Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Men

A Vintage Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to celebrate romance. Start planning now to create a truly memorable day.

Candy is a traditional gift and although much appreciated it can be a little, well unimaginative.

 

Heisey Lariat Candy Jar

Go beyond the expected heart shaped box and put your sweet offerings in a beautiful candy jar!

The chocolates may disappear quickly but your thoughtfulness will be remembered all year.
 
Filling this beautiful Heisey Candy Jar with Hershey's kisses might get you lots of kisses in return ♥

Fenton Daisy Button

A lovely covered candy dish filled with conversation hearts is a sweet (and inexpensive) way to tell her you love her ♥

  

Fostoria Berry Covered Candy Bowl

Tell your Valentine she's delicious by putting some gourmet's chocolates in this beautiful container. Milk glass and chocolate, what could be better? 

We hope we have given you some ideas for making this Valentine's Day extra special.  Please visit our Vintage For Sale pages for even more ideas. Here is the link to get you started https://www.facebook.com/GotVintageShops
We also have a Valentine's Day Pinterest board to inspire you - http://www.pinterest.com/gotvintageshops/valentines-day/

About the Author

Karen Mantone-Pillar is one of the founders and administrators of Got Vintage Shops. She currently owns and operates two online shops; Charmings Collectibles on Etsy, and a stand alone web store CharmingsCollectibles.com.

Vintage Kitchen Makeovers

Give Your Kitchen a Fresh Look with Vintage

Metlox Poppytrail Blue Canister

If you're looking for an easy way to give your kitchen a new look, try vintage!

With so many eras to choose from you can create just the look you want. Vintage accents and accessories make your kitchen go from boring to fabulous!

1950's Metal Canister

Vintage canisters are an easy way to bring fun and function into your kitchen and they're available in a variety of materials. On the left is a classic Metlox Poppytrail Blue pottery canister and to the right a metal one perfect for a shabby chic decor.

Vintage linens are another wonderful way to bring color and function together in your kitchen. To the left is a mid century multicolored dish/tea towel with two birds. In the center is a great instant collection of vintage towels. Four of them are "huck" towels, the rest are hand embroidered. On the right is a hand crocheted pot holder with a pink rose in the center.

           Mid Century Linen Bird Towel               Huck & Embroidered Tea Towels                 Hand Crocheted Pot Holder

Androck Hand Sifter

What next? How about some vintage utensils.

These look great hung on a wall, displayed in a crock or on a shelf. On the right is an Androck Hand-I-Sift triple screen sifter decorated with tulips. Below going from left to right we have a Androck potato masher or ricer with a marbled green bakelite handle, a cake server circa 1934 with a green bakelite handle, a pizza wheel with a marbled bakelite handle and a hand crank cream whipper made by EKCO Products of Illinois.

                  Masher/Ricer                                   Cake Server                             Pizza Wheel                                     Cream Whippet

Aesthetic Napkin Ring

Of course you will want some vintage dishes and serving pieces and we've got those too!

On the left is an Aesthetic Movement design hand hammered pewter napkin ring from the 1890's. Then below starting on the left, four vintage bowls in various sizes in the Old Holland ware shape from Universal Cambridge with a lovely floral design, a set of two vintage Fiestaware plates by Homer Laughlin and last but not least a lovely set of Rose cups made by Fire King.

                Old Holland                                              Fiestaware                                                             Fire King Rose


Next up are some wonderful vintage tumblers. On the left from the 1960s is a set of orange and gold and on the right are a set of six glasses featuring a red rectangle and gold star burst design, very mid-century.


                               Orange and Gold Tumblers                                                                              Red and Gold Tumblers

And you will need something to serve your drinks with, here are some great pieces.

First up is an antique Graniteware coffee pot, you'll want some juice or iced tea in this wonderful Gay Fad pitcher then finish out the evening with this fifties Blendo set in a fabulous orange.

               Graniteware Coffee Pot                                         Gay Fad Pitcher                             Blendo Pitcher and Glasses Set
Don't forget a wonderful vintage tray to serve those drinks on. This beautiful and unique brass tray with handles features zodiac signs and turquoise color semi precious gemstones.

Antique Brass Tray

Rooster Spice Rack

Time to spice up your kitchen with a terrific spice rack. This set features a set of handpainted pottery retro rooster spice shakers in a wooden rack.

And speaking of spices, how about some cut salt and pepper shakers? On the left are a pair of mid century avocado green and harvest gold with brown and cream retro pottery mushrooms salt and pepper shakers, in the center are an adorable pair of vintage black French Poodle salt and pepper shakers, and finally a cute set of rooster and chicken shakers.

                  Mushroom Shakers                                              Poodle Shakers                             Chicken and Rooster Shakers

Regal China Cookie Jar

Last but not least are those special items that add the finishing touch to your kitchen decor.

What kitchen is complete without a cookie jar? This darling Dutch girl is an original Regal China Dutch Girl Cookie Jar.

Below is a selection of wonderful items that add that form as well as function. Starting on the left is a wonderful creamy yellow refrigerator dish by Hall. This originally came with the purchase of a new Westinghouse refrigerator! In the center is a fabulous Cobalt blue mixing bowl by potter Jerry Brown, and on the left is a great enamelware bucket, perfect for everything from flowers to compost.

