This collection of vintage Pier 1 Christmas catalog pages & ads shows the great variety of gifts, home decor, and beautiful classic Christmas decorations they had available through the second half of the 20th century.
Vintage Pier 1 Christmas decor for the home (1981)
Collecting for Christmas: Certain gifts will be more in fashion than others this Christmas. Namely, the totally unexpected.
Take our Papasan chair from Bangkok. Overwhelming in size and sumptuousness, it might be given most effectively to someone whose comfort you have an intimate interest in.
Oddments like vases, fans and sake bottles are especially good for overworked friends who need to relax among nearly useless decorative objects. Poetical friends might be given a Plumbird tea set (shown here), which is poetry in the guise of china.
A certain portion of one’s Christmas budget should be used to improve the new looks of Christmas. (Try the handmade ornaments above, all from Pier 1 Imports, to make your tree a genuine work of folk art.)
Here at Pier 1, we’ve been collecting for Christmas in 63 countries and can offer you the totally unexpected at surprisingly affordable prices. Won’t you stop by and let us help you make this Christmas an original?
Vintage Pier 1 Imports Christmas: The gift of hospitality (1982)
The holiday season is a heady blend of bustle, gusto and quiet reflection. Surrender to all the moods as they come.
Explore the Christmas collections of Pier 1 for yuletide candles, handmade ornaments and extraordinary gifts. You’ll find these festive touches along with home furnishings and accents from 63 countries.
There’s a gift of hospitality for every mood. Whether you plan to entertain a jovial crowd or muse quietly over a glass with a friend, the Christmas collections of Pier 1 will enhance the shared light and warmth of your fireside.
ALSO SEE: How did people decorate Christmas trees in the 70s? See 55 different ways
Vintage 80s Pier 1 Christmas stocking and gifts
Vintage 80s Pier 1 Christmas baskets and candles (1983)
Ancient crafts are important for Christmas because every product shaped by a person’s mind and hands is unique. Arrange any gift in a handwoven basket; add a ribbon and a bow. Now you have a double gift and charming package to put under the tree.
How much candles contribute to the light and color of Christmas! Be extravagant with candles this year. They’re not costly, they don’t spoil, and nobody ever has too many for the full splendor of Christmas.
The pleasures of holiday preparation (1983)
A. Santa is “a right jolly old elf,” in handmade wheatstraw versions from Hong Kong
B. Three bears are durable molded earthenware from Japan.
C. You’ll treasure hand-embroidered ornaments from India for years to come.
D. Lovely cards and wrapping papers from Italy & England enhance the pleasure of giving.
E. Handblown glass ornaments add to the wonders of Christmas lights. From Germany.
F. Have Santa close at hand for party fun. Japanese mug 3.99
G. Put small gifts or candy treats inside papier mache ornaments! From Germany.
H. Whole families in Ayuthaya, Thailand, join in making crocheted angels for your tree.
Glassware & pieces for holiday table settings
The zest of childhood (1983)
A. Solid wood trucks will stay in the family for years of “over-the-rug” service. From Denmark.
B. Handmade calfskin koala sits in our exclusive director’s chair, made of rubberwood & 18-oz. cotton duck (red or navy). Koala from Germany, Child’s chair from Thailand.
C. Give a budding lecturer a blackboard with solid beechwood easel (and some chalk).
D. Fabric dolls from Hungary make a lovely couple.
E. Soccer requires skill, even on tabletop. From Hungary.
F. Bells teach the ABC’s and do-re-mi’s. From Germany.
G. “Put your coat on the train!” gets results. From Germany.
H. Christmas memories! Stamped metal toys are from Hungary. Motorbike winder, “Roli Zoli” clown, Train, Trucks.
I. No gas, no batteries required for rubber-powered plane. Boomerang comes with instructions.
J. Cuddly “ice bear” is made for Pier 1 in Hungary.
K. Our children’s kitchen utensils are aluminum, made in Germany. 4-piece pot/pan set & 8-piece utensil set.
Planters, colorful Christmas candles, tea sets & more
Candies, soap & soap on a rope, playing cards & more
Christmas toys for kids (1983)
Wheelbarrow from Denmark; 3-piece garden tool set, scooter, wagon and treehouse rope ladder all from Germany
Retro Pier 1 Christmas ornaments
Getting ready for holiday joys is in itself one of the great holiday joys. Handcrafted tree ornaments from Pier 1 add flair to Christmas wrappings, centerpieces, mantel and window decorations.
- Happy clown from Taiwan is hand-painted papier mache.
- Hand-crocheted woolen bird is from China.
- Miniature Chinese fan is handmade of bamboo & paper.
- Santa, angel & soldier are silk, from China.
- Red-trimmed angel from China is golden straw, handwoven.
- Lovely old-fashioned cornhusk doll is handmade in Taiwan.
- Gilt bear and red-roofed house are traditional German glass.
- Hand-crocheted snowflake from China is sized cotton.
- Cane with red ribbon is woven straw. From China.
MORE: Cute vintage Christmas decorations made with everyday items (1966)
Vintage 80s Pier 1 Holiday Collections catalog cover (1984)
It was a white Christmas in Paris… (1984)
Some years ago, a couple we know were in Paris over the holidays. They celebrated Christmas dinner in a bistro off St. Michel. The husband, inspired by love and champagne, told the waiter to add the wine bucket to the bill. The waiter drew himself up and replied, in both French and English, that it was not for sale.
