Wonderfully kitsch Christmas decoration ideas from a 1956 issue
Here at House & Garden we start seriously thinking about Christmas in July. In the season of ice cream, sandals and summer holidays we take a deep breath and plunge head first into the land of baubles, fir and all that twinkles. This year we looked to our archive for inspiration - housed in the basement of Vogue House it holds a library of smart navy blue volumes in which are bound every single copy of House & Garden dating back to 1946. We were particularly taken by a series of illustrations, which ran in our December issues throughout the Fifties. They boast ingenious decorations made from everything from feather mops to knitting needles. As we said in the 1956 Christmas edition, "One fresh inspiration like a rose-decked bird-cage is worth a thousand times its weight in tinsel."
1/10"For place-cards use ivy leaves, with names in white ink."
2/10"Hide presents under an encampment of tents, with names on paper flags."
3/10"Net a witch ball in a shopping bag decorated with holly and Christmas messages. The 'car' is a large cork, with knitting needles, topped with stars, stuck into it."
4/10"As a table-centre, wind streamers round a star-topped paper cone. Surround it with crackers, holly and candles."
5/10"A square kitchen table becomes a palanquin - through magic with laths, crêpe paper, and feather mops. With Scotch tape, fix four long laths to the table legs; use four more for the canopy, strengthened with a cross-piece. Then nail one 18 in. length, to rise from the centre."
6/10"In a bedroom - or any other room - why not hang rows of silver bells along the edge of the curtains?"
7/10"Red upholsterer's rope bedecked with fir sprigs and glass balls round lamps and bannisters."
8/10"The panelling of a door or wall outlined with evergreen leaves."
9/10"Ornaments hang from a string across an archway."
10/10"An idea to try if you own, or can buy, a Victorian glass dome. On the base make an earthy-looking bed of plasticine; in it stick a twig hung with tiny decorations. Make it the focal point of your room."
