On my last post I shared three favourite decorations. One reminded me of my old store and two are part of my antique collection.The three decorations in this post have special associations with my family and childhood.

The first picture is of reindeer. You may recognize these as they were very popular in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. They were made of plastic which made them pretty delicate. Although these two are cute, these examples are more recent. Their eyes are too large and the details more coarse than the earlier ones. I bought them, however, because they reminded me of the ones we had at home when I was growing up. Of course, as kids, we played with them and … I use these deer as part of my mantle “forest” display.

There’s something extra special about tree-top decorations. Perhaps it’s because they were often the last flourish, the last official decoration placed on a tree signifying that the decorating was done. This one was on my parent’s tree since before I was born. A hole at the back of the decoration allowed a person to place a small lightbulb in the cavity. This light illuminated the wand. I have seen later examples and some examples from that time period but few are in such pristine condition as this one.

The final photo shows two contemporary decorations. About 15 years ago, ago my sister and I decided that an ornament would make a much more welcome housewarming gift than a box of chocolates. Thus the tradition was born. My sister bought me the polar bear last year. This year I went shopping for her decoration and came across this wonderfully crafted Christmas mouse from the Brian Gluckstein Christmas Collection. I liked it so much that, in addition to buying one for her, I bought one for myself.

After all, sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to collecting, right? What Christmas objects do you collect?