Ever since I restored an antique cabinet for my foyer, I've truly enjoyed decorating it for Christmas with tons of vintage decor. From Shiny Brite ornaments to classic lights and silver garland to retro toys and trees, my big cabinet is loaded with retro decor in bright, glittery colors. I'd love to share some of my decorating tips and ideas for creating your own vintage Christmas decor.

Use lots of Shiny Brite ornaments

Jo and I collect Shiny Brite ornaments in their original packaging all year round, often finding them at flea markets and garage sales. I just love how they look when displayed in the original boxes, with the vintage labels and fonts. I use these Shiny Brites throughout my decor as much as I can.

Gather up vintage toys and decor

To break up the monotony of square ornament packaging, I also use lots of little decor elements such as vintage Christmas toys, or even new items that just look like vintage. It's all about the general look of fun, colorful, and bright items that remind you of Christmas as a kid.

Create a backdrop of sparkle and lights

Before filling the cabinets with decor, I first add a backdrop of classic silver garland topped with strands of battery-operated fairy lights. This backlights the items in the cabinet so they don't get lost in the shadows, and creates a dreamy look on each shelf.

Design vignettes to create special moments

On each shelf, I start with a box of ornaments and then fill in around it with the toys and decor, creating a little vignette.

My cabinet has doors with glass windows, so I take care to line up each collection so that it's centered behind the glass, creating a special moment in each spot.

Fill in with bright ornaments and decor

When I run out of big, vintage items to put on the shelves, I reach for other bright decor elements such as bowls and solid-colored ball ornaments. As my Shiny Brite collection grows, I can replace these items with more boxes of ornaments, but until then, there are plenty of items around the house that can fill the space temporarily.

Add a silver tree full of Shiny Brites

To go along with the cabinet full of retro goodies, I set up a silver-toned metallic Christmas tree next to the cabinet. This is where I hang all of my loose Shiny Brite ornaments, as well as lots of brightly-colored bulbs. When it's lit with sparkling white lights it adds the perfect homey touch to the cabinet.

Combine different textures and colors

The key to creating a fun and inviting collection of vintage Christmas decor is to combine different textures and colors together. As long as everything is in the same general look and broad color story, different textures such as wood, metal, and ceramic will all work together to add depth and dimension to your decor.

When I have it all pulled together, the result is so wonderful that I almost want to leave it up all year round!