We asked for your most cherished holiday decorations. Here’s how y’all deck the halls.

Martha Quillin
·7 min read

The first dads who took axes into the woods and came back with Christmas trees and the first moms who draped strings of berries on the branches never saw coming the nearly $7 billion worldwide market for holiday lights and decor that now constricts our pupils from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

If you love a garish display — the more lumens, the lovelier — more power to you. Literally.

But do your eyes also light up like a string of programmable LEDs when you come across the plastic ornaments you and your brother bought at a convenience store in the 1960s? Does Grandpa’s mechanical snowman on your window ledge — that squeaks when it rocks — melt your holiday heart?

Here are some Christmas trinkets that readers hold dear, even if they can’t hold them too tightly for fear of breaking them. We unpacked a couple from the attics of News & Observer staffers while we were at it.

A stalwart sprite survives the Christmas gale

“Bud, the name of this plastic elf, has been on our porch since we married in 1963.

One Christmas when we were away from home, it was blown onto a neighbor’s yard. When we arrived back home, Bud was in several pieces on our porch. We were so thankful our neighbor saved him from the trash. Bud was glued back together, even though a few small pieces were missing. The next Christmas he was back on the porch with greenery helping him stand up. A few years ago, our son found Bud’s twin who has not lost his legs, and Bud II is a cherished decoration in his home.”

– Jerry and Mary Nell Ferguson, Smithfield

Bud the elf is spending his 60th Christmas on Mary Nell and Jerry Ferguson’s porch. A big wind sent him flying one year but a neighbor collected the pieces and the Fergusons put him back together.
Bud the elf is spending his 60th Christmas on Mary Nell and Jerry Ferguson’s porch. A big wind sent him flying one year but a neighbor collected the pieces and the Fergusons put him back together.

A young journalist’s first yarn

“This is my stocking from my first Christmas, 1960. My grandmother was an LPN who assisted in my birth in Norfolk, Va., and was the first to hold me when I was born. Her best friend, also an LPN, knitted this after I was born.

“My stocking remains in remarkably good condition — no coal dust visible at all.”

– Kevin Keister, News & Observer video producer

Kevin Keister’s first Christmas stocking, bearing no traces of coal dust. His grandmother was a nurse who helped with his birth, and the stocking was made for him by his grandmother’s friend, also a nurse.
Kevin Keister’s first Christmas stocking, bearing no traces of coal dust. His grandmother was a nurse who helped with his birth, and the stocking was made for him by his grandmother’s friend, also a nurse.

It takes a Christmas village

“We are retired now and these are a couple of cherished decorations our four grown boys look forward to coming home to each Christmas. The Snow Village Set was purchased piece by piece over a span of 30+ years which made it extra special.”

– Carol and Al Baldy, Raleigh

Carol and Al Baldy have collected the buildings of this snow village over more than three decades. Their sons enjoyed watching the tiny town grow through the years.
Carol and Al Baldy have collected the buildings of this snow village over more than three decades. Their sons enjoyed watching the tiny town grow through the years.



Pretty as the Dickens

“The Dickens Village. All pieces are retired and 35 to 40 years old.”

Jeannene Stephenson, Raleigh

Jeannene Stephenson’s Dickens Village consists of tiny reproductions of Victorian-era buildings. Her pieces are all at least 35 yeas old and the molds have been retired.
Jeannene Stephenson’s Dickens Village consists of tiny reproductions of Victorian-era buildings. Her pieces are all at least 35 yeas old and the molds have been retired.

Some heavy metal holiday cheer

“I have Depression-era ornaments handmade and bought that I was given by Inez Barbour (deceased) as well as 1950s glass ones from childhood I put on my tree each year! Do you know they made an icicle out of the metal twister off cans such as sardines back then?? The ball was made out of buttons and pipe cleaners and such!”

– Kathy Barbour

Kathy Barbour’s tree is graced each year by Depression-era ornaments a family member bought and some that were handmade. The “icicles” were made from the twisted metal tabs off easy-open food cans.
Kathy Barbour’s tree is graced each year by Depression-era ornaments a family member bought and some that were handmade. The “icicles” were made from the twisted metal tabs off easy-open food cans.

Here’s a cool tradition

”My Mom had icicles hanging on our Christmas tree when I was growing up. After I got married, she started a tradition of giving us a Hallmark ornament the year after we were married. I now have over 48 years of Hallmark ornaments on our tree along with the icicles from home.”

