Vintage Christmas decorations: history and photos

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

With age, there is a desire to remember childhood, to plunge into nostalgia, to touch associations that will awaken bright and pleasant emotions. For some reason, the New Year in the style of the times of the USSR remains a bright and welcome holiday in the memory of those over thirty, despite its certain simplicity, scarcity and unpretentiousness of festive table dishes.

The trend to celebrate the New Year in the manner of past years is only growing. And a party in the American style no longer inspires contemporaries so much, I want to decorate fragrant needles with old Christmas tree decorations, and place cotton wool, nuts and tangerines under it.

Christmas tree variety

In Soviet times, the Christmas tree was decorated with an abundance of assorted decorations. Particular attention is drawn to the old Christmas decorations on clothespins, allowing you to place them anywhere on the tree, even at the top or in the middle of a branch. This is Santa Claus andSnow Maiden, Snowman, Squirrel, bump, month or flashlight. Later toys are all kinds of cartoon characters, funny clowns, nesting dolls, rockets, airships, cars.

Icicles, cones, vegetables, houses, clocks, little animals, stars, flat and voluminous, beads together with cotton wool, flags and garlands of small light bulbs created a unique festive composition. The one who decorated the Christmas tree had a considerable responsibility - after all, a fragile product shattered into fragments with the wrong movement, so it was a privilege to manage the preparations for New Year's Eve.

From Toy Story

Traditions of decorating the Christmas tree came to us from Europe: it was believed that edible items - apples, nuts, sweets, placed near the Christmas tree, were able to attract abundance in the new year.

Vintage Christmas decorations from Germany, like the current ones, form a trend in the field of Christmas decorations. In those years, fir cones covered with gilding, silver-plated stars, brass figurines of angels were very fashionable. The candles were small, in metal candlesticks. On the branches they were placed with a flame outward, and lit exclusively on Christmas night. In the past, German toys had a huge cost per set, not everyone could afford them.

Toys of the 17th century were inedible and consisted of gilded cones, objects in foil based on tin wire, cast in wax. In the 19th century, glass toys appeared, but they were available only to we althy families, while peoplemiddle-income people decorated the Christmas tree with knocked down cotton, fabric and plaster figurines. Below you can see what the old Christmas decorations looked like (photo).

In Russia, there were not enough raw materials for the production of glass-blown jewelry, and imports were expensive. The first were old Christmas toys made of cotton wool: athletes, skiers in funny jerseys, skaters, pioneers, polar explorers, magicians in oriental outfits, Santa Clauses, traditionally with a big beard, dressed "in Russian", forest animals, fairy-tale characters, fruits, mushrooms, berries, easy to make, which were gradually supplemented and transformed before another, more cheerful variety appeared. Dolls with multi-colored skin symbolized the friendship of peoples. Carrots, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers delighted with natural coloring.

Grandfather Frost became popular for many countries - a weighted figure made of cotton wool on a stand, which was later purchased at a flea market - with a face made of polyethylene and other materials. Gradually, his fur coat also changed: it could be made of foam, wood, fabric or plastic.

In 1935, the ban on the official celebration of the New Year was lifted, and the production of New Year's toys was launched. The first of them were symbolic for the Soviet Union: some depicted state attributes - hammer and sickle, flags, photos of famous political figures, others became a display of fruits and animals, airships, gliders and even the image of Khrushchevtime - corn.

Since the 1940s, toys have appeared that depict household items - teapots, samovars, lamps. During the war years, they were made from production waste - tin and metal shavings, wire in limited quantities: tanks, soldiers, stars, snowflakes, cannons, airplanes, pistols, paratroopers, houses and what you just can not find, taking out a bag of old Christmas tree decorations from the attic.

At the fronts, New Year's needles were decorated with spent shells, shoulder straps, made from rags and bandages, paper, burned out light bulbs. At home, old Christmas decorations were built from improvised means - paper, fabric, ribbons, eggshells.

In 1949, after the anniversary of Pushkin, they began to produce figurines-characters from his fairy tales, to which other fairy-tale characters were subsequently added: Aibolit, Little Red Riding Hood, Dwarf, Little Humpbacked Horse, Crocodile, Cheburashka, fairy-tale houses, cockerels, nesting dolls, fungi.

Starting from the 50s, toys for miniature Christmas trees appeared on sale, which were conveniently placed in a tiny apartment and quickly sorted out: these are cute bottles, balls, animals, fruits.

At the same time, old Christmas decorations on clothespins were now common: birds, animals, clowns, musicians. Sets of 15 girls in national costumes were popular, promoting the friendship of peoples. From that time on, everything that could be attached, and even sheaves of wheat, "grew" on the Christmas tree.

