Do you want to create a new look with your old Christmas decor, full of cozy charm?  Find out how I mix old and new Christmas decor, including thrift store finds, vintage items, and new styles in this 2024 Christmas Home Tour!  I’m sharing some of my favorite ways to combine the old and new for budget-friendly looks, using mostly decor that I’ve had for a long time!

As much as I love decorating for Christmas, along with shopping for new items in the current Christmas decor trend, I also love all of my vintage finds.  Even though it can be a challenge to find ways to mix old and new Christmas decor, I actually think it is easier to get a cozy style when I combine favorite old decorations with vintage Christmas decor ideas.

Plus, there’s this little thing called budget.  Who can relate?!  

​​I love seeing what the new Christmas decor trend will be each year and even shopping for a new piece or two to add to our holiday decor collection.  However, in order to decorate all throughout our home like we love to do, I also get to make the best use of my old decorations too!

So, today, we are going to chat about how to mix old and new Christmas decor.  I’ll take you through a few rooms in our main living space (because I haven’t finished any bedroom Christmas decor yet!  Haha!) and show you a couple of new items, some of the Christmas items I’ve had around for years, and also some of my favorite vintage decorations that I like to mix in as well.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a lot of old decorations that could use a little new life.  Hopefully with this post, you’ll have your creativity sparked to mix old and new Christmas decor in a different way and enjoy it more than ever.

After all, Christmas decorating isn’t supposed to be about perfect new styles.  Instead, decorating in the Christmas season should feel like a gift we give ourselves and our families, creating cozy spaces, ready for making memories together!

Decking the Halls: Christmas Home Tours

Before we head into my dining room to look at ways to mix old and new Christmas decor, I want to say a quick thank you to my blogging friends Kelly from The Tattered Pew and Mansa from This Is Simplicite.  These amazing ladies have organized this week’s home tours, featuring around 30 homes all decked out for the holiday season.

While each home has its own unique style, each holiday home is styled with love.  We hope you will enjoy the special tours each day this week as you gather inspiration for the holiday season and just enjoy browsing each personal style from these wonderful home decor bloggers!

At the end of this post, you can find links to each of the Christmas Home Tours along with beautiful pictures to inspire your own decorating this holiday season!

How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor: 2024 Home Tour

How to repurpose Christmas decorations?

Combining old decorations with new items, thrift store finds, and vintage pieces can help you create a perfectly cozy Christmas home while staying on a budget.

When you mix old and new Christmas decor, you also start creating a curated look that is built over time.  Your Christmas decor will have a sense of nostalgia and special memories as you include favorite old decorations year after year.

Here are some easy ideas to help you repurpose Christmas decorations while you mix old and new Christmas decor:

• ​Add simple, new elements such as ribbon to wreaths and garlands you’ve enjoyed in the past.
• ​Display sentimental pieces under a glass cloche to make them a focal point.
• Decorate with a cohesive color palette to blend the old and the new.
• Spend a little extra time carefully fluffing old Christmas trees, garlands, and wreaths to keep them looking fresh and new.
• Add natural elements, such as fresh greens, layered with old garlands or wreaths to give them extra fluff.
• As you can, invest in high quality pieces that will last for many years to come.  I’ve had THIS garland, for example, for several years and just add one or two pieces to my collection each year.
• ​Display special pieces, such as an heirloom Nativity scene, in creative ways.  (I’ll show you mine later in this post!)

Most importantly, just do what YOU love in your own home.  Christmas, especially, is not about the latest trends and styles.  Rather, it is about creating a feeling.  You are the best decorator to create that cozy feeling in your own home for family and friends.  Embrace your personal style and take joy in your holiday decorating!

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​How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor in the Dining Room

​As I mentioned, we will start our home tour in the dining room!  Even though I don’t have a large dining room, I love giving small spaces their own little identity while creating a cohesive look to the open concept with the kitchen, family room, and music room.

Pro Tip:  A great way to create a cohesive, curated look is with a simple color scheme.

​​My holiday decor consists mainly of neutral tones, though I definitely consider gold, brass, and all of the metallics to be a strong color all on their own!

One of my favorite things in the dining room this year was to mix old and new Christmas decor by adding new mercury glass ornaments to a vintage glass jar.  I’ve been collecting these vintage glass apothecary bottles for a few years, picking them up here and there when I find them for a really great price (they can be pricey!). I decorate with them throughout the year here on my dining room shelves.  At Christmas time, though, I love making them a focal point by adding these mini mercury glass ornaments.  

​I have ornaments in both silver and gold mercury glass.  Combining the gold and silver is another easy way to get a vintage feel while also being able to mix old and new Christmas decor!

The other way I displayed some of my vintage ornaments is in the square ironstone bowl stacks I’ve been working on collecting.  I was excited to have added a few more this year so I finally have enough to make them more of a focal point on my dining room shelves!

Vintage ornaments can be expensive in antique stores but I like to watch for them at thrift stores, vintage markets, and even yard sales.  This summer, I snagged a favorite flea market find while we were on vacation with this vintage box of ornaments, all in my neutral tones that I love using!  The ornaments came to less than 75 cents each and you just can’t beat that for budget-friendly decor, right?!

Lastly, I want to show you how to mix old and new Christmas decor by combining small trees with your favorite vintage decor pieces.  On my dining room shelves, I took a new tabletop Christmas tree that I found on the clearance table at T.J.Maxx for $5 several years ago (similar greenery stems HERE) and added it to a reclaimed wooden vessel.  I love how the container brings in the warm wood tones while the Christmas greens help cozy up these dining room shelves!

Easy ways to mix old and new Christmas decor:

• Add mini ornaments or shiny jingle bells to favorite vintage containers.
• Display vintage ornaments or family heirloom ornaments in a pretty bowl (old or new will work!)
• Add small trees to favorite vintage containers.
• Use vintage fabrics as table runners or table cloths.
• Display modern Christmas decor that you love (ornaments or bells are great) in a vintage collection, such as my vintage mortar and pestle collection or ironstone bowl stacks.
• Bring in natural elements (even better if they are free from your yard!) like pine cones, fresh greens, or branches.  I hung my new bells on a branch (get a similar look for a budget-friendly price here) we rescued from a pile of hurricane debris!

How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor in the Living Room

How many ways can I count how I mix old and new Christmas decor in our family room?  There are just way too many to count.  However, if you’ve been following along with my blog for awhile, you probably recognize many different elements of my Christmas decor in this space, even though I’ve never done it the same way twice!

How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor as Wall Decor

One really great way to mix old and new Christmas decor is by creating a feature wall with favorite vintage Christmas decorations.  A gallery wall, large wall space over a mantel, or an accent wall are beautiful places to feature an old collection.

I started collecting vintage French horns maybe six or so years ago.  Since I was really committed to finding them for a great price, it took me a couple of years to grow my collection large enough to turn it into a feature.  However, ever since then, my vintage French horn collection has been the focal point for our family room in one form or another!

Here are a few ways I’ve styled my collection over the years!

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How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor on a Side Table

​Aren’t little vignettes just so much fun?  In my opinion, the small details make such a big difference in any room of the home.  I had this large glass cloche dome and wooden tray on the side table in our family room for the fall season.  Once I put fall decor away, it was just sitting there empty so I grabbed a few decorations that I’ve had from past years and decided to see what I could make work without buying anything new.

First, I added THESE three mercury glass trees.  I’ve had mine for a few years but they are still available and are one of my favorite Christmas decorations to use.  The set of three comes in different sizes.

Next, I added two little light up mercury glass-looking trees that I found in the dollar spot last year.  I love that just the little bit of twinkle from these two trees makes the whole vignette feel cozy.

Then, I added another set of Christmas decor items that I’ve had laying around for several years.  In fact, I almost got rid of these bottle brush trees last year but then I thought they may come in handy sometime.  Sure enough!  I love how the creamy white looks tucked around the mercury glass.

For an extra vintage vibe, I added this vintage bead garland with jingle bells on it.

Even though this is a combination of just old decorations that I’ve had for several years, vintage pieces, and new decor, I love how the vignette turned out.  I topped it off with a round, beaded ornament and faux cedar napkin ring tied together with a velvet ribbon and vintage jingle bell.  Like I said, the little details are my favorite part!

Budget-Friendly Decor Tip:  These velvet bows are pre-made and come in a pack of 4 for only $5.  I still can’t get over how high end and pretty they look.  Best of all, they saved tons of time tying ribbon around everything and trying to get the loops to look just right! 

How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor to Feature Sentimental or Antique Pieces

​One of the things that I think makes a home feel the most cozy and special during the Christmas season is when special sentimental or family heirlooms are displayed.

In our home, we enjoy all of the fun and festive decorations.  However, the heart of our Christmas season is the Nativity story.  My parents brought this beautiful Nativity scene home to us from Israel when our oldest was just a baby.

My children have grown up with this Nativity set, as evidenced by the tiny teeth marks on poor Baby Jesus!  Haha!  One of our kids loved to carry Him around as a toddler but it inevitably went in her mouth.  Miraculously, the Baby Jesus hasn’t gotten lost!  I hope that someday even my grandchildren enjoy this Nativity set when they come to visit, just as my own children enjoy the beautiful Nativity scene at my parent’s house that I also helped set up every year as a child.

Pro Tip:  All of this as an example to say, enjoy the heirlooms.  

Even if they don’t match your current decor aesthetic or they are imperfect after years of use, set them out and let them help tell the story of your family traditions!

This year, I wanted to make our Nativity scene more of a focal point in the family room.  To mix old and new Christmas decor, I combined the Nativity pieces with some of my favorite vintage elements: architectural salvage and glass cloche domes!

Pro Tip:  Glass cloche domes are a great way to turn smaller decorative or sentimental items into statement pieces!

​While the Nativity takes center stage on this apothecary cabinet-turned-sofa table, I added my favorite large flameless pillar candles in glass hurricanes.  For an extra cozy glow and some height on the sofa table decor, I also added pretty, flameless Christmas tree taper candles ​to my vintage brass angel candle holders.  Since my particular Nativity set doesn’t include angels, I love using these vintage brass angel candle holders instead.

To mix old and new Christmas decor in this sofa table vignette, I also added THESE beautiful wicker trees.  They were part of a new collection this year and since I love almost anything with woven texture, I ordered them right away!  They are available in three sizes; I added the medium and small wicker trees to this vignette.

Then, I added my favorite winter greenery to soften the edges and blend the holiday display.  This sofa table decor is a good example of a definite mix of decorations that I’ve had for many years, new decor pieces added this year, and favorite vintage styles.  Even better, I was able to include a special family tradition in a decorative way.

Budget-Friendly Tip:  Use greenery to help gel different decorative elements together into one vignette.  

You can layer greenery to mix old and new Christmas decor to help you turn special traditions into part of your decor story for your Christmas home!

Easy ways to mix old and new Christmas decor:

• ​Turn sentimental items or favorite smaller decorations into statement pieces by placing them under a glass cloche dome.
• ​Invest in quality flameless candles that you can use season after season and year after year.  They will give your home such a cozy glow! 
• ​Hit up thrift stores for brass candlesticks!
• ​Combine similar elements, like the mercury glass trees, to create a collection and display them together.
• Display unique and fun items on the wall, especially for the holiday season!  For example, mix old, thrifted mirrors with new art prints that look like vintage paintings.  You can frame these in thrifted frames for extremely budget-friendly vintage style art!

How to Mix Old and New Christmas Decor in the Entryway

​​If you are a frequent guest or family member at our home, you know that basically no one uses our front door.  Ever.  BUT, I walk through our entryway many, many times every day, as it is also a passageway from the living spaces to get to the side of our home where my bedroom is located.  When I decorate the entryway, I know that many people will not see it.  However, I see it every day and I love having fun creating something that makes me smile!

This year, I had more opportunities to mix old and new Christmas decor here in our entryway with some really fun pieces.

First up, I used a vintage sled that I got at an antique shop several years ago.  Behind it, I leaned one of my favorite flea market finds, this chippy antique French mirror.

Then, it was time to add some greenery.  Even though none of this greenery is vintage, they are all pieces that I’ve had for at least 3 years or longer.  When you invest in quality greenery, you can use it for many years to come!

I added THIS pair of tabletop trees that I got on sale a few years back.  I love that they look pretty with or without the lights.  The lights work on a timer and there are a lot of different options for twinkling, flashing, etc.

Next, I added THIS real-touch greenery around the mirror and layered my favorite vintage-style mercury glass ornament garland in front of the greenery.

