Streamers made into chains and all the other things Sandra and Robin mentioned except that we also had holly-decorated silver milk bottle tops from a week before Christmas. The milk was delivered by
"Milk-O!" with his horse and cart. (There was also "Icy!" who brought ice for the ice box, "Bottle-O!" who collected empty bottles, "Rubbish-O!" and several other "-Os!"). Anyway the silver tops could be shaped over a lemon squeezer - those old-fashioned glass ones that are still around - into little silver bells for the Christmas tree. We made fake snow with soap powder.
My family who had, like Sandra's, been in Australia since the 19th Century - 1848 actually, also called England "Home". It was the songs of Stephen Foster that we sang, though, the American minstrels had left their mark here. After all the carol singing we went back to Stephen Foster on Christmas night. My father had never been able to aford a piano although he had always been able to play well, but he led us with his voice. On Christmas Eve I'll loop a tinsel strap to the front gate to tie up the reindeer in honor of my Dad. We did that for years after I no longer believed in Father Christmas. Joybells