The weeks are already passing by quickly; just last week it was Thanksgiving and now the rush is on for Christmas and that means unpacking our favorite holiday decorations and taking great care to place them in the perfect spots around our homes. For me, Holt-Howard Christmas collectibles have so much charm and evoke nostalgia of Christmas’s past (way before I was born) and it is these wonderful figurines and kitschy collectibles that bring a smile to my face every year and, if I am being totally honest, make me smile everyday because I have many of them in my treasured cabinet right by my work desk and can gaze at them every single day.
I have a blog post about collecting Holt-Howard Pixieware you can read that has information and some history about the Holt-Howard company and how it started, why they moved their ceramic manufacturing to Japan and has some neat pictures of the famous Holt-Howard Pixieware collectibles if you want to learn a little bit about the company.
Last week we published post number 1 in our Vintage Christmas Collecting Series on collecting vintage NOEL sets and this week’s post is all about collecting Holt-Howard Christmas goodies so grab your favorite beverage, sit back and relax as I share some of my favorite Holt-Howard collectibles with you.
Yasmina Greco with her Vintage Christmas NOEL Collection
You may have noticed that Christmas is in the air. That feeling of festivity and joy that comes with this time of year can be attributed to many things, but one of them surely has to be all the vintage kitschy decorations. For me, one of my favorite things to do is pull out the vintage NOEL sets that I have been collecting for years and display these treasures as I get my home ready for Christmas. If you love a touch of nostalgia with some Mid-Century flair then you’ll want to curl up with your cocoa and read our new blog post on Collecting Vintage Christmas: Noel Sets for tips on buying, selling, and searching for these treasures.
Today’s blog post features some of my vintage Noel collection that dates from the 1950s-1960s and features Noel candle holders, Noel bells, and Noel figurines. When it comes to vintage Noel collectibles there are so many varieties and themes from Santa Claus, Elves, Poodles, Snowmen, Angels, Candy Canes, and even Clowns, that there really is something for everyone and you can easily have a theme each year for your holiday decorating too!!
WARNING!! Blog has a lot of photos.
One sure way to any collector’s heart is items that come with their original boxes. For me, the box can also be used as part of your vintage holiday decor as they usually have timeless graphics that add so much charm to your displays. Since these vintage items are usually 70 yrs old, if you do find an original box it will probably have some wear and tear or even water damage from being stored in basements and attics and that is completely okay and in my opinion, adds that much more to the story and history of the item.
Here are five of my very favorite Noel sets from my personal collection and I think they are just dynamite. Each set is so unique and has loads and loads of vintage Christmas charm. I actually have them up year-round in my cabinet and they always make me smile when I stop and admire them.
1950s Grimco Japan NOEL Bells Vintage Christmas
This 4 Piece Noel bells set of boys and girls made by World Creations by Grimco Japan 1950s. This set is hard to find and very delicate, made from very fine ceramic so there may be light hairline cracks if you do come across a set. The facial expressions on these kids are so darling. In today’s market expect to pay $275-$325.
2. Christmas Cowboy Santa Noel Candle Holders set by Menschik Goldman in the 1950s. Santa is wearing his western hat with green and red holiday flair, his red suit complete with holster and pistol and his body spells out NOEL. This set is very rare, I have only come across it one time and in today’s market expect to pay $299-$350.
I have been hearing from you my dear blog followers and you have been asking when am I going to get in some vintage Christmas Noel sets; well, I have good news, I just got in some really amazing Noel sets for you all!! Vintage Christmas is not easy to come by this year and I have had to search, I mean really search but these Noel sets are amazing and they are all in excellent condition and many have their original boxes too!! Looking at these Noel sets, I just want to go back to yester-year when there was such as thing as the ‘good-old-days’ and people really cared about each other and it was a safer place. These Noel sets have are associated with so much nostalgia and really have vintage charm and character.
