The other day our office was invited to join a “pod decorating contest.” We were told that we had 2 hours to glitz up our space with whatever trinkets, bibelots, and gimcracks we could find. Everything seemed simple enough until… wait, I don’t even know where to find baubles, gewgaws, and trifles, let alone trinkets, bibelots, and gimcracks. Where does one even start!?

Growing up I celebrated Christmas with my family, and over the years my parents built a large and eclectic ensemble of ornaments. We had small German dolls from my grandparents, cinnamon sticks from the kitchen, an ugly cat that was given as a gift (and reluctantly hung every year), and an electronic Christmas tree train that I’m sure was bought to halt my tears. For better or worse, every piece seemed to have it’s place in our family history. But now that I’m on my own, am I doomed to spend the Holiday season without a collection of my own? Am I even allowed to buy ornaments in bulk? Is it kosher to buy used or do I have to wait for someone to gift me ugly cats and other miscellaneous treasures?

In the end, the Used Crew approached the situation from just about every angle. A few brought in heirlooms of their own (or in Charlotte’s case, a trunk of heirlooms), we all spruced up our computer monitors with crackling fireplaces, and Jose bartered on UsedVictoria.com for a fancy pinata. It was a hodge podge of family histories, but it certainly worked.

My question to you is, no matter what Holiday you celebrate, where do you get your holiday trinkets? And if you were to buy used, would you go for the classics or is a light-up Star Trek Enterprise more your style?