Image: Wishbook Web

Pink plastic trees covered in bubble lights. Aluminum trees splashed in orange, blue, red and green light from a color wheel. Tinsel, tinsel everywhere. The midcentury was not just the golden era for home design, it was the (silver and) golden era of Christmas decorations. 

Now, another piece of vintage Americana is lighting up trendy living rooms. The ceramic Christmas tree was a seasonal staple in the 1960s and 1970s. Crafty grandmothers and aunts often gifted them to their families. You could buy a kit to make one, either painting the base white tree form a bright green, or leaving it white for a snowy look. Those looking to cut corners could simply buy a completed one from the Sears Christmas Wishbook.

The tiny tabletop trees, typically about half a foot in height, had little plastic lights. The tiny bulbs could often snap off over the years in storage, which is perhaps why mint antiques can fetch hefty sums on Etsy and Ebay these days. On both sites, a vintage ceramic tree runs anywhere from about $50–$100. This red-and-white one covered in illuminated birds, rather than bulbs, is going for a couple hundred bucks. And that's not even painted. Thousands of others are on offer, too.

More and more nostalgic stories about these charming decorations have started to pop up. Which makes us feel pretty smart for holding onto our original for more than four decades. Did you light up a little ceramic tree in your home?