Vintage Christmas d'cor is readily available in every antique shop no matter how big or how small. Although vintage Christmas items are collected all year long, many antique dealers save up their Christmas related items so they can make attractive displays during the holidays.
Although some of the items from the Victorian era can be quite costly, you can find Christmas decorations from the early 1800's to the 1980's and many of them will cost you less than if you went into your local store and bought the same item new!
One popular Christmas item is ornaments. Victorian blown glass ornaments are quite delicate and highly sought after - these can cost quite a bit. But if you grew up in the 50's or 60's you can find the ?Shiny Brite? ornaments or those cute little clear bells with figures in them for quite reasonable prices. As with anything, buy what you like but make sure it is in good condition.
Once you get all those ornaments, you might want to consider putting them on a vintage Christmas tree. I grew up in the 1960's so I have a preference for those silver tinsel trees that were popular back then. You can still find these in good condition, although they are getting harder to find and more pricey as each year passes.
Even harder to find, however are the rotating light displays that you pointed at the trees - the ones that would change from red to green to blue and light up the tree in that color. If you find one of these, you have yourself a real gem!
For your final touch, you might want to decorate your tree with vintage Christmas lights. Sometimes you can even find the old bubble lights in good condition. When buying any old electrical gadget, however make sure to think of safety first and be sure there is no frayed wiring and the item works good before you buy it. Any reputable antique dealer should let you plug it in to try it out.
Aside from the tree and trimmings, there are plenty of other Christmas decorations to collect. How about those old paper houses with the glitter on them or angel and choir boy shaped candles? You can even find a vintage tree stand and, if you are lucky, a tree skirt to go with it.
And what fun would the holidays be without an old fashioned vintage snow globe? If you can find one where the water hasn't all leaked out then you should grab it as they are rather rare!
Even if you already have all the Christmas decorations you need, I urge you to take a trip to your local antique store during the holidays. I can almost guarantee that you will come home with some item that brings back fond memories of a past merry Christmas.
