Table of Contents
This 1950s christmas junk journal kit brings back the tree tied to the roof of the station wagon, the console television glowing in the corner and the string of bubble lights that never quite behaved. It leans into every bit of mid-century holiday kitsch: ranch house rooflines strung with big colored bulbs, a pastel oven, a gelatin ring on the dinner table and carolers in plaid coats. Thirty two pages cover a full family Christmas, from the driveway to the department store window.
The set holds 22 full scene pages sorted into cozy groups, 5 seamless background papers in cherry red, aqua and mint, and 5 lined writing pages with their own little borders. Print on plain or light cardstock at the best quality your printer offers, then trim to your journal size before gluing anything in. Everything here is full color and runs edge to edge, ready to cut and bind into a journal of its own.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
On The Road And At The Door
The station wagon scene is the one to pair with a torn luggage tag or a scrap of twine glued across the corner, as if it held the tree down on the long drive home.
Try writing the year the family got its first color television on the fender, or the name of the tree lot where this one came from. A beginner can simply glue the page in flat; someone more confident can fold a small flap over the tailgate to tuck in a ticket stub.
Big colored bulbs trace the roofline of a low ranch house while a wreath hangs on the door and snow banks along the walk, giving one full wide shot of the home from the street.
Pair this one with the ranch house porch page from the background set: glue the door scene on top of a strip of the bulb-light pattern paper so the lights seem to wrap around the frame.
A light-up candle sits in each window beside the door, and the usual mistake is making the wreath too small to read at a glance. Keep it large and glue it slightly off-center so the whole sheet feels full rather than empty at the edges.
Write the names of the people this year’s cards came from along the edge of the snow bank, or leave a blank line for next year’s list, since the mailbox page works equally well either way.
Living Room Evenings
The five minute version of this page: glue it in exactly as printed, no extras, and let the silver tree and wrapped gifts do the work of the whole evening.
For a longer sitting, add a torn corner of wrapping paper to one of the gift boxes or tuck a tiny folded note behind the television as a hidden surprise for whoever turns the page.
A dad in a cardigan sits cross-legged on the floor working loose a tangled string of bubble lights, with the tree half-decorated and a box of ornaments open beside him.
This mantel scene pairs neatly with the ceramic deer and toile background paper later in the set: use that paper as a journal cover and this page as the facing sheet inside.
Felt stockings hang in a row, a pair of ceramic deer stand at either end, and a garland of tinsel loops along the shelf above a small fireplace glow.
A single question works well on this one: what is the one thing you hope never changes about Christmas at home, written beside a sleeping cat curled on a knitted throw.
Place this family portrait page as the opening spread of the whole journal, since it reads like the cover photo of the year and sets the tone for everything after it.
Everyone wears a matching red sweater, the tree stands full behind them, and there is room along the base for names and the year written in a steady hand.
Kitchen And Dinner Table
Try tea-staining just the bottom edge of this page before gluing it in, as a cookie sheet corner, so the warmth of the pastel kitchen feels slightly worn and well used.
The usual mistake with a dinner table page is cramming every dish onto one small tray; give the glazed ham its own clear space in the center.
Pineapple rings and a wobbling gelatin ring sit nearby, with a gravy boat and a bowl of rolls filling the remaining corners of the table so the whole spread reads as one finished meal.
A small wreath hangs against frosted panes while a pie cools on the windowsill outside in the cold, giving the kitchen a second quiet moment away from the busy table.
Good for a grown-up gift journal passed between old friends, this page can hold a favorite eggnog recipe or the name of whoever always brings the cheese ball.
A small tinsel tree sits on the cart beside the punch bowl and a plate of crackers, giving the page three distinct little treats to write about across the years.
Who this page suits in a gift journal: the grandchild who always sat at the little table, now grown, remembering paper crowns and cupcakes topped with sugar stars at their own place setting.
Christmas Morning
Place this page beside the boy on the tricycle for a two-page spread of Christmas morning, the pair opening gifts on facing sheets while wrapping paper scatters between them.
A girl in a red velvet dress lifts the lid from a doll box, wide-eyed, with torn wrapping and a ribbon curling across the rug in front of the tree.
