1950’s Christmas decor

In post-war America, synthetic and space age items were very popular, even for Christmas.  Many of the nostalgic Christmas decorations we enjoy were introduced in the 1950’s.   Many of these items are very collectible including the fluffy alumninum Christmas trees. 

No lights were necessary on these trees, rotating color wheels were placed behind the trees and projected, red, yellow and green light on the tree.  Sometimes the lightbulbs got too hot and melted the plastic color sections on the color wheel!  The idea of “flocking’ live christmas trees also became popular during this time.

Another item that became popular in the post modern era was the idea of having a model train t set up under the tree that went around in a circle on the track.  Model railroad trains and cars peaked in the 1950’s with Lionel being the predominant company.  

Bubble lights came out in the late 1940’s but didn’t really catch on until the 1950’s.  They resembled the bubbling lights on Wurlitzer juke boxes and wouldn’t work correctly unless they were upright so they didn’t really stay popular very long.

Do you remember putting silver strings of tinsel on the tree?  I remember dad showing how to properly “drape” them among the branches and didn’t want us kids making “clumps” of silver on the Christmas tree.  Up until 1973, much of that tinsel contained lead.  I’m not sure if they even still make this stuff.

Don’t forget the felt pixie elves that also appeared in the mid century.  The popular Elf on the Shelf is based off of these little felt pixies that were often imported from Japan.  You can tell the early ones as they are often in a sitting position holding their knees. These little guys and gals are highly collectible as well.

According to internet research, the ceramic christmas trees didn’t appear until the early 1970’s.  These trees are highly collectible but are also now being massively reproduced.  Even singer Cyndi Lauper has a designer line of retro style Christmas decor that features the ceramic Christmas tree as well as many other vintage style items  Happy Collecting!