Give vintage gifts for Christmas this year

Every Christmas at my house there is a higher than usual anticipation when it comes to the gift giving par of the celebration. For several years I've made a habit of giving vintage and antique items as gifts to my family members. Of course I still buy my fair share of the latest DVD's, CD's and the latest electronic toys and of course clothing and they usual gifts you would expect to find under the tree. But I'm getting famous or perhaps infamous for spicing things up by giving gifts you can't buy at the mall because there were no malls when they were made. Vintage gifts are a great way to really surprise folks during the holidays. I like to give vintage ceramic items or items that have a nostalgic appeal to them. Often it's an item I know one of my siblings had when we were kids and you can see their faces light up like a kid again when they open that box and get a flashback of their childhood. It's priceless the reactions you get sometimes. I like to find souvenir items from places we went to on family vacations as kids like plates or cedar wood boxes with the names of the vacation spots from the 60's and 70's like Rock City, Look out Mountain, Niagara Falls, National Parks, caves, Washington DC or any other major city we visited. Many of the "Theme Parks" we went to were not nationally known but were very popular in that state or region of the country and were just as exciting to go to as Disney World today to us as kids. Florida sure had a ton of small family run roadside attractions that are long gone but their souvenirs show up at yard sales frequently.

I am Christmas shopping all year long and setting aside items for gifts for the holidays or even to just decorate with. Some suggestions for items that I think make good vintage gifts are anything that has a childhood or nostalgic appeal to them.

• Souvenir plates, tins, trays, etc from places like Disneyland or any of the tourist hot spots from the "good old days"


• Fisher Price Viewmasters with the slide wheels are good items and still rather easy to find

• Old LP records with good covers on them that even if they can't be played can be displayed
• Postcards from your local area or from the part of the country the gift receiver is from originally


• Any vintage items of local interest especially books
  


• Vintage toys for the grand kids that their parents will have fond memories of.
  Coffee mugs from restaurants from the 40-70's such as Howard Johnson, Walgreen, Woolworths, Denny's, White Castle, etc.


• If you have a veteran to give a gift to any souvenir item that pertains to the branch of the armed services they were in
  
• Vintage textiles like embroidered pillows, pillowcases, bedspreads and tablecloths
  


• Vintage ceramic items such as planters, figurines, cookie jars
  Vintage bedside clocks, radios, lamps, prints and photos


• Coins that were minted in the birth year of the recipient
  
  I think you get the point I'm trying to make here by now. I just find that vintage gifts are always unexpected and they're a nice alternative to the latest crap made in China that you see stuffed on the shelves at the local discount or Department store. When you take some time to sit down and work on a list, the possibilities are endless and you can save a lot of money on your Christmas budget also if you are patient in your hunt. Most of these vintage items are very durable which is why they are still around and have lots of years left in them. Another way to think of it is you're recycling gifts and helping the environment too. So give a gift they they won't be expecting since they haven't made them in a generation or two. Good luck with your treasure hunting.