You can search and search, but you won’t find any new ornaments on Virginia Steigerwalt’s Christmas tree.

“All of them are pre-1965,” Steigerwalt said.

The Nesquehoning woman estimates that she hangs 1,000-plus antique ornaments on her tree each year, usually beginning the task the week before Thanksgiving.

Large ornaments go on the bottom, mid-sized ornaments fill the center, and small ones are reserved for the top — and to hide any “empty” spots, she said.

“There’s a method to my madness,” Steigerwalt said, laughing.

Many of the ornaments are made of glass. They come in all shapes and colors, too.

“I put the glass ones on it, then I have some cardboard ornaments,” Steigerwalt said. “Some are made of other materials, including some of paper mâche.”

She also has plastic icicles that date back to the 1950s.

“They have their own hook on the end and they are a frosty color,” Steigerwalt explained.

Most of the ornaments on her 12-foot tree were purchased at antique shops or yard sales.

“When people get new stuff, very few of them keep the old stuff,” Steigerwalt said. “I would go to sales all the time. If I went to a yard sale and the person had a lot of stuff out, I would ask, ‘You wouldn’t happen to have any Christmas items, would you?’”

Even friends and members of her church would gift her with an old Christmas ball or two, she said.

Growing up in Nesquehoning, Steigerwalt remembered how her late mother would decorate a tabletop tree with red Christmas ornaments.

But it was one of her aunts that decked her tree in all kinds of colorful ornaments, she said. It might have spurred her interest in antique Christmas decor.

In addition to tree ornaments, Steigerwalt has collected antique Christmas lights — some of which she purchased in their original boxes. She’s also found “old” tinsel — the metallic kind, she said.

Steigerwalt has books that detail old Christmas ornaments. As a former social studies teacher, she loves reading about the ornaments and their history.

When Steigerwalt’s tree is assembled, she sees many people pulling into her driveway to catch a peek through a large window where it sparkles and shines.

“They love it,” she said with a smile.