From the author: “We found three boxes and one large package with Christmas decorations on the landlord’s mezzanines.”
One of the boxes was dusty, scary, and sealed, moreover, with a stapler to death. Three thousand years no one, apparently, had no interest in its contents. "Cool!" I thought. - "We must get in!" There were Christmas tree decorations in the box, as in the other two, but they were old, some kind of patina and unusual, and some (the coolest ones, well!) Also broken. But there aren't many dead ones.
I don’t understand anything about this, I can’t date it, and I’ll be glad if someday someone will tell me more about these fragile beautiful things. And here are the photos. Judging by the aesthetics and some items, it can be dated. The first photo is the second half of the 1960s, closer to the seventies. Icicles, flashlights, spinning top (second from left, top row). Flashlight on the mount - we repeated the toys from the GDR. They came to us en masse around 1967.
The second photo with peas, mushrooms and birches - looks like late Khrushchev))) 1960-1962.
The third photo is two tops, mid-1960s or earlier. In the 1950s, there were mostly stars.
The fourth photo is icicles. I won’t say for everything, but the striped quilts on the right are pure 1970s, even the beginning of the seventies, when sideboards, floor lamps and coffee tables suddenly appeared.
The fifth photo is with a Chukchi youth. It looks like a mix of times. Chukchi guy - late 1950s. An orange basket with a dog - either already in the 1980s, or even a foreign toy, some kind of Polish, does not look like the GDR. The chicken on the left is also a late period or also an import. Owl, roly-poly and squirrel - mid-1960s.
The sixth photo is flashlights. All 1960s. Middle and towards the end.
Seventh photo - an acorn and a basket with vegetables or fruits, corn - late Khrushev.
The eighth photo is cones. Including sugar - this is all the 1960s and maybe a little 1970s. We borrowed sugar from the GDR.
I can't say anything about the Ninth and Tenth photos.
Eleventh photo - bells: bottom row on the left with a tongue + on the right a white ribbed mallet similar to the 1960s. The blue bell and top pink are from the 1980s, or late 1970s.
I really like this series, such vegetables and fruits, very naturalistic, uneven, pleasantly colored, especially a cool apple and garlic ... and pepper, and a pea pod)) in general, everything is cool! and I like this “icicle” in birch color.
It is clear that - tops for Christmas trees.
Here's some more awesome stuff! Especially this naive Chukchi young man on the right is good, and the house under him.
Fungus and acorn are my favorites here!
I'm not sure about the top row of buds, they look new, the ones in the bottom row are cooler, but the top ones were in the same box, but anyway ... I like them too)
Here are the tops with clothespins, like on a transparent star, for the first time I see them, I really like them.
But this marvelous parrot is alone, completely alone, there was nothing else so crazy in the box, except for one more exotic bird, but it was completely injured and beaked, so the parrot is lonely and beautiful here, like a romantic hero)
This is what we unexpectedly found this year and decorated a spontaneous Christmas tree. Spontaneous because Nastya Kryuchevskaya brought it, and we ourselves didn’t plan to put anything up, we bought only a couple of wreaths, interlaced them with ribbons, and okay, it seems to be ... But Nastya came and dragged the tree) For some reason, this is how I like it the most - when things happen by themselves. A thread from there, a thread from here - and Fenka. No one expected her, but she is.
hunter201 12.01.2014 - 19:32
Often ads began to come across for the sale of old Christmas tree decorations, including on Avito. Wow, amazing prices.
Below I will try to post a photo of the old Christmas tree decorations I have, a request from knowledgeable people to say - are they worth a thread? (After NG I want a freebie! 😊)
mazzer 12.01.2014 - 19:48
Of these, I only have a traffic light left (in the style of the penultimate one), they are personally valued by me and I won’t sell it for any rugs 😊
hunter201 12.01.2014 - 19:55
Interesting - I insert new photos, and the old ones disappear somewhere.... 😞
On the second photo from the bottom there is an inscription on the edges - "Beijing". If I remember correctly, my father-in-law served in China in 1949-1952. It is quite possible that this toy of those years, although I can’t say for sure - no one is alive anymore ...
