If you remember celebrating Christmas in the glorious 1970s, you probably remember ceramic Christmas trees.
These small, decorative figures were a common sight on many people’s mantles, and it just didn’t feel like the holidays until your family’s own ceramic Christmas tree made its annual appearance. And now, like old VHS tapes before them, ceramic Christmas trees have become a coveted item of the nostalgia market, making them hot-ticket items on resale sites like eBay.
According to NBC’s “Today,” ceramic Christmas trees have been selling online for $100-$200, and we found the one pictured above on eBay with the high bid at $180. Experts told “Today” that this will only continue to increase as we get into the holiday season.
On Etsy, we found seller DesertViewVintage offering this 1970s Atlantic Mold ceramic Christmas tree for $150.
And, at publication time, Etsy shop NessyPlace was selling the 1990s-era Holland Mold two-piece ceramic Christmas tree shown below for $199. That doesn’t even include the shipping price, which is always high on fragile, prized items like this.
In other words, if you have a ceramic Christmas tree in your attic, it’s time to dust it off and get it on eBay, Etsy, Mercari or another marketplace site (if you can bear to part with it, that is).
The Origins Of Ceramic Trees
“Several different ceramic mold companies in the Midwest started producing their own version of the now-classic ceramic Christmas tree,” reads a history written by the ceramic tree lovers at Clark’s Christmas Tree Farm and Christmas Shop in Pennsylvania. “As technology improved in producing clay and molds that could hold correct shapes and create larger sizes, ceramic trees became more and more popular projects in ceramic shops around the USA well into the 1980s and early 1990s.”
That’s right: Making ceramic Christmas trees used to be a fun pastime for people during the holidays, as you may even remember.
“Everyone who took a ceramics class and celebrated Christmas made one of these trees,” vintage lifestyle expert Bob Richter told “Today.”. “People put them on top of the television, back when the TV was a piece of furniture.”
So, if you don’t want to splurge on buying a retro ceramic Christmas tree, consider making your own! Find a helpful tutorial here at the Christmas Tree Source.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
