust off that angel figure and put your favorite Santa Claus exactly where he wishes to be; you will surely know. Happy collecting, everyone!
Until next time…