Alexander- 12.01.2014 - 20:15
Russian With a Chinese - brothers on the CENTURY. They used to sing.
AP.
pakon 12.01.2014 - 20:19
They were the same. Every year the collection melted and melted like snow in spring. They are fragile and the inner layer crumbled.
Now balls from IKEA
Griggen 12.01.2014 - 20:49
The prices at which old toys are on Avito does not mean that they are bought at these prices)
As far as I know, collectors value old Christmas decorations with Soviet symbols, as well as technical ones - the shape of airplanes, locomotives, astronauts, etc.
hunter201 13.01.2014 - 11:12
Wait, more opinions! 😊
13.01.2014 - 11:43
Griggen
Collectors value vintage Christmas decorations with Soviet symbols, as well as technical orientation
RTDS 13.01.2014 - 11:46
hunter201
So I decided to ask the members of the forum - is this a myth or a reality?
Who cares ... I wouldn’t give a penny for them - I’m not a collector, I don’t feel nostalgia, and most of the old Soviet toys look like garbage ... (I’m not specifically talking about yours - in general, because they are shabby due to age , paint darkens and rubs off, etc.)
mageric 13.01.2014 - 13:11
I don’t know the topic, but if there are collectors for this product, then the prices can be breathtaking. Well, for example, a toy in the form of an astronaut was released for the flight of the first astronaut. And let's say 1000 pieces were released. Or even 100k. You can imagine how much a connoisseur would pay for such a treasure.
RTDS 13.01.2014 - 14:26
mageric
Well, for example, a toy in the form of an astronaut was released for the flight of the first astronaut. And let's say 1000 pieces were released. Or even 100k. You can imagine how much a connoisseur would pay for such a treasure.
In Soviet times, events, such as the flight of the first cosmonaut, were accompanied by various souvenir products, produced in ohuliard editions ... So that any collective farmer could buy it in his general store. There could be no talk of any "1000 pieces" ...
mageric 13.01.2014 - 14:34
You know better, I'll say, in this topic, I'm zero.
hunter201 13.01.2014 - 15:51
pakon
Their poor children, the sea of \u200b\u200btoys, and most likely they don’t decorate the Christmas tree))))
"Poor children" do not experience any shortage, on the contrary, they do not know which toy to hang and which one. leave, so many of them. But these toys are not used.
The topic is not charged to the detriment of children, there is no need to make monsters out of grandfathers and parents, it is purely commercial interest
BLIND MOLE 13.01.2014 - 15:59
"wait forty years - it will be a rarity." children who played with these toys grew up, when you are over 40 - more and more often you want to remember "golden childhood". Therefore, they are already appreciated by those who collect and who are nostalgic. An example - at a flea market you can buy for 10, 15, 20 rubles. in commissions it will also be 50, 100, 150. So are they valued?)))
13.01.2014 - 20:22
14.01.2014 - 01:46
So I'm wondering ... for how much 😊 toys are never superfluous. I won’t go to barry them, I’m for myself.
hunter201 14.01.2014 - 02:00
magericExcept for the topmost photo, all toys are photographed one by one. And on the top photo - the rest, in the box the rest, which can not be removed one at a time.
How many toys do you have in total? How much do you want to get for them in bulk?
But in general, there were more toys laid out of the box, I just took off only one part.
As for the price - in the title of the topic, I ask the question, because. I don't even know about. There is a site for toys, I found it yesterday, where specialists estimate at least a fork of prices. I'll try to find out there, I registered yesterday .... but the Old New Year prevented! 😊
I had to meet
This situation with prices is already familiar to me - about 2 years ago I posted a photo of an old short-wave (seemingly 😊) radio station, and asked the question - how much could it cost? And I began to receive messages in the mail asking me to sell it, and that I name the price! Well, I laughed, and the radio station remained with me 😊 And now it is waiting for its turn, I will post it again soon 😊
here are all the toys from this box
pakon 14.01.2014 - 07:53
hunter201Yes, I was not talking about your children, but about the children of collectors
"Poor children" do not experience any shortage
Olga Nikolaevna drove onto the highway, overtaking peasant carts. The chilly peasants, warming themselves by walking and clapping their hands in large leather mittens, walked beside their sledges, urging the frosty shaggy horses that were carrying venal oats into the city.
