Equally as precious to me are the vintage ornaments that came from my other grandmother. These actually reside with my parents still, but I grew up with them and I see them every year right after Christmas. They just don't make things that look like these anymore - little dioramas and mirrors and atomic-looking stars. These definitely make me nostalgic for the mid-century - a time I didn't even live through. Strange, maybe, but I think I'm not the only one.
My grandparents used to run a dimestore in the town I'm from, and after it went out of business, I remember going through the contents of a shed out back with my folks. It had been where they kept the seasonal decorations. There were life-sized cardboard cutouts of Santa and huge window banners that were fifties and fabulous. I was only a teenager and, though I was drawn to these things, I didn't have the foresight to see that I'd one day want those things (despite space limitations). As an adult I buy a lot of things and I get rid of a lot of things, but there are only a few items that I look back on and wish I had held on to. Those store decorations were one of them. So every year when I see these vintage ornaments, I feel both happy and sad, thinking of the '50s sweetness of our favorite Christmas ornaments and t.v. specials and songs, that never go out of style.
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