Collecting Christmas Ornaments and Christmas Tree Decorations

The art of collecting and collectibles. Types of collectors, types of collectibles. Tips on antique Christmas ornaments and vintage Santas and the joy of family Christmas collections.

There are many kinds of Christmas ornament collectors and, if you think about it, collections of Christmas ornaments are probably the most prolific of all items collected.

Many people, who would not even consider themselves to be collectors, have great collections of Christmas ornaments and Christmas decorations. They cherish and proudly display these collections each year at important family gatherings and Christmas celebration parties with friends.

Some Christmas ornament collectors add a new Christmas ornament to their collection each year without fail. Others have relatives who give them a new Christmas ornament each Christmas as a family tradition. Christmas ornaments contributed by family members always become so much more treasured collections.

Mostly is seems to be mums, but often its favorite Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents who buy their loved ones that new special Christmas ornament each Christmas to increase the family's collection and treasury of good memories.

Serious collectors can't wait for the Christmas season to come around again, so they can once again display their full collection with new additions for friends and relatives. Many of these seasoned Christmas ornament collectors, have up to four large Christmas trees in the home and extras shelves and tables etc to display their whole collection at once. Part of their fun is creating a new look display each year, so that the home looks different every Christmas. Many collectors deliberately display only a part of their collection each year so that they can create a different look each Christmas. Christmas lighting home decorators are not the only ones who get enthusiastic.

Collectors will tell you that with Christmas ornament collecting particularly, the family gatherings will almost always have a session, where a story or two about Christmases gone by, are related to particular Christmas ornaments.

Collectors also specialise in many different aspects of Christmas. Some collect only ornaments that are hung on trees. Others collect only standing ornaments that are displayed on tables and shelves. Some specialise in Nativity sets, others in ceramic Santas, some might love snowmen or angels or reindeer. Some only Glass hanging or standing ornaments, some collect only paper hanging ornaments.

Some collectors collect brand labels, I have heard of one collector who only collects ceramic pieces that have some kind of floor in their design or manufacture. There are no rules of course and everyone has their own ideas about what is most interesting to collect.

Begin a collection of unique ornaments and look for pieces throughout the year. This way, you can bring Christmas into your home during any season! Additionally specialised year round Christmas shops tend to have great prices for some of their more expensive collector pieces outside of the Christmas season when their trade is much quieter.

Collecting New Lighted Christmas Ornaments

Recent years have seen the introduction of a new range of lighted Christmas ornaments that can add a wealth of beauty to a Christmas ornament display. Fibre Optic peices and LED & IC lighted Christmas ornaments come in both plug-in and battery operated styles. Sometimes the battery operated styles can be more effective for presentation as you dont have a messy electrical cord to hide. They also make great children's night lights for your precious little ones.

Collecting Antique Christmas Ornaments

Antique Christmas ornaments can add that vintage Old World appeal to your holiday decor. This can be a specialised form of collecting and it is wise to become familiar with the antique ornament market. There are a wide variety of ornament types, from German, blown-glass ornaments to paper mache ornaments, from goose-feather trees to antique paper cards and tree ornaments and even antique Christmas lights. Once you know what you like, you'll know what to focus on collecting.

Most antique Christmas Ornament collectors search the internet and local antique stores, garage sales and flea markets for antique Christmas ornaments. Prices will vary greatly with the ornament's age, color, condition and manufacturer. You really need a passion and a lot of time to seriously collect Antique Christmas ornaments & decoration.

We also recommend that you carefully check second hand and antique ornaments for stickers before purchase, because price stickers can also be used to camouflage damage or chips in ornament

Collecting Vintage Santa Claus

Vintage Santa Collectors are basically a separate category of antique collectors. Antique Santa Figurines are very collectible as evidenced by the prices at antique shows and shops where they are quite popular whenever they come up. It is important to do a lot of research if you are looking for the very old pieces. The older pieces were made of bits of cotton batting, paper mache, chenille, twigs and die cut scraps. All of these are being reproduced, so be sure and know what you are purchasing. Beware of pieces marked as old that are in good condition, although vintage Santas are sometimes found in high quality condition, however such items are rare and extremely expensive.

Some manufactures are selling wonderful vintage reproduction pieces. They have the old world appeal that many collectors prefer without the huge prices.

Santa figurines are being made in almost as many different ways as there are collectors to buy them. So take your time, look around and see what appeals most to your and your budget. Always let your heart decide what you are doing, so you will always be pleased with your collections.

Pricing stickers and Christmas Ornaments

Many small budget priced ceramic Christmas ornaments are glazed with a clear gloss type paint, but not fired like a traditional ceramic ornament. Also you will find poly products that are painted as apposed to those that use coloured resins. If you look closely at the ornaments you can see the difference. Such product appear almost as good. They should not necessarilly be discriminated against, they are just different manufacturing processes that are cheaper to produce. What you should be carefull of however, is items stuck to them, like retailers pricing tags, which can ocassionally take the paint off when removed and spoil the item, so we suggest you carefully check for stickers on ornaments. This can also be an issue with painted wooden and metal Christmas ornaments.

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