“We also need to buy something for the holiday,” the coachman Rodivonych remarked, “they are bringing oats to sell.
“Look, Ivanovna is taking a cow to the city to sell,” Rodivonych continued to reason aloud, “she couldn’t feed the winter, there wasn’t enough food.
- Is that a widow? Olga Nikolaevna asked.
- Yes; Sidor, her husband, died of consumption, three small children remained.
Olga Nikolaevna felt the purse in the bag. She took a hundred rubles for gifts and purchases for the holidays and for the Christmas tree, and she felt awkward and bored in her soul.
"Stop, Rodivonych," she said suddenly. The cart with the cow drew level with Olga Nikolaevna's sleigh.
- Ivanovna, come, are you leading a cow to sell? she asked.
- What to do, Olga Nikolaevna - there is nothing to feed.
“Don’t sell the cow, here you are,” said Olga Nikolaevna, taking out her purse with stiff fingers in the cold and handing Ivanovna a 25-ruble note.
“Take it, Ivanovna, and go home to the children; this is my gift to you for the holiday,” Olga Nikolaevna added, hiding her purse and hands in her muff, “Well, let’s go,” she turned to Rodivonych.
“And this is the joy of my soul for the holiday,” Olga Nikolaevna whispered softly and remembered how the other day the old nurse gave the beggar a coin and, walking away, crossed herself.
One convoy overtook, caught up with another. A shaggy cow was tied to one of the sledges; Baba Ivanovna was sitting in the sleigh in her bad, old short fur coat and a torn scarf on her head, she was completely numb from surprise, joy and cold, she could not say a word. When she finally got around to thanking the mistress, she had already driven far away in her bay troika, and Ivanovna, crossing herself, thanked God. She tied a 25-ruble note in the corner of her scarf and, turning her horse around, rode home, thinking about what joy the children would be at home. They cried so much this morning when they saw off their cow.
Olga Nikolaevna, having arrived in the city, warmed herself in a familiar shop, where a crowd of people bought various provisions for the holidays, and ordered purchases from the bustling clerks. She took off her second fur coat, ordered the bays to be unharnessed and given food. Then she went to Sushkin's toy shop. The young clerk Sasha very diligently bowed to the rich merchant and began to show the toys. For a long time Olga Nikolaevna chose different toys: a doll, dishes, tools, decals and stickers - for each child that he loves. Ilyusha loved horses, they bought him a stable with stalls and horses in them; then tools, and a gun that fired both cork and peas. Little Masha was bought two dolls and a cart; Lele - a watch with a chain, somersaulting clowns and an organ with music. Seryozha was a serious boy, and Olga Nikolaevna bought him an album, a lot of decals and stickers, and a real knife, in which there were nine different tools: files, a screwdriver, an awl, scissors, a corkscrew, and so on. In addition, a book about birds was ordered from Moscow. Black-eyed Tanya Olga Nikolaevna chose a real tea set with pink flowers, a bingo with pictures, and a beautiful work box in which they put scissors, reels, needles, ribbons, hooks, buttons - everything you need for work - and a pretty silver thimble with a red stone at the bottom.
“Well, thank God, I chose everyone,” said Olga Nikolaevna; - now, Sasha, give me different toys for the guys and all sorts of decorations for the Christmas tree.
Sasha brought a large box and they began to put crackers, cardboard boxes, lanterns, wax candles, shiny little things, beads, and so on into it. For gifts to the children, Olga Nikolaevna asked for horses and dolls. It was necessary to choose simpler and cheaper toys for your children and children; 25 rubles were given to Ivanovna, and now it was necessary to spend less money. She chose 30 small wheeled horses and asked for dolls.
“Well, now give me cheap nude dolls.
"There aren't any, sir," Sasha replied.
- Can't be. And, hello, Nikolai Ivanovich, - Olga Nikolaevna greeted the owner, her old acquaintance, entering the shop.
“Our respect to you,” the old man replied.
