Seasonal secrets

We call it the holiday shelf.
It's an antique pine wall shelf that hangs on the wall next to the front door of my home. It's where I display my seasonal antique collectibles.
You can always tell what holiday is on the horizon by glancing at my little shelf. I've got antique collectibles representing every holiday. But the holiday that gets the most shelf time, by far, is the Fourth of July. I place my Independence Day collectibles on the shelf in time for Memorial Day and they remain there until Labor Day when they're replaced with my Halloween collectibles.
Besides early postcards and bunting, you won't find a lot of early Independence Day decorations so I've expanded my collection to include a composite George Washington doll, an awesome decorative cast-iron ax bearing Washington's likeness, fireworks boxes with great early 20th-century graphics and old Washington, D.C., souvenirs.
It's a lot easier to find items for Easter, Christmas and Halloween displays.
For Easter, I display papier mache bunny and Easter egg candy holders made in Germany, chalkware rabbits given as prizes at long-ago carnivals and chenille chicks lined up in vintage Easter baskets.
Come Halloween, I pull out my papier mache jack o' lanterns, 1950s Collegeville costumes, Beistle diecuts, assortment of old plastic cake decorations in the form of witches, black cats and scarecrows and faded crepe paper party favors.
Christmas gives me the opportunity to fill my seasonal shelf with my collection of German putz woolly sheep, clay-faced chenille Santa figures and bottle-brush trees.
Valentine's Day is the perfect time to display my late 19th-century, early 20th-century diecut honeycomb valentines along with a googly-eyed composite bride and groom and an early candy box adorned with old millinery flowers delicate paper doilies.
I've also managed to put together a St. Patrick's Day display with bakelite hat and pipe pins, vintage leprechaun figurines and a wonderful Irish couple made from chenille pipe cleaners and spun cotton.
Although my Thanksgiving display lasts only a few weeks between my Halloween and Christmas displays, I've put together a great collection of papier mache turkey candy containers and Gurley candles in the shape of turkeys, pilgrims and Indians.
Since these decorations are displayed for just a short period of time, I try to keep the cost low by searching out bargains. I rarely pay more than $10 for any single item.