Collecting Christmas!

I interviewed Ralph Del Pozzo and David High, authors of the books ReCollections: Christmas Ornaments and ReCollections: Christmasland (Collins Design, $15 each). These small gift books are chock full of vintage Christmas collectibles, all part of Ralph and David’s personal collection—and have tons of personality (as do the guys!). Each page is full of interesting Christmas tidbits, mixed in with fun commentary, and laced with plenty of Christmas-of-yore nostalgia. Plus, the photos are whimsical and beautiful.

Here’s my conversation with Ralph and David about how to collect Christmas and why they love it so much. Enjoy! – Rachel.


Why did you guys put your Christmas collections into book form?
Ralph: We’ve been collecting Christmas for some time, but we weren’t collecting with a book in mind. It was just because we love collecting. We also design book jackets and do photography, so when a publisher mentioned wanting to do a small gift book on Christmas, we jumped at the chance—it gave us a reason to buy more!

Why do you love vintage Christmas so much, rather than the new stuff you can find at the mall?
Ralph: Tradition seems to be rapidly decreasing. Decorations now are really meant to be disposable, without a lot of effort or love. Back in the 1950s or ’60s everything was new. They were coming up with wonderful ideas, like “let’s turn pinecones into little elves,” which got people’s imagination going. Now decorations are blow-up ornaments on the lawn, which are puddles when Christmas is over. Antique Christmas is wonderful because the pieces were special enough that they were held onto and passed down through generations.

What do vintage pieces add to the Christmas tradition?
David: Vintage Christmas invokes a feeling that is typically something you’ve totally forgotten about. It transports you back to when you actually believed there was a Santa. You find this thing, like a mica nativity set, which was exactly what you had at 5 years old. When you hold it in your hand, you get a warm feeling that’s hard to find these days.

You collect other stuff, too, but why is vintage Christmas your favorite?
Ralph: Christmas has just so many things to collect, from porcelain to chenille. You really can make collecting Christmas a full-time hobby because there’s always something new. Christmas is a holiday of excess, more than any other holiday. It’s also the most nostalgic—the whole childhood, make-believe feeling.

David: Plus, what’s great about Christmas décor is you put it away and the next year there are surprises all over again. If your stuff is out year round, they collect dust. But unpacking Christmas becomes part of tradition. You unload boxes, set up villages, and it warms up the house.

Ralph: Friends love coming over to our house because it’s an event. There always seems to be something someone has forgotten about. People look and say, “Oh, those pinecone elves! We had ones just like them when I was younger.” There’s such a common thread with all of us. No matter where you go in life, at one point your grandmother had pinecone elves. A serious person turns into a child and shows you a side you rarely see.

We don’t have nearly the extensive Christmas collection you have. How can we create this traditional Christmas feeling in our homes?
David: Even thought these things are beautiful, you still have to create our own sense of peace and comfort that you get from surrounding yourself with things from the past. Gather your own family around and participate together. Create your own warmth.

Ralph: Go into an antique shop and buy something Christmas from yesteryear. I avoid buying brand-new Christmas items, because I’d much rather have something that has a story and history. And it’s worth it. For me, pinecone elves bring both of my grandmothers back into Christmas. Every year, we’d get a shipment from Pennsylvania of all homemade ornaments. It’s like having them back with me.

Tell us a little more about your ReCollection books, Christmas Ornaments and Christmasland.
Ralph: They’re history worked in with cleverness and some interesting tidbits. One minute readers are laughing, the next they’re a little teary eyed. We did all the photography and set up the little villages. Everything that’s photographed is what we own.

David: For the second book, Ralph went insane creating little scenes. He was gone for months. In the summer, he’d have Christmas music going while making glitter villages.

What’s your home like at Christmastime. Do you go overboard? Be honest.
Ralph: When we decorate, it’s not just the one room. A mischievous congregation of pixies, elves, or pinecone people is all over the house, on every available flat surface, the bathroom included. One of the first things I do is put out plastic nativities. They’re all the same model but different artists and containers. As a kid I remember breaking the little Jesus or the little mica houses. I had to know what was inside. That’s why they’re all broken.

David: We’re usually still doing stuff Christmas Eve. We start Thanksgiving weekend, and it’s a continuous thing until January. We keep it up really long. Ralph says, “You can’t open drapes, it’s too embarrassing.” When we were shooting the first book, we had real Christmas tree branches in it, so we needed a second tree in January. We were trying to sneak it into the house when our neighbor drove by. They must think, “Oh my, Ralph and David are putting up another Christmas tree in January.” We have fun.

What’s your decorating style?
Ralph: I guess you could say we're traditional, times ten. For instance, we construct a winter scene under the tree (which is traditional), but instead of one light-up church we have a half-dozen incorporated into the landscape. We tend to decorate our country house on the traditional-Victorian-vintage side, whereas our city apartment is all done up in mid-century modern with a spinning silver aluminum tree and “Jewel-Brite” ornaments designed specifically for them.

How many vintage Christmas pieces do you have out each year?
Ralph: It’s hard to say. 500 pieces wouldn’t be exaggerating.

What’s a piece of advice you could give someone who wants to start collecting Christmas, but doesn’t know how to begin?
Ralph: Number one: Don't be intimidated. Tell yourself you won't spend more than five dollars and that your first purchase will only be a passion purchase. The right vintage piece will induce an emotional reaction when first spotted. You'll have that desire to pick it up and hold it. For that split second you will be transported back into childhood, perhaps by a memory of your grandmother's house or the aroma of Mom's fresh baked cookies. At that very moment you will have experienced those precious elements of collecting and the warmth induced by the tradition of vintage Christmas. It's a traditional discovery! My first piece was an indented ornament, probably due to a memory of sticking my finger in one and finding out how thin the glass was.

What is your Christmas morning tradition?
David: It’s not pretty. Because we spend most of our free time around the holidays decorating (and it’s a lot of decorating)m our traditional Christmas morning usually involves frantic last-minute wrapping before heading to the family dinner.

David visiting Santa as a tot.

Ralph posing at his first Christmas.