- Here I ask if there are any dolls, my children will dress them themselves; we need a lot of them for the peasant boys and girls.
“Show me, Sasha, that the lady might like the Skeletons.
“I know they won’t like it,” Sasha said contemptuously. - Not a master's product. Yes, it will do for the village ...
And Sasha pulled out a drawer and took in both hands a whole handful of naked wooden dolls, which he contemptuously called skeletons. The skeletons bustled about, the bright light of the lamp illuminating their faces and glossy black heads. They became cheerful, light, spacious. It was already tired of lying in the box, and the skeletons really wanted to be bought and revived. Olga Nikolaevna counted and bought all forty pieces.
“Well, that’s it now,” she said. - Write the bill, and I'll go while buying nuts, sweets, gingerbread, apples and various sweets. Then I will come to you for toys and pay money.
The nimble, roguish Sasha began to pack everything, put two full boxes, and squeezed the skeletons again, wrapped them in thick gray paper, tied them with a rope and threw them onto the box.
Olga Nikolaevna, having finished all her business, and having taken away her purchases, finally got ready to go home.
... Lunch passed quietly. Olga Nikolaevna told how she went to the city, complained about the cold and told the girls that after dinner they had to choose shreds and start dressing the skeletons.
What skeletons? Tanya asked laughing.
- And these are such dolls, the clerk Sasha called them skeletons. You'll see. They were in a box in a toy shop, they were not shown, but I opened them and brought them out into the light. We will dress them up in such a way that it is simply a miracle.
After dinner, warmed up skeletons were brought in and immediately poured onto a large table.
- What a disgrace! said the father. - Yes, God knows what rubbish. Some freaks. Only spoil the taste of children with such a disgrace, - grumbled the father and sat down to read the newspaper.
“Wait, when we dress them up, it won’t be bad,” said the mother.
“Ha-ha-ha,” Tanya laughed. - What legs, like sticks with pink shoes ...
“And this snub-nosed one, his black head shines, his face is stupid and the paint is sticky, what, fu! ..” Seryozha remarked with disgust.
“Well, dance, dead people,” said Ilyusha, taking two dolls and making them jump.
“Give me one,” asked little Masha, holding out her thin little white hands.
The skeletons were very happy. They were warm, light and joyful with the children. They slept like a dead sleep in a dark box of a toy shop, they were cold and bored. And so they were called to life. Their wooden little bodies began to warm up and come to life, they wanted to dress them up and they will stand on a Christmas tree on a large round table, in the middle of which there will be a small Christmas tree with candles and decorations. So funny!
- Well, girls, let's go to choose shreds, - Olga Nikolaevna called Tanya and Masha. In the bedroom, she pulled out the bottom chest of drawers and took out several patchwork bundles. What, what was not there! Here is the rest of Tanya's red dress; and here is a striped piece from Ilyusha's Russian pantaloons; pieces of ribbons from mother's hat, velvet, remnants of a blue silk pillow, etc. and so on. Tanya and Masha, two real little women, fiddled with scraps with great enthusiasm. They picked up a whole bundle of rags and ran into the hall.
Cutting, fitting began; they made all sorts of costumes for the skeletons. Miss Hanna, Olga Nikolaevna, the nanny who was called to help, Tanya, all set to work. Tanya sewed and cut skirts and sleeves, Miss Hannah and the nanny sewed shirts, jackets and knickers for the boys, and Olga Nikolaevna made caps, hats and various ornaments.
The first, prettiest skeleton was dressed as an angel. A fluffy, white muslin shirt, on the head there is a halo of golden paper, and behind a wooden back are two muslin wings stretched over a thin frame.
- How lovely! Tanya admired touchingly, taking the doll from her mother's hands. - Oh, mother, what a pretty little angel, someone will get it!
And Tanya, admiring the elegant skeleton, carefully set it aside.
- And what a nanny dressed a man, a miracle! shouted Ilyusha, picking up a doll in a red shirt and a black round cap.
The entertainer Tanya made a Turk in a white turban with a red bottom. A mustache and a beard were glued on to the Turk, a long, colorful caftan and wide trousers were made.