— Linda Chamblee, Raleigh

Linda Chamblee’s Christmas tree is adorned with Hallmark ornaments her mother gave her and her husband every year after they married. The icicles that once sparkled on her mother’s tree now catch the light on Chamblee’s.
Linda Chamblee’s Christmas tree is adorned with Hallmark ornaments her mother gave her and her husband every year after they married. The icicles that once sparkled on her mother’s tree now catch the light on Chamblee’s.

These decorations come from afar

“These wise men belonged to my mother and as a child I looked forward to getting them out every year. They remind me of how special my mother made Christmas each year as we celebrated the birth of Christ.”

– Penny Cobb, Raleigh

Penny Cobb loved these three wise men figurines her mother put out each year at Christmas. They signify the magi in the account of Christ’s birth in the Book of Matthew.
Penny Cobb loved these three wise men figurines her mother put out each year at Christmas. They signify the magi in the account of Christ’s birth in the Book of Matthew.

Two bears, one lair

“In 1985, I was a brand new police officer in Raleigh and a more senior officer and I were spending our swing day preparing for the F Platoon Christmas party. We stopped at a friend of his’s house, and the nice lady gave me a felt bear ornament she had made. Very sweet.

“Six years later, I began dating a Garner police officer and he took me to his parents’ home for Christmas. There on his mom’s tree was an identical bear to the one I had been given. Once getting over the shock, (and my first thought that I had been lied to that it was homemade!) I learned that nice lady had been friends of my now husband (of 31 years) since he was in kindergarten with her daughter.

“Now I have both bears after my mother-in-law’s passing, and they will be handed down to our two daughters! That bear sits atop our Christmas tree every year, as a reminder that it is a small world and we were meant to be together!”

— Stacie Hagwood, Garner

Stacie Hagwood received this bear as a gift from an acquaintance early in her job as a Raleigh police officer. The lady who made it gave them to others, too, and Hagwood later spotted one on the tree of the woman who would eventually become her mother-in-law. It seemed a fateful connection.
Stacie Hagwood received this bear as a gift from an acquaintance early in her job as a Raleigh police officer. The lady who made it gave them to others, too, and Hagwood later spotted one on the tree of the woman who would eventually become her mother-in-law. It seemed a fateful connection.

Colorful mid-century Christmas crafting

”My mother, Wilma Eldridge, of Four Oaks, absolutely loved Christmas, and she loved decorations — the more flamboyant, the better! She also loved to do crafts, and she was constantly making things. Among many, many other decorations, she made this Styrofoam Christmas tree adorned with small ornaments and garland back in the 60s. Its style is quintessentially 60s! We have kept it and adored it for years as a reminder of how special Christmas was to our family and how Mother used her talents to delight everyone’s lives with her colorful and ornate decorations. “

— Lee Ann Spahr, Raleigh

Lee Ann Spahr’s mother sparkled with Christmas joy and it showed in the decorations she made. She built this tree in the 1960s by adhering ornaments to a foam shape. This particular craft has seen a resurgence recently.
Lee Ann Spahr’s mother sparkled with Christmas joy and it showed in the decorations she made. She built this tree in the 1960s by adhering ornaments to a foam shape. This particular craft has seen a resurgence recently.

A grandfather’s Christmas carol

“My PaPa (my mom’s dad) died when I was less than a year old. Outside of stories from family, I never knew him. He and my MeMaw (my mom’s mom) gifted me this Santa music box for my first Christmas. It’s the only thing I personally own that has his “name” on it. It’s doubly sentimental since my MeMaw has also since passed away. Over the years it’s broken and been carefully glued back together, and it sits on my mantle every Christmas season.”

– Anna Johnson, News & Observer Wake/Raleigh government reporter

This Santa music box was a gift from Anna Johnson’s grandparents. It’s special because her granddad passed when she was an infant and her grandmother is gone now, too. They both live on in family stories.
This Santa music box was a gift from Anna Johnson’s grandparents. It’s special because her granddad passed when she was an infant and her grandmother is gone now, too. They both live on in family stories.



We love a juicy story

“These are the Christmas stockings my 94-year-old mother made for my brothers and me 66 years ago. The dark stains are from the fruit that Santa always left us.”

