Panaura Decorations - The Unicorn of Christmas (Updated 2023)

There’s a Christmas decoration that is so rare that it has achieved unicorn status, the Panaura. It is mentioned in hushed tones of awe amongst mid-century and retro Christmas enthusiasts, the decorations that everyone wants to find in the wild, but rarely do. 

Little is known about Panaura decorations and searches on the internet bring up images of them but little about the manufactured or history.  They are three main designs, a starburst, circle and the prettiest by far and the most sort after, the diamond.  The original decorations date back to 1968 and seem to only been available for a few years, they are made from pre formed acrylic with coloured card and a twist of foil in the centre, simple, but effective and oh so reminiscent of their time. 

I started collecting these fabled decorations about 10 years ago when they were easier to come by and not expensive to collect on eBay and I have a sizable collection which sits on a dedicated white tree, I have often joked that the tree is possibly the most expensive thing I own in terms of current value and my family are under strict instruction if an accident were to happen to me do not simply throw out the Christmas decorations.  Sadly, I have been unable to collect any in recent years as the prices have sky rocketed, seeing single decorations fetching in excess of £25 each, and sets reaching into treble figures. 

Edit November 2023

Thanks to an eagle eyed spotter in a vintage magazine who messaged me, we can now bring you more information on the fabled ‘Panaura’ decoration.

As you can see from this late 60s magazine cutting they were called “Globerries”.

“Globerries” were made by Remploy Ltd were made by hand by disabled workers and you could purchase them in Boot the Chemist, alongside many other department stores, or direct from Panaura Ltd.

Remploy was originally established under the terms of the disabled persons (Employment) Act 1944 to directly employ disabled persons in specialised factories. Remploy opened its first factory in Bridgend in Wales in 1946. Over the following decades it established a network of 83 factories across the UK. “Sheltered Employment” created alongside other elements of the welfare state such as the NHS.

If anyone finds anymore interesting information regarding these Christmas decorations please let me know!

Being the Christmas enthusiast, I am (someone once joked, if you cut me, I would bleed eggnog) I wanted to be able to span the gap with people coveting these beautiful decorations yet not being able to find them, or afford them I decided to create a set of 70s House Manchester Christmas decorations in homage to the originals.

Our Pandora decorations are inspired by the late 60s and early 70s originals and are available in the circle and diamond, made from a mixture of clear and mirror sheet acrylic, cut in the UK and made by hand in Manchester. 

Each set of either three or six comes with their own gold tone hangers and in their own specially designed selection box, inspired by Christmas chocolate selection boxes of my childhood.  They come in a range of colours, Blue with green, red with pink and yellow with orange, all with gold mirror centre petals.  Each one guaranteed to add some magical sparkle and drama to your Christmas tree and are set to become heirlooms of the future.

Prices start from £49.50 for a set of three with FREE UK shipping.