Then they dressed up another skeleton as an officer in gold epaulettes and with a silver paper saber.
The nurse in a kokoshnik, and an old woman with white hair made of cotton wool, and a gypsy in a red shawl over her shoulder, and a dancer in a short skirt with flowers on her head, and two soldiers in blue and red uniforms, and a clown with a sharp cap at the end were dressed up. to which a bell was sewn. There was a cook all in white, and a baby in a cap, and a king in a golden crown.
The work was fun and fast. Of the ugly naked skeletons, beautiful, colorful, elegant dolls came to life more and more. The queen was very good. Olga Nikolaevna cut out a crown for her from golden paper, made a long velvet dress, and slipped a small fan into a wooden handle.
The children were delighted with the skeletons. Work went on for three evenings in a row, and all forty pieces were ready and stood in rows on the table, representing the most colorful, beautiful crowd.
Brave Tanya ran after her father and brought him into the hall.
“Look, dad, is this rubbish now?
- Are these the freaks that my mother brought. Can't be! Yes, it's a charm!
- That's it, dad, you praise us, we worked for three days.
- Well, you revived these wooden dead. A whole people, and even a beautiful, smart people!
The children were delighted that the pope himself praised the skeletons, and the next day other work began. They began to gild nuts, make flowers, glue boxes, and put the dolls in a closet.
The revived skeletons were no longer bored. Gathered in a spacious closet, dressed, smart, they patiently waited for the Christmas tree, and had fun in the closet among other toys: animals, cardboard boxes, and other beautiful things.
People post photos of old Christmas decorations and tell the stories of their appearance in their homes. Some of these toys are likely to be found in your homes as well. 
Our family has a small collection of old Christmas decorations. They came to us in different ways: something was inherited, something was presented by friends, something was found at flea markets. But this Santa Claus with the Snow Maiden probably has the most interesting story of how they ended up under our Christmas tree. Once my daughter and grandmother went to visit an old neighbor. She started an analysis of all sorts of unnecessary things, took out this Santa Claus from the mezzanine and threw him into a pile of garbage for disposal. My daughter got him and said that she would take him home, because she really, really needed him. Our delight knew no bounds - we never had such a grandfather! We decided that he would be sad alone and we urgently needed to look for his granddaughter. For several weeks we rushed around various flea markets in search of the right Snow Maiden, and now, when we were almost desperate, she was finally found - so unhappy in a box with assorted dishes and broken records. We immediately understood - this is She, that one and only granddaughter! Of course, she was bought and solemnly brought to her grandfather. Now they do not part with each other and their life slowly flows among Christmas decorations - their peers. And we are very grateful to them for choosing our house to live in it, we hope for many, many years! Here is such a story! Happy New Year, everyone! 
These Christmas toys were given to me by my beloved grandmother. Now she is twice a great-grandmother and in January she turns 80 years old! All my Christmas trees from childhood were decorated with these toys ... The oldest is a bird made of cotton wool, the most patriotic is a ball with a red star, the most fabulous are toys on clothespins (a cheerful clown, a Snow Maiden in a brilliant outfit and not at all scary Baba Yaga) . And of course, the New Year's watch, which, it turns out, has been preserved by many ... Our family values \u200b\u200bthese toys very much, despite the fact that over time they lose their luster. They are from the past and keep the spirit of those distant times. These toys have a soul! I still believe in Christmas miracles! 
Perhaps no one knows the full history of these toys. I remember how my mother was decorating the Christmas tree, and I watched, climbing on the sofa with my feet and holding my breath, I was terribly worried. After all, if a thin thread breaks, the toy will turn into a myriad of colorful fragments. But the thread, in my memory, never broke. A lot of time has passed since then. The cool needles with the smell of resin were forced out of the house by a synthetic rival. And colorful plastic balls have not been afraid of any fall for a long time. But in the pantry, under a pile of all this festive tinsel, the cherished box with old toys is still stored. “Throw away this junk,” Mom advises every year, bumping into a box. - We accumulated it in our first marriage. Anyway, you don’t hang it on the Christmas tree anymore. ” She, of course, is right, I haven’t hung for a long time. That's just a thin thread of childhood memories still keeps these toys in the house. 
