Should I keep my mother's china and Hummel figurines?

At my mother's Memory Care AL, one of the daughter's is passing out her deceased mother's figurine collection to the residents and their families as a nice gesture for Mother's Day. Why not pass out your mother's Hummel's for Father's Day at his AL? In general Hummel's no longer have huge monetary value; some do, so you may want to have the collection looked at by an antique dealer first. The ones of any real value can be purchased by the dealer and the rest can be handed out at dad's ALF.

Just a thought. In reality, they are yours to do with as you wish. But I'd want the monetary value myself, and then to allow others to enjoy them. My mother had Lladro figurines which I truly detest; I gave a few to her caregivers at the Memory Care, one to my DD, and I kept one that's a ballerina. I'm going to sell the rest of them on eBay b/c they DO have value.

Let it all go. When I walk around my mother's house, I fantasize about renting a dumpster to throw all that stuff in. There may have been a time when I would have liked to have some of the old china, etc, but that ship has sailed, and my husband and I are clearing out our own home. And our kids/grands won't want any of it, either. It's not sentimental or useful to them.

...and then there was the Grandfather clock no one wanted. Tick-tock for old people.

My Mum is POA for couple. When they had to sell their house there were 5 China cabinets, full of China from various relatives.

It was never used, just kept because it belong to granny, Mother, Aunty etc.

When the wife went into a nursing home she was so happy to not be anchored down by it.

I am clearing out some of my Dad’s hoard. I am pretty ruthless. So far it is easy as the stuff has been contaminated by rodents and raccoons.

Sell it, give it away, let it go

"I want an organ for my home!" said no one since the 1970s.

I am SO lucky! I recently visited the home of a cousin in another city and found she collects Hummels. That’s one group of collectibles outta here! (my cousin is wonderful, I’m thrilled that she wants them and I don’t care what they’re worth)

May all of you be so fortunate!

Good luck giving them to anyone, including antique dealers. No one is buying that stuff.

I just had my parents' estate sale over the weekend, followed by a full clean-out of everything in the house that didn't sell. What didn't go in the sale included a FREE baby grand piano, three sets of china, cut glass and crystal barware, and mid-19th century antiques.

The haulers who came to clean out the house threw all the glassware in a trash bag, shattering all of it, they took the china and antiques to a warehouse where they hold a sale twice a year, and literally cut up the piano. I couldn't watch the piano go -- it was my mother's greatest joy and the one I learned on as a child.

Keep what has meaning to YOU. Otherwise, it's just stuff. It's all you can do, because not everything will find a home.

If you don't want them, hand them off. I have my mother's china set because I love it. It's one of the few things of hers that I actually like, as our taste in colors and styles were opposite. I also have a quilt that I picked it out, so like it, and the quilt my sister made for her. But most everything else went to Vietnam Veterans. I managed to find people to take all her beautiful and expensive, but not my style, furniture. Because of covid the consignment shops were full and would not take them. I kept one cabinet, but still not sure I want it. I kept her silverware set, even though it's too fancy for me. It takes up very little space. I may use it for a dinner party sometime. I'm still going through some of her things that I couldn't decide on before, but all of that will also go to Vietnam Veterans. The photos, the paintings I've done of her, and the few things I kept will remind me of her. I also have one grandmother's house and the other grandmother's dresser. I am sentimental for sure. It seems you are not, so it would be best to not have the reminders.

Sell the Hummels. Spend the money.

Oh, the Hummels!! I could weep. Mother has a large collection and inherited all her mother's Hummels and several of her MIL's too.

Mother made it a big thing that they were worth a lot of money. Actually, they're not, and while I know she has split them up amongst the great grands-I can state emphatically that no one wants them. They are not my taste and I would probably have to display them out of 'guilt'. IDK.

I think that once she passes, we'll have a quick look over of her stuff and most of it will be sold at an estate sale and the rest will go to GoodWill. It would break her heart, but she is the kind of person who equates 'owning' something with the person who gave it to her. She doesn't have relationships with people, she has the junk they gave her.

I've asked my kids to please stop giving me 'stuff', as I am trying to cull down 'things'.

Kitty, figurines are clutter and younger folks flat do NOT want them. Artisan Pottery & glassworks maybe, if they actually have a home.
Also on the Hummels unless you have paperwork to show provenance from 1940’s, they aren’t worth much. There was a Hummel trend in the 80’s? and lots of them sold. It may have been Bradford Exchange type of “collectible” sold which are basically garbage now. But it muddled up the market for them.

