A family gathers around the Christmas tree while a young girl opens her present.
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Families have long decked out their homes for the holidays.
Some decor, such as tinsel, stayed in style for decades, even as materials changed.
Innovations, such as colorful electric lights and mass-produced flocked trees, modernized displays.
With Thanksgiving behind us and the holiday season in full swing, many families are decking the halls.
While some common holiday decorations like tinsel, ceramic Christmas trees, and colorful stockings might feel more nostalgic, they are back in style, as people look for comfort and connection that more modern elements can't always conjure.
Many resurgent decorating trends, from cranberry or orange garlands to vintage Christmas villages, can either be made at home or found in thrift stores — good news for the 85% of people who said they plan to spend the same amount or less on the holidays this year compared to 2024, WalletHub reported.
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.
A family with a Christmas tree, between 1921 and 1924.
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An associate of Thomas Edison thought up the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees back in 1882, History.com reported, replacing the long-held tradition of attaching lit candles to branches.
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.
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Tinsel has gone through various iterations. Initially made from silver, which indicated wealth, it was switched for cheaper metals that didn't sully so easily, such as copper and tin, The BBC reported.
However, a copper shortage in World War I gave way to aluminum and lead tinsel, which in turn led to concerns over fires and poisoning, The BBC reported. Eventually, PVC was used.
History.com reported that candy canes got their start in Germany in the 17th century, and were brought to the US by a German-Swedish immigrant in the 1800s. The mint flavor was first introduced in the 20th century.
Wartime shortages in the 1940s meant families had to use handmade or natural ornaments.
A family looking at a Christmas tree in 1948.
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In place of tinsel and metallic ornaments, items like pinecones and nuts adorned families' trees, The National WWII Museum reported.
There was even a shortage of real Christmas trees around that time because there were fewer people to cut them down and fewer train lines with space to transport them. Instead, American families turned to artificial trees.
Christmas stockings were typically made of red or green felt and trimmed with bells.
A girl hangs a stocking on a fireplace in 1951.
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People still use similar stockings today, hung by the fireside with care.
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.
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There were tinsel garlands or long strands of metallic tinsel called icicles, like on the tree shown above.
Hanukkah tables were often decorated with ornate tablecloths.
A table setting for Hanukkah in Los Angeles, California, mid 1950s.
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Menorahs could also be simple or ornate to match the tablescape.
In the 1950s, ornaments became more uniform, and colored lights were firmly in fashion.
American actress Jayne Mansfield decorates a Christmas tree, circa 1960.
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By the 1920s, 40 years after the invention of the electric Christmas light, colorful versions were on the market. By the 1950s, they had become more widespread.
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.
L. Willinger/FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Taper candles are still commonly used in holiday table settings.
Strands of pearlescent beads were used to decorate Christmas trees in the 1960s.
Children looking at a Christmas tree in 1965.
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"Silver and Gold," a famous Christmas song performed by Burl Ives in the 1964 film "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," embodied the Christmas tree-decorating trends of the time.
Some families, like President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, adorned 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.
"Flocked" trees covered in fake snow were also trendy in the 1960s.
People stand in front of a flocked tree in 1963.
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Flocked trees date back to the 19th century, when people first used flour and other materials to give the impression of snowy branches.
By the 1960s, the trees were being mass-produced, but some people DIY-ed the look by dipping their tree branches in laundry starch, an approach now discouraged due to fire hazards.
Lawn ornaments like snowmen and reindeer also grew in popularity.
A residential street decorated for Christmas in 1962.
William Gottlieb/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images
Inflatable versions of these vintage-looking lawn ornaments are still commonly seen today.
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.
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Some holiday decorating trends never go out of style.
One popular decoration was the light-up ceramic Christmas tree.
Vintage tabletop glazed ceramic bisque Christmas tree with multicolored lights in dark.
Joseph Connors/Getty Images
The trees are popular again today and can be found at stores including Aldi, Target, Pottery Barn, and Home Depot.
Christmas villages were also popular, and people would collect different scenes to create a miniature town for their mantel.
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People would often add cotton wool or sparkly white felt to create a snowy environment for their miniature Christmas villages. This decorating trend is still popular today, either new or secondhand.
Many trends have remained the same throughout the years.
A house decorated with Christmas lights in the early 2000s.
J. Irwin/Classicstock/Getty Images
However, elaborate light displays are one trend that probably would have seemed out of place 100 years ago.
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