Christmas at Home: A Missouri Christmas

Friend of Stalking the Belle Époque, Shawn, has graciously shared pictures of the impressive Christmas decorations which adorn his beautiful Missouri home. Shawn has been collecting antique and vintage Christmas decorations and objects for many years. Let’s let him tell it in his own words…

He writes…

It's Christmas in Missouri! Hello to all the fans and followers of STBE! I wanted to take this opportunity to share Christmas at my house with all of you. My little Victorian house was built in the 1880s and, though my first love is Victorian antiques, I tend to collect and display vintage Christmas items from the 1930s through the 1960s. The bay window in my dining room becomes the home of my nine-foot tree with more than a thousand lights. Next to it is my vintage, late 1960s, Toymaster cardboard electric fireplace. My parents had one of these when I was a child and I was thrilled to find one for my own decorating (the one my parents had is long gone). The ornaments are a mix of new blown glass, to vintage Shiny Brite, to German and early Japanese. I use many, many strands of vintage glass bead garlands and a vintage 1940s Noma Star topper. In the center of the front is a vintage GloLite Santa that can either stand on its own or also be a topper. To top it all off, I use anywhere from 8-10 boxes of tinsel! I just love the sparkle it gives to the tree and it seems so appropriately vintage. I have also collected many Santa Claus figures over the years...most of those in the pictures, including the large Santa and Mrs. Claus standing by the cardboard fireplace were made by the now-closed Harold Gale Display Company of Kansas City, Mo. These were common department store display figures throughout the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The early ones, of which I only have one or two, actually feature hand painted faces that were done my Mrs. Gale herself! I find them beautiful and charming. I also enjoy putting a few lights on the outside of the house, as you can see in the photos of this year and the snowy photo of last year. So, I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my house and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

Thank you, Shawn!  That's the way to do it!