A boy in pajamas pedals a brand new red tricycle straight across the living room rug, weaving between gift boxes while the tree lights blink behind him.
The five minute version: glue the page in as it prints, letting the big bow on the skates stand as the whole story without any extra writing.
For a fuller entry, note what the skates cost that year or where the first wobbly ride around the block ended up, right along the bottom margin of the sheet.
Department Store Outing
A simple prompt suits this one well: what did you ask Santa for the year you remember best, written beside a girl clutching a lollipop nearly as big as her own head.
This window display page works best framed as if seen through glass: leave a thin painted border and write the store’s name along the top edge in your own hand.
A toy train circles its track while mechanical elves wave stiffly at either side, with wrapped gift displays and twinkling lights filling the rest of the window behind the glass.
Parties And Neighbors
A record spins a Christmas album on the turntable while a punch bowl sits ready nearby, the start of an evening that the lined pages further on are made to hold.
Carolers in plaid coats and earmuffs stand together under a streetlamp, songbooks open, breath visible in the cold night air behind them.
A beginner can glue this page in flat as the closing scene of the journal; someone more confident might cut a small window in the page before it, so a hint of the carolers’ lamplight shows through from the sheet beneath.
Children race wooden runner sleds down a snowy hill while others climb back up with rope in hand, the whole slope painted in full behind every small figure.
Background Papers
Looping strings of big colored bulbs repeat edge to edge across a pale mint ground, perfect under a snapshot of the tree, as a pocket lining for a card, or folded into a simple cover.
This plaid check reads like a wool stocking cap turned into paper, good for a pocket behind a party invitation, a book cover, or a strip cut to frame the dinner table page.
Small ceramic deer alternate with snowflakes across a white ground in a soft toile repeat, light enough to sit under a mantel photo or line the inside of a gift envelope.
Little wrapped gifts and bows scatter across pale pink paper, useful under a photo of Christmas morning, as a pocket lining for ribbon scraps, or wrapped around a small journal cover.
Bubble light bulbs alternate with small pine sprigs across pale aqua paper, a good match for the dad untangling lights page, as a pocket backing or a simple back cover.
Lined Writing Pages
A band of colored bulb lights strings across the top of this page, leaving faint ruled lines below for a gift list, a holiday menu, or a short letter to next year’s family gathering.
A small station wagon with a tree on its roof sits in one corner, framing faint ruled lines below perfect for the story of this year’s tree hunt or a drive home in the snow.
A tinsel garland drapes down one side of the page like a loose ribbon, leaving the ruled lines free for a party guest list or a note tucked in with a wrapped gift.
A row of felt stockings lines the bottom edge like a mantel shelf, with faint ruled lines above ready for a Christmas Eve menu or a letter to whoever reads this journal next.
A record sleeve and a sprig of holly tuck into one corner of the page, leaving faint ruled lines free for the night’s playlist or a note about who danced in the living room.
What to Do Next
Print the full set, trim each page to size, and start with the family portrait or the station wagon scene as your opening spread; for more vintage holiday pages to mix in, take a look at the retro Christmas junk journal pages or the vintage Christmas junk journal set.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for this 1950s christmas junk journal kit?
Plain or lightly textured cardstock around 65 to 90 lb works best for every page in this kit. It holds the saturated retro colors well without feeling too stiff to fold or glue once trimmed into a journal.
What printer settings give the brightest colors?
Select the best or highest quality photo setting your printer offers before printing any page. This keeps the cherry red, aqua and mint tones crisp rather than faded, since these pages depend on strong saturated color to read well.
What size should I print the pages?
Standard letter size, 8.5 by 11 inches, works for the whole set and fits most home printers without scaling. Trim each page down afterward to match whatever journal size or binding you are using.
Do I need to color or decorate these pages myself?
No, every page prints in full color and edge to edge, ready to glue straight into a journal. You can still add your own touches, like tea-staining an edge or tucking in a small photo or ticket.
What glue or scissors work best for assembling the journal?
A standard glue stick holds lightweight cardstock cleanly without warping the page, and small detail scissors make trimming corners and borders much easier. Plain household scissors work fine too for a quicker finish.
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