My husband has an old grandmother. Once we went to visit her, and she asked for help in dismantling old things. On the mezzanine, my husband and I found an old plywood suitcase. With great difficulty, we opened it (the locks were out of order) and ... lo and behold! There, lined with tissue paper, lay several Christmas decorations! It turned out that she bought these toys in Moscow when she went to some study courses. Glass toys at that time were a luxury, especially here, in the far north. Housemates came to admire them! When grandma's children were small, Christmas decorations took their place on the Christmas tree. But for the last fifty years they have been lying quietly in a suitcase on the highest shelf. And now we hung them on our Christmas tree! 
In our apartment, 2 things have been preserved that passed to us from my grandmother: a toy and a mirror. For me, both of these things are extraordinarily beautiful and valuable. Next door to her grandmother's house was the house of her older friend, whom she helped with the housework. And being already in a weakened state, for kindness and support, a friend, during her lifetime, gave my grandmother a few things dear to her heart. The New Year's toy looks bulky, but inside it is hollow, fragile and consists of 2 glued parts. Before me, it was already preserved in a decayed form with a tattered ribbon. I once replaced the rope and connected both parts together. On the front of the toy there is a place for some kind of image, the presence of which the parents no longer remember. 
For me and my family, beads have become the main decoration of the New Year tree for many years. I inherited these beads from my grandparents, who died when I was about 7 years old. They were bought by my grandmother when my father was not yet 10 years old, and he is now 53 years old, so it is also the oldest thing in our house. I am sure that my children will keep these beads as carefully as I do. 
My grandparents live in Ukraine. I rarely visit them ... maybe once every 3 years and usually in the summer. But one day I decided to make a New Year's gift and come to them for the holiday. When I saw this toy on the Christmas tree, I simply could not contain my emotions. I didn’t even think that our leaders were once captured on toys! On one ball flaunted 3 personalities at once: Vladimir Ilyich, Iosif Vissarionovich and Leonid Ilyich. Because Since I teach history at school, I immediately began to beg for this toy from the old people, emphasizing that the Christmas tree in the history class must be filled with history. But I was told that this is a long-standing gift from friends and gifts are not re-gifted. This toy was traded by me for a promise to come in the summer. The exchange took place and I kept my word. 
New Year's Bunny. 
Cheerful clown. Real retro 50s. 
When I was in the 2nd grade (now I am 49 years old), there was a competition at the New Year tree in our school for the best New Year's costume, I was in a snowflake costume, sewn by my mother from gauze and New Year's beads. I thought that my costume was the most beautiful, but after summing up the results of the competition, my outfit went unnoticed. I was very upset. My teacher noticed this. She took two New Year's toys from the school tree: a small yellow teapot and a girl in a flower costume and gave them to me, saying that I had a very beautiful costume. I was delighted and was very happy and satisfied, my mood immediately rose. It was in 1967, I still remember my kind teacher, whose name was Zoya Stepanovna, and for all these years I have been very careful about these New Year's toys, they are the most expensive for me! 
The history of our toys is funny and a little touching. They were purchased by my grandfather, or rather, they were exchanged for a couple of packs of cigarettes and a “bubble” :) These are the first toys of our family. This story is also funny because my grandfather, for the birth of my mother, gave my grandmother not flowers and jewelry, but a Christmas tree and New Year's toys! Because my mother was born on New Year's Eve. So for three generations, these "family treasures" have been "protected". 
I had a lot of Christmas decorations! Boxes with glass Snow Maidens, sets of cones, balls, garlands ... And every New Year they bought me more and more. But I wanted exactly the same as in the photo! And they were not in our stores! But, my girlfriend had just such! Her mother raised her alone and did not spoil her much, and therefore she had few toys. Of course, I shared my toys with her, gave them away for good, changed. But these: 2 flashlights, a nesting doll and a chicken on clothespins, she didn’t give me back and didn’t even want to change! How I wanted them! Every New Year, Sveta hung them on her Christmas tree, and I came and looked at them with admiration. They were shiny, over time the toys darkened and faded, but then, in childhood, they were very beautiful! A few years later, we were already in high school, a friend brought them to me for the New Year and gave them away. It was the best gift ever! Now I always hang them on my Christmas tree, and my friend comes to celebrate the New Year with me. 