          Hall Refrigerator Dish                             Jerry Brown Pottery Bowl                           White Enamel Bucket

We hope that these wonderful vintage items have inspired you to do something new with vintage. To see more great kitchen collectibles please visit the GVS Vintage Kitchen Collectibles For Sale page on Facebook. To learn more about any of the items here simply click on the photo caption to be taken directly to the item.

About the Author

Karen Mantone-Pillar is one of the founders and administrators of Got Vintage Shops. She currently owns and operates two online shops; Charmings Collectibles on Etsy, and a stand alone web store CharmingsCollectibles.com.

Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a time for traditions. 

Here are a few of our favorites!

Christmas Cookies

Tupperware Cookie Cutters

What is more fun than gathering the family together in the kitchen and baking up a batch of cookies?  You can make them from scratch or for an easy out buy a roll of cookie dough and simply slice or roll it out and cut shapes with seasonal or whimsical cookie cutters. Pop them in the oven and in a few minutes you can start decorating with colored icing, sprinkles and piping. Be sure to make more than you need as quite a few may mysteriously disappear while being decorated!

 

Happy Birthday!

One of our family’s favorite traditions is a Birthday Party! We decorate our dining room with a Happy Birthday banner.

Fostoria American Square Cake Plate

 

On Christmas Eve we have a cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. A special cake stand adds to the celebration! It’s a fun way to remind your children - and yourself - of the real reason for the holiday.

Gorham Sterling Silver Snowflake Ornament

 O Tannenbaum

Another Christmas Eve tradition is decorating the tree. Our children are all adults and we break out a bottle of champagne when decorating the tree. Families with younger children can substitute sparkling juice. 

Vintage Champagne Glasses

We enjoy unpacking the special ornament from years past and adding new ones to celebrate the years accomplishments. Vintage ornaments add a special touch to any tree.

Vintage Christmas Tree Ornaments

Vintage Christmas Tree Decorations

Vintage Dancing Santa Ornament

Cookies for Santa

Don’t forget to put out some cookies for Santa. Having a special plate to use every year adds to the traditional fun.

 

Vintage Christmas China Santa Plate

Cherry China Christmas Lunch Set

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning is too exciting for a sit down breakfast.  Pop some sweet rolls in the oven start the coffee and by the time the stockings are emptied you are ready to eat. Snack trays are a wonderful way to eat around the tree while opening presents. The adults will appreciate the coffee and just fill the children’s cups with juice or milk.

Lenox Holiday Dinnerware

Christmas Dinner

Definitely the time to bring out the good china, glassware, candle stick holders, linens and the like. We look forward to using our special Christmas dishes to add to the festive design of our table.

We hope you enjoyed hearing about some of our traditions and please feel free to add your own in a comment. Merry Christmas to all!

GVS Holiday Shopping

For a special treat click on this link for a GVS Holiday Shopping Video, sit back and enjoy! http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Ci8Ye3rQ

About the Author

Karen Mantone-Pillar is one of the founders and administrators of Got Vintage Shops. She currently owns and operates two online shops; Charmings Collectibles on Etsy, and a stand alone web store CharmingsCollectibles.com.

About the Slide Show Producer

 Lynn Stull owns and operates The Eclectic Diva - Where Diva Meets Vintage.

 

The Story of Hanukkah

The story of Hanukkah starts more than twenty one centuries in the past. The Jewish Holy Land was ruled by people who fought to Hellenize the people of Israel. A small group of Jews defeated one of the largest armies and drove them away. The Jews reclaimed the Holy Temple and rededicated it to the service of God. They went to light the Temple’s menorah, only to find they had only a single container of oil – enough to last one day. However, that single container of oil burned for eight days.

 

At the center of the festival of Hanukkah is the lighting of the Menorah each night. One candle is lit the first night, and allowed to burn until it burns itself out. Each night an additional candle is lit – on the second night two, on the third night three, and so on – on the final night of Hanukkah, all eight candles are lit.

Sterling Silver Kiddush Cup

 

Prayers are repeated each night, giving praise to God for "delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few... the wicked into the hands of the righteous."

 

Of course, food plays a part in the customs surrounding Hanukkah. Especially foods cooked in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts). 

Vintage Tablecloth Blue & White

Spinning a dreidel, marked with the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin is enjoyed. The letters represent “A great miracle happened there.”

Let’s not forget the giving of gelt, or gifts of money, to children!  Chocolate gelt often replaces the giving of money these days. We always share gold foil wrapped chocolate morsels with the children at all our gatherings.

Burgess and Leigh Flow Blue Dresden Platter

The colors of blue and white or blue and silver are used in many homes when decorating for this special celebration. The colors are thought to either represent the blue of the water and the white of the clouds in the sky, or the blue and white colors in the flag of Israel. It depends on who shares the story with you.

Libbey Rock Sharpe 'Artic Rose'Cordials

The miracle of Hanukkah is cause for celebration! 

Eat, drink and be festive! Celebrate the triumph of the light over darkness.

Open salts with cobalt glass liners

             

 

  About the Author

 Cathy Heidemann Overfield is on Staff at Got Vintage Shops and owns and operates Charmed Life Collectibles on Ruby Lane, and Charmed Collectibles on Etsy.