Visions of a Very Vintage Christmas: Nostalgic Decorating and Celebrating All Throughout the House by Bob Richter

Some books you read. Others you step into. Visions of a Very Vintage Christmas is the latter—a warm, twinkling invitation to leave the modern world behind and immerse yourself in the kind of holiday magic that feels like it was pulled straight from a cherished childhood memory.

 Following his first book, A Very Vintage Christmas: Holiday Collecting, Decorating, and Celebrating, which focused on collecting and celebrating with antique ornaments, lights, and décor, in this follow-up, Richter takes readers on an intimate, room-by-room tour of his beautifully decorated home. Page after page, you’re greeted with deeply nostalgic, layered scenes that celebrate Christmas maximalism at its most heartfelt. Towering trees, every surface adorned, garlands dripping with vintage ornaments, and cozy corners that practically hum with Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” It’s the visual equivalent of sinking into your favorite holiday sweater while sipping cocoa by the fire.

 What makes Richter’s work so special is how personal and attainable it feels. He doesn’t just show perfect finished rooms—he shares the process. He cultivates what he calls a “Christmas Consciousness” year-round, scouting auctions and flea markets for pieces rich with history and sentiment. That philosophy resonated deeply with me. Like Richter, I learned from my mother to shop for Christmas all year long. There’s something peaceful and joyful about spotting the perfect vintage find in July, knowing it will bring magic in December. No last-minute panic, just anticipation. My mother and I also made felt and sequin ornaments together every year, and seeing similar handmade treasures in these pages brought instant tears. Those quiet crafting sessions with her are among my most treasured memories. 

Richter’s book stirred up so many echoes of my own past. The rooms in his home are fully decorated, just as I once did when I had nine Christmas trees (now happily trimmed to four). The handmade ornaments he created with his mom mirrored the ones my mother and I made annually until her passing. And when he described singing carols in church on Christmas Eve, I was instantly transported back to the pew with my family, voices rising together before we’d pile into the car to head to my aunt’s house for dinner and gifts. These aren’t just decorations—they’re vessels for love, continuity, and joy.

 The book excels at showing how to carry that vintage spirit into every space. Whether you have one modest tree or an entire house ready for a Hallmark movie, Richter’s approach encourages you to make your holiday vision personal and meaningful. He includes traditions, décor ideas, and even recipes to keep the spirit alive long after the last ornament is packed away.

 If you adore vintage Christmas, collect ornaments from travels (as I always did, bringing one home from every city or country that I visited) or simply long for the slower, more magical holidays of yesteryear, this book is pure comfort. It’s Christmas maximalism done with soul—not overwhelming, but enveloping. Richter has given us permission to go all in, to honor the past while creating new memories, and to keep that childlike wonder alive.

 I already owned A Very Vintage Christmas, so I knew this would be a winner. It exceeded every expectation. Visions of a Very Vintage Christmas isn’t just a decorating book—it’s a love letter to the season, to family traditions, and to the small, beautiful things that make Christmas feel like home.

 Highly recommended. 

Keep a box of tissues nearby, brew something warm, and prepare to be transported. Your inner child will thank you. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 It’s scheduled for release on July 21 so you can celebrate your own Christmas in July. You can order a copy here.

  Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Dining in the Northwoods

If you've been paying any attention, you probably noticed that I am very much into “serene green” when it comes to table settings. Both my Halloween and Thanksgiving tables were in calming tones of neutrals and greens.

My interest in these colors, and the feelings they evoke, have continued into December.

I am absolutely in love with the Northwoods look, and the associated colors, and I'm getting on board with the whole antlers thing that seems to be very popular these days. This table is the result of all of my new likes and interests.

I absolutely love this table because it works not only for the entire month of December and Christmas, but will also carry me through until spring. I love the image of greenery and pine cones, and had a great time gathering things to create this table.

Now I did treat myself to a number of new things this year, including the darling pine cone salt-and-pepper shakers, and this wonderful set of pine cone flatware from Cabelas.

Old favorites also made the cut. The Moose Lodge cookie jar centerpiece and wooden pine trees belonged to my mother, and I think of her every time I use them. My fellow diners also seem to get a kick out of this cookie jar, because every side seems to offer up something interesting and different to look at.

I paired this with some of my old favorite reindeer candle holders that I got from Pier One quite a few years ago and love to this day.

I’ve also used a new Pottery Barn addition this year in the form of antler napkin rings. Aren't these the cutest? Pottery Barn was again my source for the “Fa-la-la” napkins for this table. If I decide to add a bit of color, I also have a set of red napkins with white polka dots that look equally nice. They'll be making an appearance on my Boxing Day table this year.

