A few minutes in the Christmas room

Last Thursday we took a wonderful outing with friends -- a train ride along a lake shore where we met up with a cruise ship and took a lengthy cruise and narrated tour of Lake Winnipesaukee.  If you are interested in learning more, go here: Rail and Sail.

After disembarking, we wanted to go out for ice cream and decided to go to a reliable year-round favorite, Kellerhaus.  They make their own ice cream and candy and are absolutely worth a visit if you find yourself in New Hampshire's Lakes Region.

Long-time readers may recall that this is a favorite destination for some of our local grandchildren.  They enjoy looking at the toys and also the Christmas rooms and candy shop after we enjoy our ice cream sundaes each December.  A couple photos from previous visits are below.

Our friends had not visited the Christmas room when we brought them there before.  So this time, we all browsed the Christmas room, and I thought I would share a few photos with you all.

One corner in the Christmas room.

I especially liked the icy tree at left and the scalloped felt tree at top center.

An ornament bargain bin

These are jingle bell ornaments resembling snowmen and are personalized.  One would have to spend a long time searching for specific names.  They were only 50¢, so it might be worth it to take that time.

Part of the ornament wall

Christmas dishes and felt poinsettias

This platter and pitcher above may be my favorites of the Christmasy things we saw.

And that's how we happened to be in the Kellerhaus Christmas Room -- and some of the pretty things we saw there -- on July 23.  It seemed our visit needed to be documented here on my Christmas blog!

Sweet log cabin plates

 

Observant readers may have noticed the edge of a plate in my last post -- the one about the winter cross stitch that I "framed" in a Mason jar -- and might have wondered about it.  These are actually plates that I got at the thrift store.  I probably paid no more than $2 apiece for them, probably less.  I did a little research on them and thought readers would enjoy hearing more about these pretty winter plates.

They are from a company called The Cellar and from what I can determine were sold at Macy's back in the day.   They were made in Italy in the 1990s and are hand painted.  I have no difficulty believing this, as the plates vary a good bit in color and just the overall look.  Even if one had a "set" of these, probably none of them would exactly match.

Though not all that old, these plates are technically vintage.  The pattern is called "Log Cabin Christmas" (though to me they are not all that Christmasy -- just wintry, and therefore more versatile).  You can see a good number of the other pieces in the set here at Replacements Ltd. where you can purchase a plate for $40.

You can find everything from plates, bowls, and mugs to salt & pepper shakers, cake pedestals, butter dishes, sugar bowls and creamers, and much, much more.  I especially fell in love with the teapot below:

 I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more pieces as I visit thrift and antique shops.

And there you have the intel on a very sweet thrift store find that I am so pleased with!

Christmas plates from the thrift store

 

We love finding Christmas plates at the thrift store!  Sometimes they are collectibles; other times just inexpensive plastic plates to use in giving away cookies.  Last year I ended up buying a whole new set of Christmas dishes there, after being sure my daughter would be willing to take my other set.

 I recently bought three Christmas plates -- two decorative and one for actual use.  The one at top is a collectible, from Avon in the 1980s, I think.  We just loved the scene.

I bought this plate with the sweet deer back in the fall.  It coordinates with two trays 

 

and some other plates that I have, the Better Homes & Gardens ones from Walmart.  But I hadn't seen this small plate with the deer and I love it.

And then there is this one:

This is such a nostalgic scene!  This is a collectible plate too and not meant for food use, so I am displaying it.  The poem may be a bit dated -- "Never a Christmas morning, Never the old year ends -- But someone thinks of someone -- Old days, old times, old friends" -- but I actually never tire of it.  It's true, so true.  Sometime during the Christmas season, we are bound to look back and remember old days, old times, and old friends -- and, though a few tears may be shed, we can also thank God profusely that we have these dear memories.  I love this scene with the couple making their way toward a cabin in the woods.

Such good deals!  I think the deer plate was $1.50 and the other two were $4 each.  The loveliness they bring to our home is priceless.

A very vintage paper plate

 

 Yes, this is one of two I found in a plastic bag at my childhood home.  My mother stored Christmas items in special attic storage areas.  In this particular one were things like holiday tablecloths, both paper and plastic, placemats, holiday napkins,  table runners, packaging for kitchen gifts, and more, in addition to festive paper plates.

Most of the items were newer, from the 1980s and 1990s when my parents hosted many a family get-together.  I brought many of these things home and added the usable ones to my own stash.

Fast-forward to December 2023 when my hubby went looking for a Christmasy paper plate to put some cookies on.  He brought me the plastic bag containing the two vintage paper plates, noting that I probably didn't want him to use these.  

He was so right!  I had forgotten all about them!

Isn't the wintry village scene with the horse and sleigh the sweetest thing ever?  I love the silvery rim that makes it resemble an actual china plate.  

