Vintage Christmas decorations popular this year, customers paying high-dollar for rare items

While Christmas time is generally thought of as a season of giving new gifts, vintage decorations continue to be in hot demand in Sioux Falls.

At least that’s the case at 605 Antiques, a store in Sioux Falls that sells antiques, collectibles, thrift and flea market items.

“What we’re seeing a lot of is vintage decorations from when they were a kid,” 605 Antiques co-owner Adam Sanderson said.

The store has seen a resurgence of “Mid-Century Modern,” design, a style that dates back to approximately the 1930s through the mid-1960s.

“Mid-Modern Century is a big thing. You know, ‘50s and ‘60s kind of things, and there’s a lot of Christmas bulbs made in that era and that can go for people that are older that grew up with them, and people that are younger and looking for that Mid-Century Modern look on their Christmas trees or decorations and whatnot,” Sanderson said.

At an antique store, the word “vintage” is thrown around quite a bit, and means something different for everyone. For example, to someone in their 20s, vintage might be considered the 1960s to 1970s. But, for someone in their 60s, vintage might date back to the 1930s or 1940s, Sanderson said.

“When people come in and say ‘Do you have any old (items) or vintage (items)?’ You kind of judge who you have as a customer,” Sanderson said.

This year, like most years, 605 Antiques has seen a steady number of ornament sales. But, Sanderson hasn’t noticed a real trend this year, and said there’s nothing specific that’s overly popular this year.

“Christmas is a little bit trickier, because it comes and goes,” Sanderson said.

However, there are some items people seem to be seeking out a little more. Here’s some of the more popular vintage Christmas items:

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Ceramic trees date back to 1940, still popular today

Ceramic trees go all the way back to the 1940s, according to The American Ceramic Society (ACS). Originally, private artists made the ceramic trees on a smaller scale and some featured electric bulbs that lit individually.

About 60 years ago, craft shops started to offer workshops where people could create their own trees using a mass-produced mold. By the 1980s, ceramic Christmas trees began to go out of fashion, according to the ACS.

Fast forward to today, and bigger stores like Target and delivery service from Amazon, offer a more modern take on ceramic tree molds. But, the demand for vintage-style ceramic trees is still high.

At 605 Antiques, there were about five ceramic trees in the window, and within days they were all purchased.

“They went pretty fast,” Sanderson said.

Ceramic trees usually start at about $100, Sanderson said, depending on its condition.

If you’re in the market for a vintage ceramic tree and are searching for that true feeling of nostalgia, don’t be fooled by the copyright date on the bottom. Sometimes, this can indicate the copyright of the mold design, not the date of the tree itself.

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Large sized blow molds a hot, valuable item

Blow molds are another hot item this Christmas season, and can be quite valuable. The vintage plastic lawn ornaments are created when melted plastic is blown into a mold.

They’ve turned into a collector’s item as of late, and were first reportedly created in the 1940s, but didn’t get popular until the 1950s.

Inside Antiques 605, there were still a few remaining blow mold decorations just days before Christmas, including a large Santa figure priced at $400. Pricing is dependent on size, condition and the date of production. The more rare and older the item is, the more expensive it gets.

“People get attached to Christmas (decorations),” Sanderson said. “... That’s essentially what you’re buying, is an emotional attachment to something, your childhood or just something you remember.”

Ornaments still popular, date back to decades ago

A true Christmas classic, ornaments, continue to be a hot commodity at 605 Antiques. Those go back to the 1800s, when German painter Hans Greiner started making glass ball ornaments, then known as “babules.”

In 1880, a traveling salesman stopped at a store owned by Frank Woolworth, the owner of Woolworth’s a “five-and-dime” retail business that was founded in 1879 in New York. That salesman wanted to sell the German glass ornaments, but Woolworth was hesitant to the idea, according to the Woolworths Museum. Woolworth took a chance and bought a case of 144 decorations. They sold out in a day.

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It’s estimated that between 1880 and 1939, there were more than 500,000,000 “babules” sold.

Since then, ornaments have taken on all different types of shapes, sizes and types. Glass ornaments continue to be one of the most sought out types, while metal and plastic ornaments are also common.“We always sell a lot of ornaments,” Sanderson said. “... “They sell quick.”

605 Antiques is located at 3201 S. Shirley Ave., in Sioux Falls and has a little bit of something for everyone including retro sports gear, collectible cards and figurines, records, decorations, clothes, coins, toys, books and more. Other Sioux Falls antique stores were contacted for this story, but store representatives declined to be interviewed.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 605 Antiques Sioux Falls valuable Christmas items collectibles