– Susan Moore Marbell, Broadway

These stockings have a lot of miles and a few fruit-juice stains on them. Susan Marbell’s mother hand-made them more than six decades ago.
These stockings have a lot of miles and a few fruit-juice stains on them. Susan Marbell’s mother hand-made them more than six decades ago.

Santa speaks for himself

“My “Santa” collection is about all about things I love, collected from places I’ve been, or just ‘cool’ artsy Santas.”

- Bob Denton

Bob Denton has collected these Santas during his travels and displays them proudly.
Bob Denton has collected these Santas during his travels and displays them proudly.

It’s Christmas; we’ll take them all

“These four Christmas ornaments are so meaningful to me and I can’t pick just one.

“The first ball, dated 1978, started our tradition of acquiring a dated ornament for every year of our marriage.

“The little heart holds a very special place in my heart. It was a token gift (made around 1987) from an acquaintance who was holding a bone marrow registry drive to help fight her cancer. She was my age and had 2 little boys who were the same ages as mine. She lost her battle shortly thereafter.

“The little glass bulb is the only remaining ornament from my parents’ tree.

“Finally, the cross-stitched one was a gift made by my BFF as a thank-you for teaching her how to cross-stitch.”

– Ellen Binder, Knightdale

Ellen Binder and her husband have collected a new Christmas ornament every year they’ve been married, starting with this ball ornament featuring a heart. The heart-shaped ornament on the right came from a friend who was battling cancer.
Ellen Binder and her husband have collected a new Christmas ornament every year they’ve been married, starting with this ball ornament featuring a heart. The heart-shaped ornament on the right came from a friend who was battling cancer.





It’s not Christmas until Santa arrives

“My parents met and married soon after WWII. They purchased this Santa their first Christmas. It was under the Christmas Tree every year until their deaths in 1991. Afterwards, it became a Christmas tradition to have it under the tree at my home. The tree is not decorated until this Santa is in place!”

— Frances Haislip, Raleigh

Frances Haislip’s parents bought this light-up Santa when they married right after World War II. After their passing, he moved to her house, where his arrival under the tree each year signals the start of the season.
Frances Haislip’s parents bought this light-up Santa when they married right after World War II. After their passing, he moved to her house, where his arrival under the tree each year signals the start of the season.

A sign of the Christmas times

“I made this little train ornament the first year I was married as a UNC graduate student in 1966. It has had an honored place on our tree ever since.

“I try to make a new ornament each Christmas. I thought this one was appropriate attire for Santa in 2020.

“This is my wife’s Santa. She got it from a cousin. It was probably made in the mid-1950s. I assume it was an advertising item from Coca-Cola.”

— Jason McDaniel, Raleigh

Jason McDaniel made this ornament in 2020, when Santa was taking precautions to avoid getting COVID-19. McDaniel tries to make a new ornament every year.
Jason McDaniel made this ornament in 2020, when Santa was taking precautions to avoid getting COVID-19. McDaniel tries to make a new ornament every year.
Santa must get thirsty making his rounds on Christmas Eve. Jason McDaniel’s wife got this guy from a cousin years ago. He may have been a 1950s promotional item.
Santa must get thirsty making his rounds on Christmas Eve. Jason McDaniel’s wife got this guy from a cousin years ago. He may have been a 1950s promotional item.

Next stop: Bethlehem

“My favorite Christmas decoration was my Lionel train set up around the Christmas tree every year when I was a kid. When I got in my 20s and 30s I just put it aside. I got rid of my train. I moved out and I haven’t really had a favorite until now.

“It’s a mobile nativity scene and it’s made by that company called Playmobil. It reminds me of Legos, which remind me of my childhood and it’s my girlfriend‘s favorite and it has become my favorite Christmas decoration of all time.”

— David Benson, Raleigh, sculptor of the Raleigh Acorn

David Benson loved the train set that was around the base of his family Christmas tree each year, but left it behind when he grew up. Now, his favorite decoration is a traveling manger scene with the charm of a children’s toy.
David Benson loved the train set that was around the base of his family Christmas tree each year, but left it behind when he grew up. Now, his favorite decoration is a traveling manger scene with the charm of a children’s toy.

She painted the town

”Hand painted by wife, Debra, Christmas village.”

— Dennis Mathias, Apex

Dennis Mathias’ wife, Debra, handpainted the buildings that make up the couple’s cozy Christmas village.
Dennis Mathias’ wife, Debra, handpainted the buildings that make up the couple’s cozy Christmas village.