In 1955, in honor of the release of the car "Victory" appearedminiature - Christmas decoration in the form of a glass car. And after the flight into space, astronauts and rockets glow on the needles of Christmas trees.

Until the 60s, vintage Christmas tree decorations made of glass beads were in fashion: tubes and lanterns strung on wire, sold in sets, long beads. Designers are experimenting with shape and color: figurines with relief, elongated and snow-covered pyramids, icicles, and cones are popular.

Plastic is being actively used: transparent balls with butterflies inside, figures in the form of spotlights, polyhedrons.

From the 70s-80s they began to produce toys made of foam rubber and plastic. Christmas and village themes turned out to be dominant. Updated cartoon characters: Winnie the Pooh, Carlson, Umka. In the future, mass production of Christmas tree decorations became the norm. A fluffy snowball has come into fashion, with hanging of which it is not always possible to see the rest of the decorations on the Christmas tree.

Closer to the 90s, bright and shiny balloons, bells, houses are leading in production, and they are more fashionable, and not the movement of the human soul, as before the 60s.

There is a possibility that in the future, faceless glass balls will fade into the background, and vintage Christmas tree decorations will gain antique value.

Do-it-yourself cotton toys

Compressed factory wadded toys were produced on a cardboard basis and were called "Dresden". After they improved somewhat and began to be covered with a paste diluted withstarch. Such a surface protected the figurine from dirt and wear.

Some made their own. When the whole family gathered, people created Christmas tree decorations using a wire frame and painted them themselves. Today it is not difficult to recreate such old Christmas toys from cotton wool with your own hands. This will require: wire, cotton wool, starch, egg white, a set of gouache paints with brushes and a little patience.

First, you can draw the desired figures on paper, draw their base - a frame, which is then made of wire. The next step is to boil the starch (2 tablespoons to 1.5 cups of boiling water). Disassemble the cotton wool into strands and wind it on the frame elements, moistening with paste and fastening with threads.

Without wire, with the help of cotton wool and glue, you can make balls and fruits, and also somewhere use a paper base instead of metal. When the toys are dry, they should be covered with a new layer of cotton wool and soaked in egg white, which allows you to work with thin layers of cotton wool, penetrates into inaccessible areas and prevents the base material from sticking to your fingers.

Layers of cotton wool need to dry well, after which they are ready for painting with gouache, you can draw details, accessories on them, and insert faces from pictures. This is exactly what the old cotton Christmas tree decorations were like - light enough to hang on a threaded thread or put on branches.

Snowman

Everyone is familiar with the old Christmas tree toy Snowman made of cotton wool from the 1950s, later produced from glass and representing todaymoment a collectible value. Retro style clothespin decoration is a great Christmas gift.

But vintage wadded Christmas decorations in memory of past years, as already mentioned, you can create yourself. To this end, first make a wire frame, and then wrap it with cotton wool, periodically dipping your fingers into the glue. The body is first wrapped with newsprint or toilet paper, also soaked in paste or PVA. Wadded clothes are attached over the paper base - felt boots, mittens, fringe.

To begin with, it’s a good idea to dip the material in water with aniline dyes and dry it. The face is a separate stage: it is made from s alt dough, fabric or in another way, after which they are made convex, glued to the figure and dried.

Toys created by yourself will give the Christmas tree an unforgettable flavor, because they are valuable not for their beauty, but for their originality. Such an item can be presented as a souvenir or complement the main present.

Balloons

Balloons in the old days were also popular. But even those that have survived to this day, albeit with dents and hollows, have a unique charm and still attract admiring glances: they concentrate the light of garlands in themselves, thanks to which they create a fabulous illumination. Among them there are even phosphoric, glowing in the dark.

Clock balls, reminiscent of a New Year's dial, were placed on the Christmas tree in a prominent or central place. Arrows always showed on them withoutfive midnight. Such vintage Christmas decorations (see photo in the review) were placed just below the top, after the most important decoration - the stars.

The old papier-mâché Christmas decorations were also extremely good: these are balls of two halves that you can open and find a treat inside them. Children love such unexpected surprises. Hanging these balloons among others or as a garland, they add an interesting twist and make for an enjoyable mystery or gift discovery event that will be remembered for a long time.

A papier-mâché ball can be made independently using napkins, paper, PVA glue, having first prepared a mass for its layer-by-layer formation. To do this, the paper is soaked for a couple of hours, squeezed out, kneaded with glue, and then applied to the balloon in half. When the layer becomes dense to the touch, it can be decorated with ribbons and beads, painted with paints, and various applications can be pasted. But the most interesting thing is a gift hidden inside a kind of box without a lock. Both a child and an adult will be truly delighted with such an original packaging!

