From Grandma’s Tree Blog

What is the most searched for Christmas Item on eBay?

October 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

For the category Modern (1946 to 1990) it is “Santa

For the category Vintage (pre 1946) it is also “Santa”

For the Category Current (1991 to now) it is “Christmas Lights

So I began to wonder, what kind of Santa items are actually selling right now?

So I did a little data collection.  I took October 29 (yesterday’s) sales, a total of 246 items sold, and did a little categorizing and here’s what I found:

Category Percent
Figurine 41  Santa Figurine
Ceramics 13
Blowmold 11 Blowmold Santa
Ornament 9 Santa Ornaments
Fabric/Linens 5
Paper 4 Advertising Santa
Bank 4
Book 3
Sleigh 3
Jewelry 2
Light Bulb 2
Candle 2
Nutcracker 1
Other 1

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Collecting Christmas Pins

October 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Contemporary Austrian Crystal Pin

Contemporary Austrian Crystal Pin

Christmas pins are a hot collectible according to the December 2003 issue of Country Living Magazine. The origins of Christmas pins can be traced to the simple corsages of paper or cardboard and enhanced with lightweight holiday accents. But in the 1940s, the pins emerged as a separate category when fashion costume jewelry designers began to produce rhinestone pins in Christmas themes.

Christmas pins became popular in the 50’s. Eisenberg, Weiss, Hobe, ART, Coro, Benedict, Hollycraft, Made in Austria, Beatrix, Trifari, Carolee, Monet, Stanley Hagler , Bauer and B.J. were designers whose unique creations became todays collectibles. Many of these companies are no longer in production and therefore are scarce and will command a higher price. Many pins were sold unstamped with just a tag or label which usually was discarded making it impossible to identify the designer.

Since there is such a wide variety of themes and styles in Christmas pins, many collectors specialize in a niche. The most popular niche is Christmas Tree pins. However, some collectors collect by the manufacturer, or some other form like reindeer, or candles.

One doesn’t need to look only for vintage Christmas pins. Eisenberg, Gerry’s and J.J. are a few of the manufacturers who are still in production today. In addition, collectors flock to Swarovski, Liz Claiborne,Gerrys, Cristobal and Wendy Gell.

Click on the image to review these books on collecting vintage Christmas jewelry.

   

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Old World Christmas Ornaments-Merck

October 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Blown Glass Santa

Blown Glass Santa

The Merck Family’s Old World Christmas was founded by Tim and Beth Merck, a couple who shared a special love for Christmas, especially its rich traditions in the European style. This company reintroduced the art of mouth-blown fine glass ornaments in 1979, before other claimants to the honor. Their early ornaments are authentic reproductions and they introduced three highly collectible lines of Christmas lighting: Santa Light™, Candle Lights™ and Light Covers™.

Boxed Set of Old World Christmas Ornaments

Boxed Set of Old World Christmas Ornaments

Today, The Merck Family’s Old World Christmas is one of the leading distributors of the world’s most extensive and best-loved collections of mouth-blown figural glass ornaments, vintage style night lights, nostalgic greeting cards and wooden nutcrackers and smokers. Their products are very affordable, which contributes to their popularity.

Take a look at these books by the Mercks.

 

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Listing 10/14/09

October 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment


Austrian Crystal Pin

Link to My eBay Store to view and bid. These items will list at 6 pm PDT.

Scroll down to see my items closing today!

Christmas pin,austrian crystal,I heart trees,brilliante usa Link to eBay Store

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Closing 10/18/09

October 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Composition Carolers…Sears Garland

Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
vintage figurines,Made in Japan,carolers Link to eBay Store

vintage garland,Sears,tinsel,gold,20 ft Link to eBay Store

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Closing 10/17/09

October 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment

2 Lots of Old World Christmas…Rusty Tin Angel…Tin Santa

Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
glass ornaments,Old World Christmas, Santa head Link to eBay Store

glass ornaments,Old World Christmas,box,miniature hearts Link to eBay Store

handmade,rusty tin,angel Link to eBay Store

Santa,ornament,hand painted,handmade,paintbrush Link to eBay Store

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Christopher Radko Ornaments

October 9, 2009 · 1 Comment

You’ve probably heard the story about how Christopher Radko’s personal collection of vintage glass ornaments were destroyed in one fell swoop by a crashing Christmas tree. This event led to his finding European craftsmen and recreating the old styles of vintage hand blown glass ornaments (and rescuing as many of the old molds as he could find). From his early recreations of old styles, he went on to create thousands of new, fresh designs all made in the old manner. We owe him a debt for popularizing the art of blown glass ornaments.

Christopher Radko Santa Ornament

Christopher Radko Santa Ornament

There are so many collectors of Christopher Radko ornaments, that I thought it would be helpful to list a few of the resources available to the collector.

The Christopher Radko website has

  • catalogs of currently produced ornaments
  • lists of retired ornaments from December 2002 to the present
  • previews of Radko published books including:
     

     
     

    And here are some helpful books found on Amazon.com.

     
     
    • catalogs from previous years
    • listings of ornaments, both current and from previous years.

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Closing 10/11/09

October 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Plastic Blowmold Nativity Figurines

Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.

vintage nativity,blowmold,Poloron,Mary,Joseph,28 inch Link to eBay Store

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Poloron-Blow Mold Manufacturer

October 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Poloron Nativity 28 Inch Figures

Poloron Nativity 28 Inch Figures

I wasn’t able to find founding and closing dates for the Poloron Products Inc. company. It was located in New Rochelle, N.Y. 10805. They specialized in Illuminated Figures, Coolers, Thermos’ and Snowmobiles.

Poloron Products,Inc. Logo

Poloron Products Inc. Logo

Poloron Product Stamp

Poloron Product Stamp

Poloron produced blow molded candles,choir figurines, drummer boys,toy soldier,post lamps,nativity figures,
santas, santa in sled w/2 reindeer, snowmen,churches,candy cane, and Poloron Pixie Line (including a reindeer and elf and perhaps others). Unfortunately, they are no longer in business, and the dates that I’ve seen their blow mold figurines attributed to are from 1962 to 1981.

For an online archive of Poloron products please see BlowMoldsRUs or

To interact with other blow mold collectors, visit the blowmold forum at Planet Christmas

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Closing 10/8/09

October 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Plastic Nativity Set

Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
vintage nativity,Hong Kong,Plastic,Christmas decor Link to eBay Store

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