I found this incredibly rare, very hard to come by late 1940s Grimco Japan NOEL Bells set of the most adorable little girls and boys with big eyes, long eyelashes, and red hats. I adore this set very much, it will be hard to part with it. Also, this cute set of vintage Lefton Christmas angel girl Noel bells with their rosy cheeks and cute blonde ponytails. Holt Howard is always fun not just at Christmas time but, this winter green Holt Howard Noel Santa figurine is so mid-century charming!! For those that like to ‘clown around’ during the holidays, this vintage 1950s Noel clown set is a must!! The Noel clown set another one of those really hard-to-find sets and they are charming with their expressions and handstands. Finally, this exquisite Noel holly candleholder set of vintage Christmas angel girls are so cute, they will surely add so much vintage charm to your holiday decorating.
I will add a few more Noel sets to my eBay and Etsy store as well as some charming vintage Christmas figurines and decorations in the coming days. But as you know, these sell out fast so don’t wait too long or they will be gone.
I will admit that lately I have had quite an obsession with vintage Christmas collectibles and of course vintage blue birds. The blue birds all started with a 1950s blue bird sugar jar I acquired more than a year ago and she was so cute with her big eyes, sweet face and flower in her hair that she was nicknamed ‘sugar chick’. I sold that sugar chick and then as time went on I really missed her and wished I would have kept her thus starting the obsession with finding another one. Over the year I was able to slowly find pieces from that same line and have managed to get my sugar chick back, matching creamer, teapot, and just this week the salt and pepper shakers. I have seen a cookie jar that belongs to the set so, I will keep an eye out for that. I am including a picture of my blue bird salt and pepper shakers and the blue bird teapot.
Now, onto vintage Christmas. I have always loved vintage Christmas collectibles from 1940s-1960s. The collectibles from the era might be referred to as ‘kitschy’ by many folks but to me, they have loads of charm and add that ‘special something’ to the holidays. So this year, I made sure to start my collecting early in the summer and have been able to add some amazing pieces (I will add pics soon) that include the vintage Lefton Candy Cane Kids, Lefton Christmas Girl Bells, Napco Christmas Headvases, Napco Angel Figurines, Napco Shopper Girls, Holt Howard Christmas Salt and Pepper Shakers, Holt Howard Pixies and of course the Lipper Mann Noel Candle Holders. Here I have included a picture of a vintage Christmas Lipper Mann Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus Sugar and Creamer set; I love their giant red noses and sweet faces.
What are you all collecting these days? I would love to hear from you!!
The past few weeks have been terribly difficult with family health issues.
I had not been to any sales, antique malls, or thrift shops in many weeks. But, life must continue and with that, it felt so good to go to a couple local estate sales this weekend and it felt especially good to have found these amazing items. When I am on the “hunt” I don’t think about anything but my task at hand and it was much needed this time to be able to clear my mind.
At one sale I came across a collection that belonged to an elderly man who had been collecting for the past 40 years and he had some of the most fantastic items I had ever seen. The sale was really marketed and so many people were there that I felt so privileged to have been able to acquire a couple of his items. The estate sale worked a little different than sales I had gone to in the past in that a lot of the collections were auctioned off right then and there.
The last couple sales each had vintage Christmas goodies and I just can’t pass that up. I found some vintage Holt Howard Christmas items, vintage Napco and vintage Lefton Christmas candy cane kids and salt and pepper shakers, vintage Napco Christmas girl planter and a gorgeous vintage Christmas tablecloth. I just love vintage Christmas items and the feeling of nostalgia and yester-year they evoke.
I am loving these cute vintage Christmas figurines that have a “candy cane” theme. Many of these are made in Japan by the great manufacturers of the era like Napco, Norcrest, Lefton Wales, Inarco, Kriess, Holt Howard, Relco, Replo, Ucago, and Commadore. These vintage candy cane themed figurines and decorations are increasing in value each year and a couple years ago you could pick them up for $25-$40 dollars and today they can go over $200, especially the Lefton Christmas kids riding on a candy cane. Keeping my eyes open for one!!
