40+ Wonderful Vintage Christmas Ephemera Prints

For this collection, I've gathered over 40 pieces of vintage Christmas ephemera, including beautiful old greeting cards, magazine adverts, Christmas decoration catalogues, gift-wrap designs, and other festive paper treasures. Some are seasonally decorative, while others are quite quirky.

Whether you enjoy collecting old paper, making Christmas crafts, junk journaling, or simply looking at vintage illustrations, I hope you'll find something here that catches your eye.

And if you love old-fashioned Christmas pictures, don't miss my collection of vintage Christmas images and illustrations, from traditional festive scenes to rather unusual Christmas cards.

What Is Vintage Christmas Ephemera?

Ephemera is a lovely word for all those bits of printed paper originally meant for short-term use and then thrown away. Think old advertisements, greeting cards, wrapping paper, catalogues, tickets, labels and magazine pages.

Most of these things were never intended to become collectables. A Christmas catalogue might have been thrown away after the shopping was finished, while a magazine advert probably ended up in the bin with the rest of the magazine. Luckily, some survived, and they're now fascinating little pieces of social history.

Christmas ephemera is particularly fun because it shows how festive traditions, decorations, fashions and advertising have changed over the years. You can spot familiar Christmas favourites such as Father Christmas, holly, Christmas trees and brightly wrapped presents.

How to Download the Images

All the vintage Christmas images featured in this collection are available to download for free. To download an image, click on the title above your chosen picture. This opens a larger, higher-resolution version that you can save to your computer.

You can then print the images at home or use them in your Christmas craft projects.

1. Vintage Christmas Cards and Greetings

Old Christmas cards are some of my favourite pieces of festive ephemera.

I love the illustrations, especially the Victorian and Edwardian ones. Some feature the traditional Christmas scenes we know today, while others have rather unexpected subjects. The colours and typography are often just as interesting as the pictures themselves.

These old cards also make wonderful additions to Christmas junk journals, or you can print and reuse them as gift tags and decorations.

If you particularly like the old greeting cards, check out my collection of antique Scandinavian Christmas cards. They have a charm all of their own, with their Nordic winter scenes and unusual Christmas characters.

Print 1. Angel Card

Vintage Christmas card showing an angel with a toy-laden reindeer.

The blog has a collection of reindeer prints.

Print 2. Father Christmas and Christmas Tree

Vintage Christmas card of Father Christmas ringing a bell beside a candlelit tree.

Print 3. Girl & Snowman

Vintage Dutch New Year card showing a girl making a snowman.

Print 4. Handshake Card

Handshake inside a holly and mistletoe wreath.

Print 5. Santa with Toy Sack

Print 6: Night Before Christmas

Print 7: Hurrah For Christmas

Santa surprising three children in bed with toys and stockings.

Print 8. Christmas Carol

A Victorian postcard of two European Robins amongst the holly.

Robins feature in this collection of winter bird illustrations.

Print 9. Wreath Card

Print 10. Santa Christmas Card

Print 11. Sailor Card

Vintage Christmas card showing three children in sailor suits saluting, published by S. Hildesheimer & Co. and printed in Germany.

Print 12. Blue Santa

Vintage blue-robed Father Christmas carrying toys and a small deer in snow, from the New York Public Library Picture Collection

Print 13. Snowy Christmas Scene

Winter Christmas scene with villagers crossing a snowy landscape on their way to church.

Print 14. Shrewsbury Christmas Scene

Vintage snowy Christmas card of old houses and market stalls on Pride Hill, Shrewsbury, published by Raphael Tuck & Sons.

Print 15. Brid With Ribbon

Print 16. Songs of Christmas

Print 17. Cheery Christmas

Print 18. Warm Wishes

Print 19. Three Robins

Print 20. Holly Sprig

Check out the winter botanicals on Pictureboxblue.

2. Old Christmas Catalogues & Gift Wrap

I find old Christmas decoration catalogues particularly interesting. It's like stepping into a shop from 100 years ago and seeing what people were buying to decorate their homes. They include Christmas tree ornaments, tinsel, paper decorations, festive novelties, and all sorts of other seasonal bits and pieces.

If you enjoy old-fashioned paper decorations, you'll also like my collection of vintage Christmas paper models, dolls and cutouts. I've collected over 30 festive printables from old books and magazines, including paper ornaments, Father Christmas figures, and miniature nativity scenes.