Ceramics! and more Ceramics! 4 out of 5 Aunts & my mom did ceramics. Couple of kilns in the family too. Ton of ceramics! Maybe 6 pieces which I kept out of dz’s. But all the other ones (boxes & boxes of stuff in bubble wrap from Xmas ornaments to ring holders) I put into a plastic bin and broke them. I used the shards in the bottom of planters to help with drainage. I was repotting last month and low & behold there was bits of ceramic Easter eggs and the spike of a ring holder and parts of ash trays. I know it sounds odd, but unearthing them gave me a sense of calmness, like mom & Aunties enjoying a garden 🪴

Here's a good source on the Value of Hummels

https://www.truelegacyhomes.com/rare-hummel-figurines/

Do some research into what you have, determine the worth and if you want to sell them, keep etc. and it's worth your time. Due to the age and the fact they were purchased overseas means yours might actually be worth something.

For myself having "stuff" from my parent's house and now I am downsizing the stuff in my own house, I found donating items to rummage sales where the money goes to a good cause was very rewarding.

I ended up with most of my mom's figurines, etc. No one else in my family were interested or seemed to care so I have it all. I have a whole menagerie of glass figurines. They are beautiful but they are still in storage in one of my drawers. I just don't have the heart to pull them out and yet I don't want to get rid of them either.

Maybe hang on to them until your Father has passed and then do what you want with them. Go online. Maybe there is someone out there who would like them. Are they valuable? Check that out before you toss them just in case. :)

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

If one or two of the figurines would have pleasant memories for your father I suppose you could find room for them in his apartment? Other than that, put them on eBay or whatever and let them go.

Even very good china in mint condition is hard to resell; auction houses can't give it away, it's a crying shame. But there are specialist etailers who might take it off your hands - is the service complete?

My elderly Aunts in FL were avid crafters and sewers (now 100 and 103). Their now deceased older sister lived next door to them in FL and my cousin now owns that house. My 3 Aunties all made and collected DOLLS. Yes, dolls. Dolls of all sizes, shapes, colors, nationalities, and ages, with a variety of unnatural expressions on their creepy little faces and watchful beady eyes...everywhere, in every room in both houses. I'm flying down there tomorrow and I won't go to sleep without relocating them into various closets and even the garage. Putting bags over them. Whatever it takes. The minute my Aunties transition into heaven the dolls will be going straight to hell. every. last. one.

I agree with everyone who said "get rid of it". After my mom died I looked at everything through the lens of "do I want my kids to have to deal with this". For nearly all of it, I knew that if I didn't get rid of it, they would. So I just cut to the chase and got rid of all of it. I consulted with my brother before unloading a single item and whatever he didn't want, I offered to my kids. When they didn't want most of it, I knew it was just going to collect dust.

During the cleaning out process, I would periodically have a panic attack over getting rid of nearly everything and my son would say "stick it in the pile that goes to storage and we'll deal with it later". It was the best move because 2 years later, I don't want nearly everything in storage. So I saved myself some unnecessary angst and now I can get rid of it with a clear conscience.

Get rid of it. It meant something to your Mom but as said our kids won't want it. I collected dolls and English houses and Longaberger baskets. Now I wonder why. And those baskets are going for a fraction of what they were purchased for. Some of my dolls I donated to Chinese auctions at the Church. My one daughter may use the houses, but I am sure the other one won't. She would live in a tiny house if she could.

I give things away. If it ends up being worth something, someone else can make the profit. When I cleaned Moms house out, I only kept a few things. One of them I just gave a friend who was close to Mom. You just can't keep everything. Its a shame the amount of money people spent on China and Crystal. And now, our children do not want it. It doesn't fit in their lifestyle. My oldest, I bought her a set of Pfaltzgraff with serving pieces. Thats all she uses. If she has a crowd its good paper plates.

Time to part with them.

Ah yes, the Hummels! Brings back some memories. I wouldn't "pitch" any of them without first checking pretty thoroughly what they could be worth. If they're each worth say $100 that would be worth it to anyone, I'd think. (I don't know your financial circumstances). As a wee child many years ago, I accidentally broke some figurines my parents had and was told they were worth a lot. To make up for this, I started, as soon as I had any money (babysitting and then retail as a teen) to buy Hummels for my mother. I probably bought about a dozen or so and when both parents passed, other family members "inherited" most of them. Growing up, (in a large family), my mother had always said (which, of course, I was the only one to recall) that when both parents died, I would "get the Hummels" as I had bought most of them for her as a gift to replace the figurines I broke as a child. (Everyone by some miracle seemed to remember exactly who my mother had said other fairly valuable family antiques were to go to when they passed but no one recalled my mother's wish/instructions on the Hummels).

