But also, because everyone in my family is big about saving things that are small but meaningful to them, there are some older cards or decorations that got passed down through the family. (We have a precious few "Shiny Brite" balls from the 40s and 50s - one is a clear ball with paint stripes, which was apparently done during the war years to produce more ornaments with less rationed paint - and a couple of balls with designs on them (one has poinsettias and says "Merry Christmas," another one has a sleighing scene and says "Silent Night")
I like the old cards, too. One of the books I have is called "Christmas on the Farm" and is a collection of stories and recipes and a few pictures from the old "Farmer's Wife" magazine.
One of the reprints of an old card carried wishes for a happy Christmas and a New Year "overflowing with contentment and prosperity." I like that sentiment, though I wonder these days if a certain level of prosperity turns out to be mutually exclusive of contentment. (At any rate: I have enough not to worry about the wolf at the door, but not so much that the problems of being extremely wealthy affect me.) One of the things I like about the old cards is how they include different sorts of good wishes - wishes for peace, wishes for prosperity, wishes for joy. Wishes for all kinds of good things, things you can't buy at a store but would like your loved ones to have nevertheless.
A couple of vintage images, from various places:
This one is from Scannerqueen's blog. You don't as often see choirboys as a decorative Christmas figure any more, but I remember some people had little candles of choirboys dressed like this as part of their decorations.
(Perhaps children's choirs are just less common now? It seems lots of modern kids are more involved with sports and instrument lessons than with things like choir).
Both of these are from a blogspot site featuring postcards.
I love the illustration-like quality of the first one; I could imagine this being in an old children's book about Santa. And I like the Art Nouveauishness of it:
Some of the older Santas always look a little stern or scary. Well, I suppose someone called on to judge children's behavior may be stern sometimes. Or maybe solemn, given the weight of his task:
And another image that I think is less seen today: the child kneeling by the bedside (with teddy bear and doll already waiting for her) saying her prayers, as Santa watches over. I presume this little girl is on Santa's good list, because, at a very minimum, she does say her prayers:
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