For more old-fashioned festive catalogue designs, check out these Christmas decorations from the American Type Founders catalogue, full of wonderful vintage lettering, ornaments, and decorative illustrations.

Print 21. French Toys

Vintage French Le Jouet de France catalogue page advertising toys.

Print 22. Crepe Paper

Dennison's Decorated Crepe Papers catalogue page with Christmas wreath, bell, holly, snowy forest and Santa border designs.

Print 23. More Crepe Paper Designs

Print 24. Paper Garlands

Print 25. Christmas Typography

Vintage American Type Founders Co. specimen page of Christmas and New Year printing cuts, ornaments, stars, crosses and festive motifs.

Print 26. Vintage Gift Wrap 1

Vintage Christmas wrapping paper pattern with children, sledges, Santa in chimneys, decorated trees and Merry Christmas banners.

Print 27. Vintage Gift Wrap 2

Print 28. Christmas Gift Wrap 3

3. Christmas Magazine Covers & Adverts

Old Christmas magazine adverts and covers are a fun way to see how people celebrated the festive season in the past. I love the colourful illustrations, decorative lettering and old-fashioned advertising slogans. Some adverts feature familiar Christmas gifts and products, while others are quite amusing by today's standards.

The Christmas magazine covers are often particularly beautiful, with festive scenes, fashionable figures and eye-catching artwork. Some are lovely enough to frame.

If you enjoy vintage magazine art, check out my collection of Art Nouveau Christmas illustrations, featuring gorgeous festive artwork from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Print 29. St Nicholas Magazine Cover

Print 30. Elves Eating Porridge

Scandinavian Christmas illustration of many red-capped elves eating porridge with black cats, from Illustreret Familie-Journal No. 51.

In Scandinavia, Christmas wouldn't be quite the same without a bowl of porridge, usually served with cinnamon, sugar and butter. It's also traditional to leave some out for the nisse or tomte, the mischievous Christmas gnome, to keep him happy! You can see more of these cheeky little characters in my collection of vintage Scandinavian gnome illustrations.

Print 31. Trafalgar Square Tree

Vintage night illustration of a decorated Christmas tree and illuminated fountains in Trafalgar Square. Every year, Norway gifts London a magnificent Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square as a thank you for Britain’s support during the Second World War, a lovely tradition that began in 1947.

Print 32. French Christmas Ad

Tout est prêt pour Noël illustration of a woman carrying roast poultry and mistletoe, drawn by C. Hérouard for La Vie Parisienne.

Print 33. Biscuit Ad

Vintage Huntley & Palmers Christmas biscuit advertisement showing a snowy Trafalgar Square with a tree, crowds and Nelson's Column.

4. More Christmas Paper Treasures

One pleasure of collecting vintage ephemera is that you never quite know what you'll find. Along with the cards, catalogues, adverts, and wrapping paper, I've included a few other interesting pieces of Christmas paper history in this collection.

Print 34. Christmas Cracker Box

Print 35. Four Father Christmas's

Victorian relief scrap sheet with four Father Christmas figures carrying trees and toys, by Raphael Tuck & Sons.

Print 36. Die-cut Santa's Head

Print 37. Wreath Ornaments

Victorian Christmas relief ornaments sheet of holly and mistletoe wreaths and bells, by Raphael Tuck & Sons

Print 38. Christmas Stencil Design

Scandinavian Christmas stencil-design page with cards of Santa, fir, holly, a bell and flowers, titled Jule- og Nytaarskort i Skabelonmaling.

Print 39. Menu Cover

Merry Christmas graphic with an oval holly and red berry wreath, from the 1920 Schomburg menu collection.

Print 40. Die-Cut Father Christmas

Vintage French die-cut Père Noël profile with flowing white beard, red hood, holly and the title La Nuit de Noël.

Print 41. Die-cut Bird Cage

More Vintage Christmas Collections to Explore

If you've enjoyed these old Christmas paper treasures, there are plenty more festive images to discover on Picture Box Blue.

Check out my collection of Art Nouveau Christmas illustrations, full of beautiful magazine art and decorative designs. You'll also find charming Christmas illustrations from old children's books and a lovely selection of vintage snowflake prints.

And don't forget, these vintage images aren't just for looking at! You can use them to make Christmas cards, gift tags and decorations. For a little inspiration, check out my printable Christmas ornaments and Picture Jar Ornaments to see how you can turn beautiful old illustrations into tree decorations.

If you fancy, you can Buy Me A Coffee Here.