I won't serve food on this plate, of course.  I'll display it, perhaps even with a real plate behind it for stability.  And I gifted the second plate to my daughter, for the same purpose.

Ah, vintage Christmas!  Positively swoon-worthy! 🌲💕

A few more delightful thrift store finds

 

 It's a special blessing that our local thrift stores have sections specifically dedicated to Christmas and that they maintain these rooms/areas year round!  The Christmas ornament above is but one example.  I bought a package of four, I think, for only $2 or so.  They are truly lovely.

I got the snowflake plate with the plan of gifting it to one of our daughters -- it will be filled with one of her favorite Christmas cookies, Sacher Tortes.  She also loves snowflake themed items.

I can always use another pie plate and I love unusual, decorative ones.  I don't have any that are specifically Christmas themed.  This is pretty, and was only a few dollars!

This snowman shaped plate is fun.  I'll fill it with someone's favorite cookies or treats and it will become part of the gift.

And look at this pretty Christmas tree plate with the cabin scene and the falling snow!  I'll keep this one and use it to bring cookies or fudge to holiday gatherings.  There's a very small chip at top right, but the price was right so that doesn't bother me.

Hope this look at some of my finds has been inspiring for you!  Does your local thrift shop offer Christmas items all year round?

Thrift store finds with Christmas and winter themes

 

I always love to visit after-Christmas sales at our local stores -- mostly places like Walmart, Marshalls, Rite Aid and CVS, and even the grocery stores.  I've found some great deals at these places and have written about them in the past.

But only recently have I considered our local thrift stores as a source for Christmas deals -- especially for things like decorations, lights, and dishes.  One has a room dedicated to seasonal dishes.  Another has entire Christmas section.  I bought the snowflake plate at top in 2022 and enjoyed decorating with it.  In 2023 I filled it with my daughter's favorite Sacher Torte cookies and gave it to her for Christmas.

The beautiful pitcher above, a Hallmark design, came from a thrift store.

Both plates in the photo above were found at a thrift store.

The log cabin plate is so sweet.  I found a second one this year and tucked it away to use for gifting cookies next year.

I found the vintage Christmas magazine above at a thrift store for $5!

The mug below is a recent find.  We're using it at our cottage.  It holds a generous amount of coffee or hot cocoa!

Hope you've been inspired by some of my Christmasy thrift store finds.  There are a few more, so stay tuned!

(Below, a closer look at that snowman plate. )

Swanky Swigs

 Ever heard of Swanky Swigs?  Apparently, we may own a set!  These are vintage beverage glasses that once were produced as a way to get Depression-era housewives to purchase more of Kraft's cheese products.  The processed cheese products came in glass containers that could be washed and then reused as drinking glasses.  Double the value!  You can read more about the history of Swanky Swigs here: Shiloh Museum of Ozark History.

When we cleaned out the old homestead, we had found a dusty old set of 6 Christmas glasses featuring a black stagecoach drawn by black horses, green fir boughs around the top edge, and thin red ribbons around the lower part.  I didn't really want to keep them; I didn't think they were all that attractive, and they were an impractical size -- midway between a juice glass and a tumbler.  But Mr. T wanted to keep them, so we cleaned them up and have been using them this Christmas season.

The other day, I got the notion to do a little online search and see what I could learn about these unusual glasses.  And that's when I learned about Swanky Swigs.  Now, our glasses may or may not be the actual Swanky Swigs -- apparently those were only made for Kraft by the Hazel Atlas Glass company.  But other food manufacturers made similar promotional glassware.  Products like cottage cheese, sour cream, jelly, and peanut butter also came packed in reusable glasses with a hand-painted look.  

I will need to do more research to determine what was originally packaged in our Christmas glasses.  But I am so glad I didn't just send them to the thrift store.

A few thoughtful gifts from my Christmas season

I know I didn't mention all of these things here previously, so here goes with a simple post sharing a few thoughtful gifts I received over Christmas 2019.  That tin (which is much smaller than it appears here) at the top of the post contains a generous Hobby Lobby gift card.  Still haven't gotten to Hobby Lobby to spend it, but I know a couple of things I want to get.

 This Christmas teacup is so pretty!  A thoughtful gift from my friend Rhonda.  I later learned that she gave a Christmas teacup to each lady at church.  She included a package of pizzelles with each one.  I think (but am not sure) that all of the teacups were different.  I have some Christmas mugs, but this is my first Christmas teacup. It sort of matches these sweet ornaments:

These were a gift from my friend Linda in Utah, some years ago.

The pretty tray above was a gift from my daughter Carrie.  She asked for gift ideas and I was ready with this one!

