Thrifty Acres - Christmas Finds and More

Hello! The thrift stores around here began putting out Christmas items in earnest a month ago, so I've been on the prowl for things I can repurpose in craft projects, or use as is around the house. I'm always thrilled to find vintage Christmas things, but occasionally will buy a newer item if I like it. 

In the category of repurposing is the following wreath:

I paid $2.50 for this plastic wreath at the Salvation Army. I was really more interested in the doo-dads on the wreath than all that plastic holly. For example, there are several spun head angels on the wreath like the one below:

Continuing the plastic theme, there is a deer's head:

And another deer's head and a large plastic poinsettia:

It will be easy to disassemble this wreath to use the components in craft projects.


I'm a sucker for those kneeling elves, as my mom had a few. I have a small collection of my own and added to it with this Salvation Army purchase:

This one cost 99c at the Salvation Army and is bigger than the ones I already have - it measures 8" seated. It has some sort of rattle inside its body, which made me wonder if it had been intended as a young child's toy. Hadn't come across any before that rattle. Made in Japan label on back. 

The Salvation Army thrift store was home to another 99c vintage find:

Love the graphics on the tin. It's the size of a recipe card box and has the original alphabet divider cards in it. There is but one index-type card for making entries though:

Thus, I know that this box was in use at least during 1955. I saw an identical one listed on eBay for $8.50.


As I've mentioned before, I will try to sneak in visits to thrift stores while traveling, and the fall trip to PA was no exception. At the American Rescue Workers thrift store in Jersey Shore, PA I found these:

I found two more packs of the same. I paid a quarter apiece, and later saw an identical pack listed for $6.50 online. 


At the beginning of this post, I commented that I'll buy newer items if I like them. Visited a church rummage sale recently that was advertised as "huge" - it wasn't, but I did find these:

They were a quarter apiece and in perfect condition. They are from Williams Sonoma, so you know they cost way more than a quarter brand new! When I checked on eBay I learned that these were listed at anywhere between $5.99 to almost $20.00 apiece. 


I liked the fact that they're not obviously Christmas-y in design, so I can use them all winter. 


Also in the category of more winter than Christmas is this cute snowman:

I gladly paid $2.50 for it, knowing it will find a home among my winter-themed decor come January. It's attributed to The Nicole Sayre Collection on the bottom, so I searched on eBay - and saw a listing of $39.99. Mine is in fine shape, so I got a good deal! 


I will continue the prowl for more Christmas items - I hope to find some good stuff in the weeks ahead!