I got these toys from my grandmother. Unfortunately, half were broken. But there are still 20 left. I decorate my favorite little Christmas tree with them. When friends of my parents come to visit, they always say that some special "energy" comes from my Christmas tree :) 
We got this old Christmas tree toy from our grandmother, she dismantled the mezzanines 20 years ago and decided to give us this ball. 
We try to celebrate the New Year as often as possible with our grandmother in the village. On many toys the paint has already worn off and they have a special "old" smell from the past. Surprisingly, none of the numerous relatives buys modern toys for the grandmother's Christmas tree, everyone wants to see just these: unusual, shabby, experienced different events together with the big grandmother's family. This Snow Maiden was left without Santa Claus, but surrounded by toys similar to her. 
These three balls seem to me the oldest of those Christmas decorations that have been preserved in our family. Although, to be honest, I don't know how old they are. Papier-mâché balls are made and consist of two halves. The halves can be separated and put inside some small object. I remember these balls all my life, they always hung on my grandmother's tree, and my brother and I raced to look for them on the tree in order to quickly open and find something interesting inside (usually it was sweets). Alas, my grandmother is no longer in the world and I did not think in time to ask where these balls came from. I only remember that they are German. Now the balls are a little cracked, they had to be glued several times, but they still decorate the Christmas tree, and now my daughter is looking for something interesting inside. 
Once it was a set of gingerbread with deer. Deer in the dark glow, 35 years have passed, there is only one left, the last. Let's save it! 
I am very proud that I have such toys in my collection, I cherish them very much, but nevertheless I use them - every year I hang them on my Christmas tree, because it is a sin to hide such beauty in a velvet box! And what makes me especially happy is that wonderful cardboard decorations are very well preserved - embossed, on mother-of-pearl paper. I liked them the most, because they could be looked at for a long time, circled on paper with a pencil, and more (most importantly) - it was impossible to break them! I have a special funny story connected with these cardboard toys - once, when I was little, my parents decided to surprise me - they set up and decorated the Christmas tree to their taste with elegant puffed balls and glass fairy-tale characters while I was sleeping. But in the morning I burst into tears, not seeing my favorite cardboard fish, chickens and especially my favorite sailboat on the Christmas tree! Parents were confused and could not understand what they had done and how they had brought their child to tears! Then, of course, together we hung my favorite figurines on the Christmas tree - and after that everything immediately fell into place! Childhood memories are what these cardboard, simple, but very dear to my heart decorations keep. 
This is always my favorite toy on the Christmas tree since childhood, when I really wanted to have a dog. She is probably even older than my grandmother. Unfortunately, I don’t know how she appeared with us, and my grandmother no longer remembers. It is stored very carefully and is always hung in the most prominent place. 
This toy hangs on our Christmas tree every year, since my earliest childhood! And every year, with pleasant nostalgia and even that same childish feeling of a fairy tale, I hang it on a Christmas tree, sit next to it and looking at it, I remember the amazing tales that my parents told me on behalf of this funny old forest man! 
This toy is insanely dear to me and my whole family! The fact is that my grandfather gave this toy to my mother. Then my mom and dad just met and they decided to celebrate the New Year together! Decorating the Christmas tree, dad dropped this luxurious toy and it shattered to smithereens…. The next day, dad spent looking for the same decoration and found it! Mom was very happy, but they didn’t say anything to grandfather. Since then, this toy hangs on each of our Christmas trees. Mom says that this crystal flower blossomed together with her and dad's love. 
These skates have been passed down from generation to generation to every woman in my family. My great-great and many more times "great" grandfather brought them from Finland, tied a wedding ring to them and made my great-great and a few more times "great" grandmother an offer! 
I got this toy from my great-grandmother. She made it from improvised means. Because there was nothing before. This was after the war. Of course, we have refurbished it a bit. Because it is a great memory. And even though now there are thousands of modern toys in stores, but for me there is nothing more valuable than this one! The toy is almost a century old! 