 The "jadeite" look sugar and creamer are by Pioneer Woman and were also a gift from Carrie.  She also gave me a tip about the gorgeous melamine plates in Walmart this season, so I guess in a sense that middle plate is also a gift from her.

And this handcrafted owl was a gift from our friends Sam and Jennifer.  At a loss for affordable gifts, they turned to the internet for ideas and found this one!  Although our tree is down now, this sweet snowy owl is at home on an evergreen garland that tops our picture window year round.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing these thoughtful gifts ... maybe you even found an idea or two to use next year!

A few more after-Christmas deals

 
Last Thursday I got to Walmart when the Christmas clearance had been reduced to 75% off.  I found a few more good buys.  I really liked the plate at the top and got two of them to give cookies on next year.  They are a salad plate size and are from Better Homes & Gardens.  I hadn't noticed them before, but then I had spent very little time in the Christmas aisles at Walmart during the season itself.  These were $1 each.

I had wanted a few larger silver ornaments to use with winter decor, in particular to use in the lighted winter colander I plan to make.  This package of four was only $1.23.

 

Glittery snowflake ornaments are always a good idea.   They make great package or gift bag tie-ons or make a nice little addition to a gift basket.  There are 20 of them in this package for 74¢.

 

 These candy stripe cello bags work well to contain smallish gift baskets or larger cookie plates.  My stock of these is nearly depleted since I wasn't able to get them at Dollar Tree.  The package of two was 24¢.

The bags above are quite small -- 5 3/4" x 4 1/4"x 2" -- but they were such a cute design that I just had to pick up a couple.  I loved the vintage look of this little scene.  The bags were 23¢ each!

It might not be too late to check out the Christmas clearance in your local Walmart if you are interested in any of these items!  In addition, there was lots of wrapping paper, quite a few lights, and more Christmasy things. 

My December hutch

Just a couple of photos of my December hutch.  I used what I had stashed inside the hutch and corner cupboard to decorate it.  I did not take time to get anything out of the attic, for I wanted to complete this just after Thanksgiving.  I kept it simple.  At the tippety-top is my vintage Christmas shadow box that I created out of a red-painted wooden silverware tray.  You can read how I did it here: Making a Christmas shadow box.

Here's a closer look at the other shelves.

I just had to use a good bit of my small collection of jadeite.  The plates with the pretty crimped edges, the tea cups, and the mug are all dishes that we used at our little summer cottage.  The ironstone soup tureen on the bottom shelf is a family heirloom from my grandfather's family, and the small green-rimmed cup holding the peppermint sticks is one that my mother treasured.

The little green pickup truck is a find from my childhood toybox, and the tiny teacup salt shaker (in front of the milk bottle) is from the Colonial Homestead line -- a set of which is still being used at my extended family's summer camp on Ellsworth Pond.  I have collected bits and pieces of this line on my own and am a long way from having a complete set, but love the ones I have. 

On the top shelf, the small cardinal teapot is from Yankee Candle, the middle plate is from Gooseberry Patch, and the poinsettia mug is a find from Marshalls a couple of years ago.  The small jar candle in the middle, in front of the colorful plate, is a balsam candle from Tall Timber Lodge in  the Great North Woods.

The three plates on the middle shelf are Walmart finds.  On this shelf there's also a small round container which holds a Christmas game.

The little cardinals were a gift from a friend and the milk bottle held eggnog from a local dairy in 1994.  The place mat under the soup tureen was found in some things a friend was getting rid of.

All very simple, but it suits me this year.  

A thoughtful gift

My friend Rhonda brought me the most lovely gift as a thank-you for hosting last week's cookie swap at my home.  Yes, that is it above!  You can't tell (unless you double-click on the photo, which you may wish to do) but there is a chickadee on those berry branches to the left, an owl and pine cone to the right, and a sweet deer sniffing at a snowflake just to the right of center.  I love it! 

And best of all, it matches these plates:

And this wax warmer:

which my daughter Carrie gave me last year for my birthday.

A thoughtful gift, indeed.  No thank-you gift was needed, but I am thrilled with this platter!

Oh what fun!

... it is to ride in a car with a tree on top!  🌲

I've shared before how I love the look of vehicles with Christmas trees on top.  My daughter Carrie knows me well!  She gave me a glittery gift bag with a scene similar to this on it, though not exactly the same:

image from Pinterest

In the bag were the adorable Christmas cards which you see at the top of the post, plus several other fun items she had found.

Sorry for the blurry picture; but this is a sweet tray.

The blurry photo doesn't show the details well, but I love the red and black checked border!

Just the cutest!

She found the plate above at Walmart and bought two of them for me.  Simply the cutest!  Notice all of the detail on this plate, with the background, snowflakes, and so on.  Love it!

Hope you've had fun viewing some of my favorite gifts ever!