A family gathers around the Christmas tree while a young girl opens her present.
A family gathers around the Christmas tree while a young girl opens her present.
  • Through the years, families have decorated their homes for the holidays.
  • Tinsel-covered Christmas trees and brightly colored stockings are trends that now seem dated.
  • However, holiday light displays have only become more spectacular.

With the holiday season in full swing, many families are decking the halls.

However, some decorating trends, like tinsel, ceramic Christmas trees, and colorful stockings, feel more nostalgic than on-trend.

Take a look back at how people decorated their homes for the holidays in years past.

By the 1920s, some families were decorating their Christmas trees with electric lights, instead of the long-held tradition of attaching lit candles to branches.
A family with a Christmas tree, between 1921 and 1924.
A family with a Christmas tree, between 1921 and 1924.
By the 1930s and '40s, families were decorating their Christmas trees with festive candy canes and strands of tinsel.
A young girl helps to decorate a Christmas tree in Newton, Massachusetts, in December 1939.
A young girl helps to decorate a Christmas tree in Newton, Massachusetts, in December 1939.
However, wartime shortages in the 1940s also meant families had to conserve with handmade ornaments and less tinsel than usual.
A family looking at a Christmas tree in 1948
A family looking at a Christmas tree in 1948.
Christmas stockings were typically made of red or green felt and trimmed with bells.
A girl hangs a stocking on a fireplace in 1951
A girl hangs a stocking on a fireplace in 1951.
By the mid-1950s, tinsel and other elaborate decorations were back in full swing.
A boy and his sister decorate a Christmas tree with tinsel in 1955
A boy and his sister decorate a Christmas tree with tinsel in 1955.
Hanukkah tables were decorated with ornate tablecloths.
A table setting for Hanukkah in Los Angeles, California, mid 1950s.
A table setting for Hanukkah in Los Angeles, California, mid-1950s.
Ornaments became more uniform, and colored lights came into fashion.
American actress Jayne Mansfield decorates a Christmas tree, circa 1960.
American actress Jayne Mansfield decorates a Christmas tree, circa 1960.
For holiday meals, families would break out a red tablecloth and festive-colored taper candles.
A mother bringing a large turkey to the table for Christmas dinner, circa 1965.
A mother bringing a large turkey to the table for Christmas dinner, circa 1965.
Strands of pearlescent beads were used to decorate Christmas trees in the 1960s ...
Children looking at a Christmas tree in 1965.
Children looking at a Christmas tree in 1965.
... and some families, like President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, decorated their trees with strands of popcorn, colorful flowers, and mismatched ornaments.
Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, on the eve of her 55th birthday, standing in front of the White House Christmas tree in 1967.
Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, on the eve of her 55th birthday, standing in front of the White House Christmas tree in 1967.
"Flocked" trees covered in fake snow were also trendy in the 1960s. People DIY-ed the look by dipping their tree branches in laundry starch.
People stand in front of a flocked tree in 1963.
People stand in front of a flocked tree in 1963.
Lawn ornaments like snowmen and reindeer also grew in popularity.
A residential street decorated for Christmas in 1962
A residential street decorated for Christmas in 1962.
Families in the 1970s embraced colorful decorations with tinsel garlands and knit stockings.
A family sits by a fireplace and a Christmas tree in 1975
A family sits by a fireplace and a Christmas tree in 1975.
One popular decoration was the light-up ceramic Christmas tree. The lights were often multicolored and in the shape of miniature birds.
Vintage tabletop glazed ceramic bisque Christmas tree with multicolored lights in dark.
Vintage tabletop glazed ceramic bisque Christmas tree with multicolored lights in dark.
Christmas villages were also popular, and people would collect different scenes to create a miniature town for their mantel.
A light-up Christmas village decoration.
A Christmas village scene shows a church and people ice skating.
While many trends have stayed the same through the years, elaborate light displays are one trend that would have seemed out of place 100 years ago.
A house decorated with Christmas lights in the early 2000s.
A house decorated with Christmas lights in the early 2000s.
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