Some time ago, balls with bows came into fashion and my mother decided to throw out all the old toys. I barely saved it, but there are only a few of these left at home, I post them for your judgment. As a child, my sister and I had a favorite fun for the New Year: one thought of some kind of toy, and the second asked leading questions about it and tried to guess which toy she was thinking of ... Now, of course, it seems like a funny fun, but then it was very interesting, because Christmas trees they always put big ones, under the ceiling, and you really had to look for toys on it. 
“Call me pani, kiss my fingers,” Veronica Dolina’s words come to mind when I listen to my grandmother’s story about her short and tender romance with a Polish man who bears the funny name Leszek. It was somewhere in a small town, I think it was Biala Podlaska. Granny, with a vague smile on her face, recalls how, before the celebration of Catholic Christmas, he, blushing with embarrassment, said to her for the first time privately, "Dobe's Day, ma'am", kissed her hand and held out a small bouquet made in the form of a Christmas tree decoration. “What a wonderful Polish tradition it is to kiss women's hands! What a pity that our men have forgotten how to do it!” she sighs. I know that my grandmother keeps the memories of this novel in the most secret corners of her heart and does not tell anyone but me about them. But every time, on New Year's Eve, she takes this bouquet out of a large box and hangs it on the Christmas tree. She looks at me and we smile at each other. 
This sweet New Year's toy was given to me by my godmother 11 years ago! It was terribly cold outside, and my godmother and I were returning from the park, where we rode ice slides and made snowmen! It's very strange, but in 20-degree frost I really wanted ice cream! I begged my godmother for a long time to buy me "Icicles", but she did not! I started crying! And then the godmother gave me this toy, which she bought in the subway passage! I was very happy! 
Grandma's legacy.
With age, sometimes there is an irresistible desire to remember your childhood, to feel some nostalgia for the times of the USSR. For some reason, the New Year in the Soviet manner most reminds those over thirty of the times that, despite the scarcity, you remember with rapture of the heart, considering them the best.
Now the tendency to celebrate the New Year in the style of the USSR has increased. The Christmas tree, dressed up according to the American model in three colors, is no longer surprising. More and more I want to decorate the Christmas tree with old Soviet toys. And be sure to put cotton under it, imitating snow, and tangerines.
Variety of Christmas decorations
Often, the Christmas tree in Soviet families was dressed up with an abundance of toys and decorations. Clothespin toys deserve special attention, which are very convenient to attach to the middle of the Christmas tree branch. In the form of which only they were not presented: Santa Claus, Snowman, Snow Maiden, candle, nesting doll.
The balls, as now, were of different sizes, but the unique highlight was in the balls with round hollows, into which the light of the garlands fell, creating a fabulous illumination throughout the Christmas tree. There were also phosphor-patterned balls that glowed in the dark.
Since the New Year comes at midnight, clock-shaped toys were produced. They were given a central place on the tree. Often such Soviet Christmas decorations were hung at the very top, just below the top of the head, which, of course, was decorated with a red star - the main Soviet symbol.
Even Christmas decorations of those times were represented by decorations made of large glass beads and beads. Usually they were hung on the lower or middle branches. Old Soviet toys, especially pre-war ones, are carefully stored and passed from grandmothers to grandchildren.
From icicles, houses, watches, animals, balls, stars, a unique one was obtained.
And was it raining?
There was no such fluffy and voluminous rain as now in the days of Soviet socialism. The Christmas tree was decorated with vertical rain and beads. A little later, a horizontal rain appeared, but it was not thick and voluminous. Some voids on the Christmas tree were filled with garlands and sweets.
For a few days, you can feel the atmosphere of the Soviet Union with the help of a Christmas tree decorated in retro style. Unique Soviet-era Christmas decorations, decorations and tinsel should be looked for in the bins of our grandmothers or purchased at city flea markets. By the way, auctions and online stores for the sale and exchange of Christmas tree decorations of the USSR era are being created on the network. Some even collect such toys, many of which are already considered antiques.
It remains only to decorate the Christmas tree with old Soviet toys, turn on the Irony of Fate and remember your childhood for a second.