The Villeroy & Boch glassware is a summer acquisition that works well here; mugs are from Williams-Sonoma.

I decided to use my Christmas tree treat jar in a different way this year, filling it with spearmint green leaves and using it as a table decoration. It really helps get the little ones to eat their dinner, when they see what awaits them for dessert. It's also fun for the adults as well, who seem to enjoy the spearmint leaves as much as the kids do.

The plates with the pine cones and greenery are from Pottery Barn last year.

The salad plates with the raised pine cone image are from Amazon this year. I really love these because they go with pretty much everything.

I'll be doing variations on this theme throughout the month of December as I host different people for coffee, breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea.Stay tuned to see how this table evolves.

This post is linked to:

What’s for Dinner Sunday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Cooking & Crafting with J&J

Amaze Me Monday

Busy Mondays

Happiness is Homemade Monday

Inspiration Monday

Art of Homemaking Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Home Sweet Home
Weekend Linky Party
Grace at Home
Simple & Sweet Friday
Foodie Friday & Everything Else
Creative Ways Party
Share Your Style
Simple Saturday Blog Hop

A Simple Plan

 Did I mention that I went simple this year?  This is not to refer to my mental state, but my style of holiday decorating. Despite my petitioning for a 48-hour day, there is just never enough time, it seems, to get everything done. How I managed, when my boys were young, to put up a unique theme tree in each of the nine rooms of our house is truly beyond me. Oh, the energy that I used to have back then, plus a husband who was gone for a good portion of the day. But I digress...

This year the mantle is a simple combination of candles and greenery with silhouettes of Scrooge and Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, along with a very dear pair of Fitz & Floyd deer that used to grace the very elegant tables of my mother's annual (for fifty years) Christmas brunch. Those sweet faces remind me of her and how happy she would be watching everyone enjoy the holiday. A Santa pillow, snuggly throw, and blazing fire add to the Christmas coziness. All I need now is a cup of cocoa.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sundays

Marvelous Mondays

Inspire Me Tuesday

I'm decorating!

 Brace yourself, folks, I have started decorating. Can you believe it?  It has finally happened!  I have never been so seriously behind in my life.  I blame Thanksgiving.  It just came too late and threw me off by at least a week.  First, there was the whole massive turkey-dinner-and-cleanup aftershock, and then, all of a sudden, it was mid-December.

So as not to overwhelm, I’ve started small.  The guest bath is one of the first rooms upon entering the house, and gets its fair share of use, so I started here. 

I like the cool calmness of this bathroom, so largely leave things pretty much the same.  I just add a bit of greenery and a cardinal bird or two, and swap out the white candles for red.  Done!

I love to shop the after Christmas sales, so got these red and white postal-theme towels from Pottery Barn.  They aren’t the best for drying, but are perfect for layering.

Cute, no?

This post is linked to: 

Be Inspired Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

Seasonal Sundays

Window Shopping

I’ve been treating myself to a little window shopping lately, but when I window shop, I don’t look at what is in the window, I look at what is on the window.  I’m looking for holiday ideas as to how to decorate the rather barren front of my house.  Frigid weather and lack of time (plus that blasted Thanksgiving being so late this year) has me days (well, weeks, if you must know) behind on getting my decorations up.  So here’s a little eye candy to inspire you if you find yourself similarly just a teensy bit behind this year.

This post is linked to: 

Be Inspired Friday

Seasonal Sundays

The Christmas Village

One of my favorite holiday decorations is this little village by Department 56 featuring buildings and accessories from the Dickens’ Village Series®.  There is something about a little illuminated Christmas village that enchants me.  I want to peer into the windows to see what is happening inside each little house.  I try to imagine what life would have been like in Dickens’ day, and listen to the sounds of the hustle and bustle as people carrying packages pass on the streets.  My collection of houses is starting to outgrow my space, so I’ll have to find a new location for it next year.  One of my goals is to eventually figure out how to use it as the centerpiece of my holiday table.  The only problem is doing so without causing people to trip over the electrical lines, or worse, have them duct-taped to the floor with that two-inch wide silver duct tape that is always so charming.  If anyone has done this or has any ideas for me, please let me know.  Meanwhile, enjoy your visit to Dickens’ London.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday

Mosaic Monday

Oh, Christmas Tree

My mother made me this ornament the year my first child was born.  It is her own design and sewn entirely by hand.

