Figural Bulbs For Christmas

I am sharing my collection of vintage and antique Christmas figural bulbs that families used long ago during the holidays!

As you all know by now, I am sort of obsessed with vintage Christmas decor. Vintage Christmas pieces always seem to fill my heart with a sense of nostalgia and each piece is charming to me in its very own way! Like many of you, I have lots of Christmas collections, from Santa mugs to bottle brush trees, but I am always on the lookout for more! I guess you could say it is a minor addiction – but I am alright with that!

I have been lucky to grow my vintage Christmas collections slowly over time and, because of my little antique business, I have had a lot of opportunities to take home some pretty cool things. During my many buying trips over the years I have often found myself digging in old boxes up in an attic or in a garage. Those are the exact places that I have unearth some of my very favorite old Christmas treasures.

Among other things, over the last decade, I have been finding these cool ‘old’ bulbs. Over the years I kept seeing them here and there and I would pick them up each and every time. Even though I didn’t know what I would do with them, they still spoke to me. I remember digging in a box on a cold slab in the garage and pulling out these little figures that had screws on the bottom. The bulbs that “had a good look” would come home with me.

I eventually grew my budding collection over time and while I sold several in my antique booth over the years, I also have held onto a few of them. A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to purchase several more figural bulbs (all in one spot, from my friend Allan) and so I did! He had hundreds of them and I was just taken away by there charm and character and appearance. I felt an internal pull to take home as many as I could afford!

History Of The Figural Bulb

Before we talk about how to display these cuties, let’s have a quick chat about their history! My friend Allan shared some of the history behind these figural bulbs when I was with him making my purchase and I wanted to pass that information along to you! He explained that these glass figural bulbs were first made in Europe at the turn of the last century. There were artists there areas there such as Germany that were producing these mouth-blown glass figures and then painting them. Each one was made individually and by hand. These bulbs were made to screw into an electrical source, such as a strand of lights for a Christmas tree, but sadly, as it turns out, the heat of the electricity actually created a situation where the paint would flake off the bulbs. That is why we see so many with chipped paint.

There came a ‘change’ to these figural bulbs with the onset of the first World War. As you know, there were disruptions to imports from Europe during that time. As a result, Japan began making these figural bulbs for America. The difference with these bulbs from Japan was that they began using milk glass to make them. So, if you find a bulb that is clear glass then you can pretty much guarantee that it is older than the ones that are made from milk glass. The milk glass was thicker which made these bulbs less fragile and more heat-resistant and because the milk glass is white, it made it easier to paint. I read that the paint job on these Japanese bulbs are usually more ‘rudimentary’ than those from Europe – so that may be another way to tell them apart!

Some Of The Figural Bulbs That I Own

I am excited to share a bit of my collection with you all. Compared to most serious collectors, I do not really have that many, but I am happy with my budding collection. There are so many different categories of figural bulbs that have been made over the years. I don’t have them all – but I have a decent collection going!

I have been told that Santas were the most popular and the easiest to find and that makes sense since I more santas than any other.

There are a lot of fruit options out there but I only have grapes at the moment! I have seen apples and oranges and even some veggies.

This is a cool one … a fruit basket!

I bought an entire collection of houses from my friend Allan a few weeks ago. I love all of the snowy details!

Allan explained to me that there were all sorts of Character bulbs too. He shared that they were more collectable (at least back in the day) and they tend to cost more as a result. I bought Little Boy Blue and Humpty Dumpty from him. I also snagged a Cupie Doll from Allan as well.

I have a small collection of bulbs in the shape of flowers.

I also got a collection of fancy bulbs too. This set of four has an added detail that I do not see often on figural bulbs, a beaded tail. I loved the attention to detail that these beautiful bulbs have. My kids said they look like an octopus family!

I also have a pretty good collection of birds.

And … two owls.

Lastly, I have an assortment of random bulbs that don’t have a “family.”

• 

• 

• 

Displaying Figural Bulbs

Some people can get stumped on how to display these bulbs in a way that really shows off their beauty. Below I am sharing a few ways that I have displayed them!

IN A BOWL

Of course you can always fill a bowl with your favorites. In the past, I have placed bowls of bulbs all over the house.

ON A TREE

You can also use some floral wire or a ornament hook to hang them on a tree! That is a great way to show them off.

• 

• 

• 

IN A VESSEL

If you know me, then you know that I love to display my vintage finds in all sorts of vessels. (You can see one of my most recent displays here.) This year, I popped my fruit bulbs in a little wooden box filled with straw.

Another easy way to display them is in a cloche. To fill your cloche, simply place each bulb inside the cloche one at a time, being mindful of which way some of them with appear once you put the cloche down. The bulbs will shift no matter how careful you are so just do what you can to place them where you want them to be. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

• 

• 

• 

Create The Look

You can see some of the cutest figural ornaments that I have found around the web. All you have to do is click each picture to find out more information about each bulb!

Wrap Up

I have really fallen in love with these figural bulbs this year. Because they are all hand done, there are no two exactly alike and that makes the ones that I own really special. Which is your favorite? Do you like the Santas, the fruit, the characters? They are all so different for sure! Thank you for being here and for taking a minute to learn about these little pieces of history.