In this blog post, we’ll explore the joys of collecting vintage Christmas year-round, a guide to treasure hunting success. In fact, searching for vintage Christmas can lead you to some incredible finds that might not be available during the traditional holiday season. Learn some tips on how to find the perfect pieces on popular social platforms, and collector groups and more! Continue reading to learn more.
Hello again my friends, I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and that Santa was good to you all!! As I put the finishing touches on post number six, the final post of our Vintage Christmas Collecting series, it’s New Year’s Eve as I sit at my desk surrounded by my vintage treasures (vintage Santa’s, snowmen, shopper girls, bottle brush trees and my vintage candy cane holders) and want to thank you all for your lovely comments and questions along the way of the collecting series.
I have truly enjoyed putting the series together and hope you’ve benefited from some of my tips and enjoyed seeing pictures of my collections. I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2021 is good to us all!!
I collect vintage Christmas all year round. As you know from my previous posts, I am obsessed with vintage Christmas items and the hunt is really part of the fun. As our digital worlds keep moving forward, it actually makes searching for vintage Christmas items a little easier and simpler as we have access to wonderful resources that are available 24/7 and 365 days a year and spans the entire globe!!
Platforms like Etsy, eBay, Shopgoodwill, Facebook, Mercari, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are some of my go-to places and I check them regularly. You can also set up “saved searches” on many of these platforms that are based on keywords and criteria you initiate and can choose to even receive SMS or email alerts when new items are added by sellers.
The key in searching for vintage Christmas is to do it regularly and diligently…… you really never know when that one incredibly rare and hard to find item you’ve been desperately wanting suddenly becomes available.
Social media platforms like Instagram for example work incredibly well if you can familiarize yourself with hashtags for the categories of items you are searching for you. For example, hashtags like #vintagechristmas #kitschmas #midcenturymodernchristmas #holthoward #napcochristmas #vintagesanta will yield you folks that not only collect vintage Christmas but also sell their items from time to time as well as present their in wonderful displays and vignettes and it can be a feast for the eyes.
Becoming engaged with these posts by liking the post and commenting on the post and even asking questions on the post about the item(s) is a great way to make connections with others so when they might have something to sell they can tag you so you are one of the first to know about it!!
Facebook has so many wonderful groups you can join and there are several for vintage Christmas collectors. In fact, I just started my group Vintage Kitschy Christmas and would love for you to join, post photos, and share in the joy of these vintage treasures. Just search in the FB Groups area (should be an icon on your app or desktop to click on and enter your keywords) and then find group(s) you enjoy and join them. Many of the groups allow members to post items for sale (I have scored some incredible treasures this way) and it is a great way to meet other like minded collectors too!!
Also, Facebook Marketplace is an online selling platform right on the social media network where folks list items for sale regularly and you usually go and pick it up. I’ve seen some incredible finds folks have shared in FB Groups and on Instagram on these finds they came upon right on the marketplace. Take caution as you usually meet with the seller to pay and get your item(s) so proceed with caution and safety is number one so be cautious and meet where you and the seller feel comfortable (public place etc…).
Some long-time solid platforms for buying and selling are Etsy and eBay. I do find eBay might get you a better price especially when items are up for auction and you can watch the bidding and decide what your limit is. But, Etsy and eBay do regularly have vintage Christmas items for sale but do your homework on the seller (how are their ratings, do they package items carefully so they don’t break etc…) and then decide to purchase or bid.
I have pieced together many parts of my collections over the years from these two platforms and make a habit of checking them regularly. Mercari is a newer platform to keep an eye on as some sellers list vintage Christmas and I have seen some super neat items that appear to have sold for low prices. But, do your homework on sellers and items before you buy.
Shopgoodwill is the digital form of Goodwill thrifting and you never have to leave your home. It can be hit or miss, kinda like going to an actual store. Thrifting on Shopgoodwill is primarily auction based so you place your bid. But, you have access to wonderful collectibles and antiques from Goodwill locations all over the country so the selections can be pretty good. Here is a photo I snapped today 12/31/20 (New Years Eve) on a set of rare Holt-Howard NOEL Pixie Candle Holders and you can see the bidding is starting to climb and there is still four days to go till the auction ends. I’ve linked the item so you can see how the Shopgoodwill site lists the details and photos.
Flea markets, antique shops, and antiques and collectible shows are also great places to search for treasure. Right after Christmas you can get some incredible deals on vintage Christmas items that haven’t sold and, since the pandemic is keeping many shoppers at home, you might be able to look online at your favorite antique shop’s website (some shops list booths and items online) and see if there are any goodies and send the shop or seller an email and ask them.
Also, sellers you might typically buy from at shows and antique shops, talk to them and ask them throughout the year if they have any vintage Christmas collectibles. You’d be surprised how many sellers travel the country picking, thrifting and shopping shows and flea markets during the year and they may be able to find items for you if you develop a relationship with them.
Twitter is yet another platform where folks post treasures for sale (they may also have a link to their item(s) on Etsy or eBay and Pinterest. And yes, Pinterest is a really great platform for shopping vintage Christmas collectibles and, members re-pin items they love from websites, Etsy, Ebay, and Instagram so there are lots of eyeballs on this platform and a great way to find some hard-to-find collectibles so search Pinterest regularly too.
Putting the work of searching regularly and developing communities and friendships online can lead to some great finds and even friendships. Most of my vintage Christmas collection has been obtained online, I find very few items in the wild but have found some treasures at America’s Largest Antiques and Collectibles Show and wrote a post about that awesome show you can read. I went every year with my twin sister in July and October (that is when they have the Christmas show) it was our “thing” and I sure looked forward to it….. Hopefully one day we can experience it again.
Happy New Year 2021 everyone!! Wishing you all health, wealth, happiness, and lots and lots of vintage Christmas collectibles. Please consider joining our Vintage Kitschy Christmas Facebook group and sharing your treasures. You can also read the Vintage Christmas Collecting series where each week there was a new collecting theme and lots of great pictures too. Comment on this post to share your favorite collectible or join in with us by commenting with what you are looking for here or in the Facebook group.