I have not been to any of my old haunts since last year, because of the pandemic. So, the resulting stash shown below comes from three or four years of treasure hunting prior to my isolation. This Christmas plunder mostly came from flee markets, garage sales, church tag
sales and resale; items cost less than a dollar or two and
sometimes, I gave mere pocket change for unwanted items.
A Christmas card illustrating paper row houses. I picked this for 10 cents, I believe.
I sometimes collect things to remind me of a craft that I would like to develop for a blog post.
My younger girl, now a grown woman, and I view these kinds of purchases like something akin to a scavenger hunt. Browsing and picking gives us an excuse to spend time together, meet interesting people, talk trash (about it literally, not about people) and we like to speculate about nearly everything happening in our lives. Treasure hunts are often accompanied with coffee breaks or tea in the afternoon; both being our daily habit.
Box of charming little ornaments, too large for a doll Christmas tree,
but just the right size to decorate with on the fireplace mantle or the
center of a table inside our 18" dollhouse. I will remove the eye hooks
and hangers before using them for displays.
On the far left is an eighteen inch doll size pair of wooden dutch shoes. Our dolls will enjoy leaving treats for St. Nicholas' reindeer inside! Perhaps if they have been good, St. Nicholas will replace carrots with candy inside these shoes on Christmas morning? In the center photo, is a tiny snow globe only an inch tall. Last on the far right is a porcelain plate with 3-D figures of the three wise men, being guided by a Christmas star. This is the sweetest decoration for 3 Kings Sunday or Twelfth Night, to display along side our other doll house bric-à-brac.
The lower half of a brass candle holder that I think could make perfect table legs for a winter themed Christmas table display. This piece may show up in our doll's bakery someday.
If you were to visit our home at Christmas, you would discover that every nook and cranny of the house is occupied with: Santas, Belsnickles, reindeer, snowmen, angels etc... So it's not hard to guess that the same decor might well be mirrored somewhat inside of the dollhouses of our playroom. Once we have finished furnishing the doll house, we will include photos showing the Christmas additions during the holiday season and include more fun finds here as these are unboxed.Left, is a hand-carved Santa figure from balsa wood. He stands about four inches tall and will look nice in the 18" dollhouse. Right is a rocking chair reindeer, lovely in front of a faux doll fireplace or in the doll nursery at Christmas.
Left, is a small wooden rocking horse painted in holiday colors: red, green and white. Right a small china box in the shape of a toy drum with a nutcracker standing on top. Both are just the right size for decorating our American Girl Doll house!
More Fun Finds for Christmas:
