Look for vintage Christmas ornaments to cherish at home—or to resell for a tidy profit.
7 Vintage Christmas Ornaments to Look for at the Thrift Store
Published on Dec. 12, 2024
It’s mid-December, which means savvy shoppers have already started to hit the holiday displays at thrift stores and resale shops. People scout the sales to find vintage Christmas ornaments that are valuable to collectors, similar to vintage cookie jars and early Pyrex.
In theory, anyone willing to do the legwork can achieve the success of vintage ornament collectors and flippers. You just need to find the right stores and consult the right guides. The thrill of the hunt counts for something, too! It might not even take a trip to the store—if you’re cleaning out your basement or attic, double-check any vintage Christmas decorations destined for the donation bin. You wouldn’t want to part with something worth hundreds of dollars!
Here are some ornaments that might be more valuable than you think.
The Most Valuable Christmas Ornaments
Dresden ornaments
These die-cut fiberboard ornaments might not seem valuable, since they lack the blown glass and bejeweled exterior of other collector’s items. But Dresden was one of the major brands to pop up in the early 20th century as mass-produced Christmas ornaments gained steam in the United States. They were a popular option for families with kids since they wouldn’t shatter if they fell off the tree. Though their cardboard-like material might sound dull, Dresdens boast a surprising level of detail and are often painted in sparkling metallics. The rarest vintage Dresdens sell for thousands of dollars on eBay.
Jay Strongwater ornaments
The benefit of scouting out Jay Strongwater ornaments in the wild is that they’re so distinctive and instantly identifiable. Their creator began in the luxury fashion and jewelry realm, so it makes sense that his ornaments are similarly striking. Metal, enamel and crystals create a unique visual signature. Strongwater ornaments come in hundreds of forms, but the animals often fetch the most at auction, netting $1,000 to $3,000 if they’re rare and/or pristine enough.
Christopher Radko ornaments
Since the 1980s, Radko ornaments have been treasured for the exquisite skill of the Polish artisans who produce them. Christopher Radko himself did not start off selling holiday trinkets; only after his family’s Christmas tree fell, shattering more than 2,000 heirlooms that hung from it, did he begin to source European glass ornaments to replace them and, later, to sell to American buyers. These days, Radko ornaments vary wildly in resale price, but there’s a cottage industry of flippers ready to tell you what each piece is worth. (Hint: Look for the Christmas tree shaped ring on top of the hanging cap and the attached golden tag with a starburst insignia.)
Gladys Boalt ornaments
Each Gladys Boalt ornament is completely handmade in the United States, featuring a soft doll-like figurine with a hand-painted face and hand-sewn clothing. That level of craftsmanship has made them popular since the early 1980s. On eBay, they often resell for over $100. Luckily, it’s easy to tell if you’re looking at a genuine Boalt, as each one is signed and dated (usually on the figure’s foot).
Kugel glass ornaments
These German blown-glass ornaments often resemble a bundle of grapes or a bumpy berry, or they take the form of simple but oversized baubles about 8 inches in diameter. Kugels can sell for hundreds of dollars if they’re in good condition. As Martha Stewart explains, their interior silver coating lends them a unique luster prized among collectors, reflecting the lights of a Christmas tree as few other ornaments can.
Star Trek/Star Wars ornaments
Not all of these will be rare and/or valuable, but it never hurts to keep an eye out for Star Trek or Star Wars holiday trinkets. Knowing that there’s a perennial fandom surrounding these sci-fi properties, brands like Hallmark often manufacture collector’s items with the scarcity built right in, limiting certain product runs to a few hundred pieces. If you find the right ones, you could net thousands of dollars at auction. A Jean Luc Picard collectible sold in September for $2,850, and multiple listings for a 2011 Star Wars ornament exclusive to San Diego Comic-Con have sold above $1,000 this year.
Anything with clips
These aren’t guaranteed to be rare finds, but you should keep an eye out for ornaments with a spring clip as opposed to a hanging cap. The advantage of seeking these out is that the clips tend to show their age a bit more, looking creaky or worn, thereby helping determine when something is truly vintage. Many German ornaments from the early 20th century were affixed to the tree with clips instead of hooks, and antique ornaments of German origin are among the most valuable to collectors.
How to Tell If an Ornament is Vintage
Verifying that an ornament is truly vintage will not always be as simple as checking a tag. Sometimes, antiques like Shiny-Brite are reissued by major retailers, and the modern versions carry none of the vintage value. But there are some tells. Fading, scratches and cracks often occur in blown glass ornaments of a certain age, their metal caps dulled by years of use. Antiques might use materials that are less common now, like a styrofoam core, spun cotton or large-grain mica coating for a texture that looks like snow. And while modern ornaments are crafted for durability, the mercury glass of a century ago was more brittle and fragile. The more vintage ornaments you scout out, the more you will be able to look past the claims of the seller and determine the true age of these Christmas collectibles.
