Cup o’ Holiday Cheer: Vintage Santa Mug Collection

The holiday season is upon us, and we can feel the extra chill and thrill in the air. People grinning and getting into the spirit warming up with a delicious cup of hot chocolate, hopefully loaded with lots of marshmallows and whipped cream. For Bellaire resident Kelly Evans, “ho-ho-ho-ing and co-co-cocoa-ing” brings an extra special Christmas smile because it means it is time to usher in the holiday season with her vintage Santa Claus mug collection.

Ever since she was a child, some of Kelly’s favorite Christmas decorations were the happy-faced Santa mugs her grandmother, Jeanette Smith, put all around the house. “All the Santas in Gran’s collection had to be jolly looking…twinkling eyes, rosy cheeks, snow white beard. If they weren’t smiling, they weren’t for her,” Kelly said. 

Kelly’s rule for adding new mugs to the collection is that the Santas need to be jolly with twinkling eyes or grinning smiles.

After Gran passed away about 20 years ago, Kelly decided to carry on the family tradition. “I gathered the mugs into one place and voila, I had a collection. From there, things took on a life of their own. I would find them whenever I was out antiquing and if they were jolly-looking, they had to come home with me!”

Many of the mugs in Kelly’s collection are from the ’50s. “Some of my favorites are the really cheeky ones that are winking because most of those came from my Gran.”

The smiling Santa mugs bring smiles to the Evans family.

Another one of Kelly’s favorites is the mug made for her husband, Scott, before he was born. His aunt hand-painted it for him because he was a Christmas baby, due near Dec. 25. The mug has his name and 1972 painted on the back. 

“The mugs are the first holiday decorations I put out each year,” Kelly shared. “I can't wait to see my collection. Unpacking them from the bins is like reuniting with old friends.” 

Sometimes it is also like unwrapping new surprises every year, especially the new mugs she forgot she bought during the year. “I always seem to have more mugs than I had the previous year. It's as if my collection magically grows each year! If my husband is looking, I act surprised. He just rolls his eyes and laughs.”  

Kelly has started collecting Mrs. Claus mugs, too. She says Mrs. Claus is probably the brains behind the whole North Pole operation!

A couple of years ago, Kelly started adding Mrs. Claus mugs to the collection even though they are harder to find. “I think it’s appropriate to include Mrs. Claus because surely, she is the brains behind the whole operation! Let’s face it, behind every great man...”

“I have one double sided mug with Santa on one side and Mrs. Claus on the other that I really like, but my two new faves are Mrs. Claus mini mugs from the ’50s.”

Kelly was excited that Flea Market Decor Magazine included a photo of her Santa mug collection in their Holiday 2023 edition. 

Abby Evans enjoys helping her mom set up the festive mug collection every year.

Kelly is thankful to have two elves, her 20-something-aged daughters, Abby and Grace, who help display the mug collection each year. Seeing her great-granddaughters carrying on the family tradition is definitely something that would have Gran smiling even more than the happy Santas mugs!