As the holidays approach I begin to think about gift ideas. It seems that the people that are most difficult to buy for are friends and family that you have known for a long time. For me it is my sisters. I have bought my sisters a gift for their birthdays and holidays for as long as I can remember. Because of all the years of gift giving it is difficult to come up with an original idea. Recently when I was shopping I passed a store that sells estate items, I had never been in the store so I decided to see what they had. There were displays of glassware and furniture as well as many cases of old jewelry. There were many old jewelry pieces that were very attractive. I decided that this would be a great place to shop for my sisters.

The old jewelry displays were divided by item, and quality. The stones that were used in the past are much higher quality than the paste that is used in costume jewelry today. The stones sparkle and refract light giving the pieces an expensive looking quality. My oldest sister often wears pins. There was an oval pin that was approximately two inches long. There was a large blue gem stone in the center surrounded by pearls. The gem and pearls were set into a gold setting. The sales clerk stated that the pin was from the 1920’s. It was truly beautiful and within my price range. I had the clerk set the pin aside as I continued to look through the old jewelry. I found a bracelet that had multiple glass beads that were linked together with a fine silver chain. The glass beads were hand painted with floral designs. This would make the perfect gift for one of my other sisters. That left one piece of old jewelry to find. Nothing caught my eye that would be right for my other sister. I was in the process of paying for the two pieces when another employee brought a tray of old jewelry that she had been cleaning in the back of the shop. On this tray was another beautiful bracelet. This bracelet had onyx stones that were linked together with pewter chain. The bracelet was very heavy, but it was perfect for my other sister.

I explained to the sales clerk that the old jewelry pieces were for each of my sisters for the holidays. She said that they gift wrap for free. She then placed each piece into a beautiful cloth box that was lined with satin. She stated that so many estate sales had multiple cloth boxes that women have saved over the years. They clean the boxes and use them for gift giving.

I am more excited about the approaching holidays than I have been in years. I know that my sisters are going to be very surprised and pleased with the unique gifts I found for them.