My understanding has always been that yes, Hummels could be worth something. So, for sure, check them out online or with an antique dealer before you give them away.

Sell it or donate it. Unless you want to start your own collection.

I would get rid of it and soon. The longer you keep something the harder it gets. We had a storage unit for a little while in between moves and I asked the lady what was in all the units (so many units) and she said a lot of it was full of stuff inherited by the kids after the parent passed on. They just dont know what to do with it.

Do you like the china?
Would you use the china?
If the answer to both of theses questions is no then do not keep them. There are places that will buy old china and some are in demand. One huge place I know of is Hoffman's Patterns of the Past.

Do you like the Hummel figurines?
Would you display them?
If the answer is no then get rid of them.
Do check them carefully. Some of the older ones are of value while newer ones are not. (There is the Donald E. Stephens Museum of Hummel's not far from where I live, never been there, but look on line that might be a place to get an idea of some of the ones of value)

And in your post I think you clearly stated that they hold no sentimental value to you. Sell them and use the money to do something that you have wanted to do. Redo your main bathroom, get new counters, get new flooring, take a trip.

Get rid of them! The china will be worthless if it has gold/silver trim (can't be microwaved) and no one will want it. Check the pattern on replacements.com and see if you can sell it there. I suppose someone collects Hummels; check ebay.

You have no interest in keeping them. And you don’t understand the word guilt.
You will feel sad not guilty. And even sad is misplaced.

Perhaps you are stymied because by letting those items go you'll be letting go of a pretend relationship. Why you keep souvenirs of people who didn’t care about you is a great curiosity.  Free yourself.

Have you heard that commercial that goes something like - Hey ladies, why are you keeping that engagement ring given to you by the guy who ditched you. It’s full of bad vibes. Get rid of it.

Don't even keep one cake dish from the set. It's keeping something dark. You’re just pretending you had a good relationship. They represent yearning. It’s your parents that missed out. Those things are weights. They’re hurtful reminders. Get free of them. Give them away.

As for Hummels, omg. They make me think of Norman Rockwell dishes, agggh. Young people are so removed from that era. And it will never ever be in style again.

Do you skeet shoot? Some cultures believe in warding off evil spirits by breaking dishes during a party. Opa!

When we cleared out my mom's house of more than 50 years, I took most of the big stuff to Goodwill. (I know some folks don't like them because of executive compensation, but they run a program for folks with disabilities to help them get back into the work force. My husband was unemployed for 2 1/2 years during the Recession and they helped him get back to work.)

I left a lot of stuff (things that had memories for me)--mom's creche, old vases, kitchen bowls--out in front, where folks could pick them up. Pretty soon, there were cars stopping and nice folks getting out and picking up stuff to take home with huge smiles on their faces. An middle aged Hispanic woman cradled mom's creche in her arms; I could see it was going to be loved.

Let someone else make good memories from your mom's tchotchkes.

I was the only girl niece, daughter on my fathers side of the family. I have cleaned out 5 homes to date and now have 5 sets of good dishes that NO ONE wants.

I sold or donated any of the other Chot chi's, ie dust catchers. Next the dishes are going to be donated.

Today's generation does not want all that stuff. Sell as much as you can and forget about it.

The "rule of thumb" in our home about keeping stuff is, if we can't display it so someone can appreciate it (i.e. if it's stowed in a box) then away it goes to someone who will love it. Otherwise you're just a storage facility.

No interest means……….NO GUILT!

Enjoy the benefit of selling!

If your not going to use it let it go! I have my MILs good china in 2 boxes in my sunroom,, just taking up space and I want them gone! We called several dealers, no one wants them these days.. and they were good and pricey back in the day. So don;t expect much if you try to sell them . Same with the Hummels. My uncle sent tons of them home back in the day when he was stationed in Germany. You can look on ebay or such,, but remember what they are asking is NOT what you may get.. someone needs to WANT them,, I used to collect Dept 56 buildings,, they were pricey. Now I can;t give them away! I have a friend who was all excited about selling hers on Ebay, making a ton of money. In a year she has not sold one. I find them at Goodwill and yard sales for a dollar or 5. I am cleaning out my house and I think all of this will be donated,

I got rid of everything my parents had that I didn't want. It was all just material items I didn't want, had no memories for me, and was just sitting in a box. I would get rid of everything that you don't want.