A Christmas homeware edit for the eternally nostalgic: 2024 edition
81 vintage-inspired decorations and accessories for people who miss the 20th century. Updated for a second year!
Hi! If this post feels familiar, it’s an updated version of a festive shopping edit from December 2023. I noticed a few people were sharing it recently (which warms my cold heart) but more than half the items on the list were long gone, so I’ve updated it and replaced anything that had sold out.
Everything I’ve included was in stock at the time of hitting publish, but Christmas stuff sells fast, so I can’t guarantee it will stick around.
A note that since I’m based in the UK, that’s reflected in the shops below. If you’re overseas, try a reverse image search as there’s a strong chance you’ll find something very similar closer to home.
In an ideal world, I’d hop in a time machine every December and spend the month in 1994. I rarely like new Christmas movies and I’m not into contemporary decorations (except for a few visual artists whose festive displays are an art form). Blue-white lights are surely verging on self-harm, and there’s no place on my tree for a bauble shaped like an eyeshadow palette.
Nostalgia has me in its grasp every Christmas, and that means I want Charlie Brown’s Christmas album, Home Alone, The Snowman, Little Women, ‘80s Ralph Lauren tartan, lametta (only works as a look if you use vast quantities of it, btw), Christmas ads that were on TV when I was eight, everything patchwork quilted, paper chains on the ceiling, garlands of popcorn on trees and The New Yorker’s vintage Christmas covers.
My much-treasured decorations don’t feel like a cohesive collection and I never stick to a theme. I don’t want to tie ribbons around my dinner candles or the stems of my champagne glasses. This isn’t the time for tasteful or current styling – I prefer to lean into escapism and comfort. For me, that’s any tenuous link to my childhood Christmases, even if the overall look is chaotic.
I want to feel like I’m at my grandma’s house, about to rewind Prancer on VHS while I pick at a glass bowl of Quality Street chocolates and almost faint from her excessive radiator use. This would be the perfect opportunity to include a charming old photo of me in the mid ’90s, except there aren’t any. I’ve somehow made it through life with almost no photographic evidence of a childhood…
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Keep scrolling for a festive homeware collection that your grandma would approve of.
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Back soon
E xx
The best!! Was about to add the tinsel to cart but couldn’t justify the £15 shipping. Maybe I should. It’s so beautiful and way more sustainable than the plastic rubbish that doesn’t last. Thank you Eleanor.
A fabulous list of fabulous things. Thank you. Has also introduced me to some shops not on my radar… always a joy thanks again.