Beads

Old Christmas decorations in the form of beads and large glass beads were placed on the middle or lower branches. Particularly fragile specimens still have their original appearance due to the fact that they were carefully stored and passed on to grandchildren from grandmothers. Bicycles, airplanes, satellites, birds, dragonflies, handbags, baskets were also made from glass beads.

A series of toys on oriental themes, released in the late 40s and retaining its popularity, represented such characters as Hottabych, Aladdin, oriental beauties. The beads were distinguished by filigree forms, hand-painted, reminiscent of Indian national patterns. Similar decorations in oriental and other styles remained in demand until the 1960s.

Cardboard toys

Embossed cardboard decorations on mother-of-pearl paper - wonderful Christmas decorations according to ancient technology, made in the form of figures of animals, fish, chickens, deer, huts in the snow, children and other characters on a peaceful theme. Such toys were bought in the form of sheets in a box, cut out and painted on their own.

They glow in the dark and give the Christmas tree a unique charm. It seems that these are not simple figures, but real "stories"!

Rain

What kind of rain was used to decorate the Soviet Christmas tree? It was a vertical flowing sheen, far from the voluminous and fluffy like contemporary specimens. If there were gaps between the branches, they tried to fill them with cotton wool, garlands and sweets.

Some time later, a horizontal rain appeared. Under the Christmas tree, it could have been partially replaced with foam plastic.

Paper toys

Many vintage DIY Christmas decorations - plastic, paper, glass - were created by hand, so they looked very cute and charming. To repeat this masterpiece, you need very little time and materials.

A cardboard ring (for example, left after scotch tape) is decorated inside with an accordion made of colored paper, and outside with sparkles and snowballs. The harmonica can be of different colors or with inclusions, tabs, for which you should bend a rectangle of paper of a different color and place it inside the ring.

You can make embossed balls from holiday cards as follows: cut out 20 circles, draw full-sized isosceles triangles on them from the wrong side, each side of which will serve as a fold line. Bend the circles outward along the marked lines. Glue together the bent edges of the first five circles with the right side outward - they will form the upper part of the ball, five more - similarly to the bottom of the ball, the remaining ten - the middle part of the ball. Finally, glue all the parts together by threading the thread through the top.

You can also make three-color balls: cut out of colored paper and stack circles, placing two colors side by side, fasten them around the edges with a stapler. Then glue the edges of each circle as follows: the lower part with the left "neighbor", and its upper part with the right one. In this case, the plates from the stack will straighten out at the connected points, forming a volume. The balloon is ready.

Toys made from other materials

The following materials open the field for fantasy:

• figurines made of cardboard and buttons (pyramids, patterns, little men);
• felt, the solid edges of which allow you to cut out any details and bases fortoys;
• used discs (in an independent form, with a photo pasted in the center, as an element - a mosaic crumb);
• beads, which are collected on a wire, give it the desired silhouette - a heart, an asterisk, a ring, complement it with a ribbon - and such a pendant is already ready to decorate the branches;
• egg tray (moisten, knead like dough, form and dry figures, color).

To make ball toys from threads: inflate a rubber ball, smearing it with a fat cream, dilute PVA glue in water (3: 1), put the yarn of the desired color in a bowl with glue solution. Then start wrapping the inflated balloon with a thread (it can be replaced with a thin wire). Upon completion, leave it to dry for a day, after which the rubber ball is gently blown off and pulled through the threads. You can decorate such a toy with sequins to your taste.

Of course, the most straightforward, but interesting way to create and transform existing balls is to decorate them with artificial or natural materials: wrap the ball in fabric, add a ribbon, paste over acorns, wrap it with a cord with rhinestones, put it in a wire with beads, attach beads, tinsel stones with glue syringe.

Where to buy vintage toys

Today you can find old Christmas toys made of cotton wool or tinsel in the manner of past years at city flea markets. As an option, you can consider online auctions, online stores offering products from the era of the USSR. For some sellers, such jewelry is generally antiques and is part of the collection.

Today you can findin almost any city there are old Christmas decorations (Yekaterinburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc.). Of course, many distributors will offer products of the past, recreated using modern technologies, but among them there are instances that can surprise.

On New Year's holidays, you should pay attention to the exhibitions of old Christmas decorations, which are often organized in museums. The spectacle looks like a hall with a huge Christmas tree covered with Soviet-era toys from top to floor. On the walls there are stands with New Year's copies of the past, on which you can track the entire history of their transformation and even take a picture. During the New Year holidays, admission to some museums is free.

And when there is a living Christmas tree in the house, decorated with Soviet-era toys, lights are shining and garlands are hung or candles are burning, all that remains is to turn on your favorite film "The Irony of Fate" and the whole family sit around the festive table, and also present New Year's to your loved ones handmade souvenirs.