Caring for Vintage Ornaments

I was searching on eBay for a particular hallmark ornament and wandered into all kinds of other vintage Christmas items just to check prices and authentic vintage Shiny Brite ornaments are still bringing good money as well as aluminum Christmas trees and Hallmark ornaments.

This time of year most home décor magazines and antiques newsletters may contain articles about vintage ornaments.  The old Shiny Brite ornaments are especially popular as well as old plastic, wax and cardboard ornaments.  People often wonder if they should try to clean these vintage holiday decorations but you really should not worry about it unless they are super dirty.  

You can do more damage in trying to clean vintage ornaments. Even water alone is enough to wipe off glitter, cold paint and shiny non-colorfast paints.  Use only a very soft cleaning cloth or brush and be very gentle, testing on a small spot first before going over the entire ornament.

It is best to use the original boxes or bags if you have them but even these can scratch off paint when they are pulled out of the boxes if they get worn.  Always store your vintage ornaments in acid free tissue paper and boxes.   You can “nest” them in various boxes with shredded acid free paper as well.

One important thing to remember is to remove the hook before storage so the hooks don’t scratch the ornaments during storage as well.  When you unpack your ornaments each season, look them over real well and make sure there are no cracks or breaks.

Georgia basements and attics are not very good places to store vintage ornaments.  The wide fluctuation in temperature and humidity can cause the finishes to fade and crack and old wax ornaments will melt into distorted sad blobs!

Small children and pets are not a good mix for vintage ornaments.  Until the kids are older or out of the nest, you may want to hang your ornaments up high on a sturdy garland, display stand or in a large clear bowl or vase.  One nice family tradition to start is by giving each child an ornament as a Christmas Eve gift or in a stocking and by time they go out on their own they will have a collection of ornaments and memories to take to their own homes.

If you have the adorable homemade ornaments that your children have made, they can sometimes be stored in bubble wrap lined envelopes/mailers.  Paper ornaments are especially fragile.  I hope you can use these helpful hints for your vintage ornaments.  As far as vintage electrical lights, I would steer clear of those, especially any with cloth wiring.  All vintage electrical Christmas decorations should be thoroughly inspected for cracked or broken wires.  There are plenty of reproduction bubble and flicker lights out there to use instead of vintage.  Make sure to inspect the wiring on your ceramic trees, color wheels and blow mold lights as well.  Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 39 years and is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist.  You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com

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