My favorite thing about THIS vintage style mercury glass ornament garland is that it looks so much like real vintage Christmas ornaments.  You can find it all throughout our home and it is perfect for hanging on fireplace mantels, layering over a greenery garland on a dining table, or even taking the ornaments off of the ribbon and placing them in a pretty bowl for shelf or tabletop decor.

​The only new decor in this space are the wicker bells that I got for a great deal from the after-Christmas clearance aisle and some nutcrackers that I’ve had for many years finish off the seasonal decorative accessories.

So, for a grand total of $10 for the bells from last year and some creativity, I styled the entryway in a way that is cohesive with the rest of our open concept spaces while also having its’ own little special look going on!

One of the things I love about Christmas decorating is that it is the perfect time to just have fun with your decor.  You can experiment and take a little more free license to do unique things….like set a tall sled on top of your entryway cabinet!

​Easy ways to mix old and new Christmas decor:

• Start with a larger, unique statement piece, such as a sled, and build your vignette from there.
• Hang greenery over and around everything!  Faux or fresh greenery, either one, will make your home even more cozy.
• Don’t miss the after-Christmas clearance aisles for fun decorative items you can put back for the following year.  BUT, make sure you go through your stash before you purchase any new decor ahead of the holiday next year!
• Look for unique seasonal decor at places like antique shops and flea markets.  You can support small businesses while also adding charm and character to your home.  Things like this tall sled and my French horn collection have been great conversation starters on many occasions!
• Cut apart garlands, like I did with my favorite ornament garland in the dining room, to create multiple decorative items; this usually is a budget-friendly decorative idea too!
• You can browse my storefront for some of my favorite curated Christmas decor collections.  If you’re looking for those one or two new pieces to help bring it altogether this year, hopefully these curations can help inspire your decorating and give you a convenient resource too!

Bloggers’ Best Holiday Home Tours

This week I am joining some of my blogging friends for the Bloggers’ Best Holiday Home Tours. Twenty talented and creative women will be opening their homes up for you to tour all week long. You can visit each holiday home tour by clicking the links below.

Monday’s Tours

Lazy Girl’s Garden Club / This Is Simplicite / Amy Sadler Designs

Cottage In the Mitten / The Ponds Farmhouse / DIY Beautify

Tuesday’s Tours

Midwest Life and Style / Robyn’s French Nest

Sonata Home Design / StoneGable / Thistlewood Farms

Wednesday’s Tours

Living Large In a Small House / Shiplap & Shells / She Gave It a Go / Southern Home & Hospitality

Thursday’s Tours

Pasha Is Home / A Hundred Affections

tatertots & jello / Returning Grace / Perfecting Places

​It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  However, decorating a home can feel a lot like a “checklist to do item” during the busy season.  I like to start decorating early so that I can take my time and not have to throw it all up in a day or two.  At the same time, I think it is important to try and make decorating your home for the holidays a fun experience, as much as you can, at least.

One of the best ways to mix old and new Christmas decor is to only buy decorative pieces that you truly love.  Invest in quality decor that you can use year after year, even if you need to slowly build your collection, like I’ve done with my favorite realistic greenery.

​​Then, just start experimenting and playing around with your decor.  Set aside anything you don’t like anymore and have FUN with your Christmas decorating!

As the wife and mom in our home, I try to remember that I have the privilege of spending time creating spaces in our home that are ready for all of the fun festivities and magical memories that come around once a year.  That is what Christmas decorating is really all about!

I wish you not only a Merry Christmas but also the blessing that comes from decking the halls of your own home for your family and friends!

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You may also enjoy these related home decor posts to help get your home ready for the holidays:

• How to Hang Christmas Garland on a Mantel: 6 Easy Steps
• 30 Easy Ideas for Cozy Cottage Christmas Decorating
• Easy Ways to Choose a Christmas Theme for Holiday Decorating
• Easy Ideas to Decorate a Cozy Bedroom for Christmas
• Beautiful Vintage Farmhouse Christmas Home Decor Ideas
• Simple & Natural French Country Christmas Decor Ideas
• 25 Best Christmas Pillow Ideas for Every Budget (2024)
• 30 Neutral Christmas Decor Ideas for a Cozy Home

I’d love for you to follow me on social media!  You can find my home decor inspiration on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!  

Blessings,

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