The same bucket, with various labels attached, kept showing up in restaurant after restaurant, as if to remind the husband that he could not give his wife the world.
Imagine our friend’s delight when, recently, he happened to spot the selfsame bucket in a Pier 1 window. He took it home and proved himself a hero at last.
Our aluminum wine bucket (on the sideboard at left) is the standard item that one sees in restaurants all over France, licensed to bear the labels of Charles Heidsieck, Ch. Cardier, Monmousseau, and other illustrious champagnes.
It took us many months of negotiating to persuade all the necessary officials to let us bring it, for the first time, to America.
It does not surprise us when you (our customers) find in our stores something you recognize from your travels. We know that you share our wanderlust—that many of you have gone abroad and plan to go again. In the meantime, let us take you on a little tour of the room opposite, with the Christmas buffet.
We found the solid pine table in Udine, Italy. It is made by a family company who manufacture nothing but pine tables. The local pine they use is said to have even more character and color than Scandinavian pine.
The white Italian tiles they inset by hand. The wine glasses are from the Royal Leerdam Glassworks in Holland, where the local sand produces glass of exceptional clarity. The white porcelain dinnerware comes from Nagoya where our manufacturer recreates classic European designs with a Japanese drive for perfection.
We invite you to make Pier 1 your next stop on this season’s shopping rounds. Not only can we supply you with everything you need for your holiday table (including the table). We can also provide you with an unforgettable gift for someone you love.
Jams & jellies, plus white plates, bowls & teacups
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Toys from all around the world
We view the world much like a child looks at Christmas Eve. To us, life is a continuing adventure, and that’s how we want you to think of Pier 1.
For 22 years, our buyers have trekked to remote villages and romantic cities, always in search of handmade collectibles. Their finds make our stores like no other retailer. But come see for yourself.
Our toy collections demonstrate the quality and spirit we seek in all our offerings. When children’s faces brighten as they find the gifts Santa brings, we know our efforts have been worthwhile. Pier 1 toys are simple works of art children can play with, the same toys children play with from Peru to Poland, Germany to Japan.
Their language is international. They don’t dominate with rules, instructions and batteries. They don’t gobble the same dots over and over. Most are as traditional as the values they represent. A return to the days when playtime was a child’s private theater for learning.
Such toys are hard to find, unless you’re Pier 1, and search wherever children play. Come. Explore the holiday collections at Pier 1.
Hammered copper vessels & kitchenware from the 80s
1980s rattan/wicker furniture: Day bed, lamp, table, rocking chair
Vintage Pier 1 glassware for the holidays
The Pier 1 glassware collections are a harmony of sight, sound and touch. New colors. Elegant iridescence. Refracting facets. Simple clarity. The elated ring of toasting glasses. The resonant ping of lead crystal. Textures that interest your sense of touch. And the incomparable smoothness that feels comfortably familiar in your hand.
Classic toys for kids: Wooden trains, child’s tea set
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Classic colorful candles: Tapers, Christmas trees & more
Fancy fragrant imported soaps & scented bath cubes
Candles for the holiday season (1984)
Special things happen in candlelight. Candles radiate a rich, natural light that signals warmth and friendship, especially for the holiday season.
Each year Pier 1 goes to the candle-making countries of the world to bring you a new collection: from hand-dipped tapers that furnish the glow for intimate dinner gatherings to festival candles that flicker in the night sky.
Pillar candles, chubby candles and votives. Scented candles, fashion candles and rustics. Round candles, square candles, twists and figurines. Tall candles, short candles, basic candles and elegant candles at value prices.
You’ll also find candleholders for just about all of them. Handpainted Scandinavian Christmas pixies, authentic English textile bobbins, clip-on candleholders for Smoky Mountain grapevine wreaths, traditional German pine cone candleholders. And more.
DON’T MISS: 6 cute retro Christmas cake decorating ideas from the 80s
Christmas ornaments & wicker baskets from Pier 1 in the 80s
Vintage 80s Pier 1 Christmas gift wrap and boxes (1984)
80s Pier 1 chairs and pillows for Christmas
Vintage Pier 1 Christmas tree ornaments from around the world
Like these? See more old-fashioned Christmas tree ornaments here!
Vintage Pier 1 Christmas candles (1988)
Votives, pillars, columns, glittered balls, advent candles, floating poinsettia candles
Classic Pier 1 Christmas stocking stuffers & gift wrap
MORE: The history of the iconic Sears ‘Wish Book’ Christmas catalog that made dreams come true
Pier 1 Christmas gifts & decor from the 1990s
Put on your holiday best! When you step out this holiday season, dazzle ’em with festive jewelry and accessories from Pier 1.
Our handmade hats, scarves, earrings, belts and purses will easily transform any outfit from simple to sensational. Let your spirit shine!
Retro Pier 1 Christmas dishes and tablesettings (1992)
Vintage Pier 1 Christmas decor: Candle holders (1993)
Christmas decorations (1994)
MORE: 150+ vintage Christmas cookie recipes
Christmas and holiday dishware (1995)
Old Pier 1 Christmas plates and tablesettings (1996)
Vintage Pier 1 Christmas (1998)
Throwbacks to retro Pier 1 in the sixties! (1969)
Christmastime gifts you couldn’t give before
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