For the past 16 years my husband and I have occupied our Century Home, now boasting age 119.  Each of those 16 years, every spring, like clockwork, the organizer of the Summer Century Home Tour has appeared on our doorstep asking if we'd like to put our house on tour.  Every year our answer has always been the same.  No.  The thought of readying our half-acre yard that by mid-summer bursts with herbs, vegetables, and colorful blossoms, but looks rather bleak in June, not to mention cleaning and sprucing up the interior after a rather slothful winter seemed daunting.  "Ask us for the holiday tour," I'd call after her as she dejectedly descended our front steps.  My reasoning was that this would only require a cleaning of the interior, the placement of our holiday decorations, and that would be that.

So, the day after Thanksgiving, when my husband and I were delirious from exhaustion, the organizer of the Holiday Historical House Tour showed up at our door asking us if we'd like to participate.  Before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth I'd said "yes."  We had a little over two weeks to prepare.  Initially this sounded like a lot of time.  It wasn't.  Cleaning and decorating takes time.  Lots of time.  Finding the decorations takes even more time.  If not for my son who gave up his day off and another free afternoon to the cause, we'd never have made it.

As a consequence, I did no cooking.  We ate out, or scrounged in the freezer, sometimes warming the food, other times just popping it out of its container and licking it like a beef-flavored Popsicle.  I'll be back later in the week with recipes, and tomorrow with my table setting, but for today I'd thought you might enjoy seeing some the ornaments that grace our tree.

When my boys were small Christmas was always dazzling.  I went to great lengths to transform the house into a holiday wonderland.  Each of our nine rooms had its own tree, each with a different theme.  Life and age has since caught up with me, so now each  tree is represented on the main tree in the living room.  This ornament featuring Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim was a part of the "Christmas Carol" tree, full of Dickens ornaments. Interestingly enough my youngest son gave an award-winning performance of Scrooge in his High School play.  I like to think this tree helped influence him.

I doubt there are many trees in the city of St. Louis that don't feature some form of Cardinal to pay homage to their favorite team. The sheet music behind represents our extensive musical background.

I collect an ornament from every place we visit.  This one of the St. Augustine Lighthouse is a pleasant reminder of a fun trip with friends.

This lovely ornament was a gift from my friend, Marilyn.  She rubber-stamped the top piece, cut it out and affixed it to a glass ball filled with a crystal snow-like substance.  She mailed it to me in a small Christmas tin filled with red and green excelsior.  The tin was NOT in a box, just taped shut and a label and postage attached directly to the tin.  It's always fun getting mail from Marilyn!

A lifelong lover of mysteries, this is but one of about two dozen ornaments that used to adorn the Sherlock tree in the Sherlock theme guest room.
 

Thanks for your visit.  What ornaments will grace your tree this year?
"I am sharing my holiday home decor for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners."

This post is linked to:Seasonal Sunday

The "Edible" Christmas Tree

Yesterday I told you about making  Stained Glass Ornament Cookies.  Today I thought you might be interested in seeing what I did with them.  I added them to what I refer to as "The Edible Tree" in the dining room (bear in mind here, that it's the ornaments and not the tree that are edible).  The tree rests on the sideboard in the room where we have our big holiday dinners, usually before a blazing fire in the Franklin Stove. Some years it is so Norman Rockwell that I could die.  This tree grew more out of desperation than inspiration.  Our 119-year-old house has a basement that is only accessible from the outside (and down a steep flight of steps).  Last year when the weather turned bad on tree decorating day I decided to leave the ornaments stored in the basement and head to the pantry to see what I could come up with.  I grabbed Christmas peeps, bell-shaped gumdrops, and candy canes. Then I got to work baking cookies, poking holes in them before baking so I could string them with gold cord in order to add them to the tree.  I ended up with a unique tree that everyone loved.  This year, instead of the chocolate chip cookies, I made the gingerbread cookies shaped like ornaments.  To hang the candies I ran them through with ornament hooks and hung them on the tree.  The little ones in your family will be dazzled by a tree like this, but do take the edible ornaments down yourself and remove the hooks before giving them to small children.  You don't want over zealousness to lead to injury!  Clearly everything on the tree is not edible.  The lights, red glass ball ornaments, and garland is not, but the majority is, and with each passing year I come up with more ideas. The beauty of this tree is that when the season is over there is very little to put away.  

I encourage you to come up with your own special baking or decorating ideas this year and make them a treasured memory for you and your family.  This is how traditions begin.

This post is linked to:

Seasonal Sunday and Sweets for a Saturday

Gingerbread Party at Cozy Home Scenes