Holiday decor that’s making a comeback.

It’s no secret that Christmas is my most favorite holiday. I love everything about it: the hustle and bustle, 24/7 Michale Bublé, and the decor. I love transforming an everyday room into a magical wonderland.

Ever since we put the addition of the family room onto our house, I’ve had one very large room (that we keep free of toys and clutter) in which to go all-out with decorations. The day I drag out the Christmas bins and rediscover my holiday decor is a momentous one. I love unpacking each item, mentally recalling where in the room it was placed the year before. Because while I love lots and lots of decorations, I also love order, symmetry and a theme.

One of these decorations is not like the others…

There are only a few items that don’t fit into my holiday color scheme and theme: a large ceramic church that was handed down through Mr. KK’s family; our little nativity set that hails all the way from Puerto Rico, and was a gift from my Mr. KK’s parents; and – perhaps my most prized possession of all – the old school green ceramic light-up Christmas tree.

Even though we have the big family room to decorate, this little bookcase nook is still where the ceramic tree resides each year. It’s the first thing I pull out of the boxes and assemble. I take my time inserting the colorful pegs into the little holes; and each year, no matter how hard I try I still can’t seem to decorate it in such a way that I don’t have 6 blue pegs next to each other.

It was hand-painted by Mr. KK’s grandmother, so this tree is truly one-of-a-kind.

So you could imagine my surprise when I was walking down one of the Christmas aisles at Target and saw this:

Mass-produced green ceramic Christmas trees! For $30! So now everyone can have a little piece of an old Italian grandma in their homes this holiday season!

(I’m not going to lie: the green tree is a little too shiny and fake-looking to me, and the green is a little too green, but I’m diggin’ the retro look the white tree has going on)

I love that items like the ceramic Christmas tree are making a comeback. And not just the items, but what the items represent.

I have no doubt that this ceramic tree was painted by Mr. KK’s grandmother during a ceramics class that she took weekly with her friends. They’d meet up, pick out what they’d like to paint, and then chit-chat and gossip while they turned the plain, white objects into colorful masterpieces.

And today, we are bringing back that nostalgia: there are painting and craft classes that you can do with friends or family, where you gather together, probably imbibe, gossip, and unleash your inner craft maven.

These old school decorations – like my beloved ceramic tree – are making a comeback. They are kitschy and cool, and up until recently, you couldn’t buy them. You either had them in your family, or you didn’t (or you bought them on eBay).

For us, this tree will go up every year, even long after Little Mister no longer believes in the man in the red suit. The little bulb inside the tree will burn softly, illuminating the little pointed lights and glass birds that grace the branches.

And maybe some day, Little Mister will want the tree, because he’ll have the story of its origin from us, and he’ll want to keep the Christmas magic and spirit alive in his own home.