The New Nostalgia: A Guide to Holiday Decorating

Each holiday season, we look at the ornaments that we’ve collected over a half century and use some of them to create festive decor in the rooms where we will be spending the most time together. One of the simplest things, and one that makes a big impact, is to use beautiful handmade in Vermont Simon Pearce hand blown glass or Italian made MATCH Pewter bowls and fill them with an assortment of ornaments and place them on the mantle, the coffee table, or as centerpieces on the dining table. This is such an easy way to bring that festive holiday decor to many rooms in your home and have it mean something for those present and those who we want to remember during the holiday season. Each year, I add a new ornament to the tree or mantel from the Wilhelm Schweizer Pewter holiday collection. Each hand painted ornament is made in Germany, and is part of a Bavarian tradition that dates back to 1796. When I add a piece, I almost always choose an ornament that will delight a particular person in my family. I cherish these ornaments delight in knowing that they will be enjoyed by my children and future grand children. These are some of my favorites : a storyteller angel that reminds me of my animal loving daughter, a skier that reminds me of many years headed north with five kids and their gear to ski in the Green Mountains, and a Santa with a puppy that had one of my children wondering why our dogs don’t bark when Santa comes down the chimney.

Traditions ground us and are worth celebrating and passing down to the next generation. My family knows when I get out the Royal Stewart tartan linens and Sabre Paris tartan flatware, that Christmas is just around the corner, and that it is time to transform the house: the smells, the colors, the decorations all root our family in the ways we have gathered to celebrate this special time of year. As a mother of five, I love creating these moments that evoke a feeling and that we all look forward to year after year. Handmade stockings, easy care linens that last a lifetime, Amish handmade bells on leather straps that jingle when the front door is opened, and our MATCH Pewter Holiday cookie tray, are some of the holiday decor that make our traditions memorable.

The sense of smell is closely linked to memory. Holiday decor would be incomplete without scents of the season. From luxury Trudon candles hand poured by a company that provided King Louis XIV candles to scent Versailles, to our vintage wrapping paper inspired candles, to classic Voyage et Cie seasonal scents that bring the glorious scents of evergreens and holiday baking inside, discover scents that will enhance your holiday decor and make it part of your holiday signature.

A little bit of kitsch goes a long way. Every family has those fun sentimental items that we decorate with that bring us back to our childhood. In my family it is the Retro Holiday Lantern - both the kids and adults love it defines nostalgia: a wintery wonderland that functions as a light and a snowglobe. We hang them in different rooms and on the covered porch to welcome guests. Snow globes, for many a collectible, are magical. Our high quality selection includes a “Lab in the Woods", “Deer in the Woods”, “Horses”, “Skiers”, and a huge perfect “Snowflake” that was featured in Garden & Gun magazine. For years, I have shared them with people we love who have commented on the warmth these cool snow globes bring to our home. Unconventional, but magical, a snowglobe is a host or hostess gift that will be cherished forever. Whatever it is for your family, be certain to put them out this season, take a walk down memory lane, and enjoy the nostalgia they bring to the holiday season.