Do you have Christmas heirlooms?

[Alanamackree]

I have linen napkins that belonged to my great grandmother, and a set of bone handled fish cutlery that was my granny’s. They’ve seen better days and I’m quite sure that both of them, who had very high standards, would be just as sniffy as my mil is about my shabby Christmas table but I just LOVE these little links to the past. One of the napkins was darned and I always put that one in my place. I love that my great granny’s fingers made those stitches.
Their good stuff went to other relatives mostly to sit on shelves and gather dustand these are bits that no one else was interested in having. The other side of my family were proper peasants and I have a hammered tin table spoon that I use to stir the pudding and make wishes. I also treasure my own mum’s 1970s ceiling chains with the yellowed sellotape repairs though she, who now decorates very tastefully, would prefer to deny ever owning them

Does anyone else have any tatty junkprecious Christmas treasures?

I swear I’m not a hoarder the rest of the year!

I have an old nativity candle holder
which used to be my nanny's and a Santa sweet dish.

A Christmas Village that used to belong to my grandparents complete with dodgy electrics

Two homemade advent calendars with hand-appliquéd Christmassy shapes on the pockets

A host of decorations for the tree

A nativity set

Sadly not, my DMum isn't a Christmas person , but each time I visit, I relocate (ok , yes I pilfer but she knows I do it) something.

My last pilferation was a set of very tarnished silver fish knives that I have carefully buffed to their former glory.

(I don't actually eat fish ) so they might need to re-train as butter knives .

I need to see if I can pilfer some plates she has with purple thistles on them.

In my defence- she is a phenomenal hoarder.
She will let me have these things if I don't throw them out.

I don't have any, but I wish I did. My grandparents (both sets) had no money so anything they had of value was quickly moved by grabby relatives.

I do have some baubles my dm was going to throw away. Clear glass, with strips of gold glitter and tartan bows on the top. My dad treated her to them for my first Christmas as they didn't have any money then. They were her favourite decoration for years until she started buying Harrods and Liberty decorations 🙄 so I rehomed them. I love them.

I have a big glass bowl that my Nanna always made trifle in. Trifle is only made at Christmas and always in that bowl. I also have my mums snowflake napkins (that she gave up on because they are a nightmare to iron)

These are all lovely! I particularly love the dodgy electrics and shameless pilfering!

I have a bauble that was my grandmothers. It came free with fairy liquid decades ago and is hideous but it brings back lots of memories and we love it!

I have some beautiful pink and cream glass baubles that belonged to dh grandmother. When she passed I also kept her trifle bowl set (trifle bowl with matching serving bowls) I only make trifle at Christmas.

Both sets of parents thought we were a bit strange when we wanted the 60s glass ornaments that they were chucking out, so we have them. We even have a crown that was made for a coronation (before Elizabeth). A linen table cloth that was my nan nan's and the trifle bowl!

An old Santa snow globe that rocks (because Santa is in his sleigh, obvs) and as a child, finding that amongst all the Christmas decorations as my dad brought them down from the loft signalled the start of Christmas.
These days my mum has very tasteful, coloured coordinated trees and decorations in her living room and dining room. Old Snow-Globe-Santa is living out his very happy retirement at my house.