Ipsey Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I can't believe I'm asking this. . . *sheepish* I'm putting away Christmas tree ornaments today. I have many beautiful ones from my childhood, and my children have a few nice ones and some lovely handmade ones, however, I do want them to have a few more as they get older so they can take them a deck their own trees some day. Where do you find your Christmas ornaments? I can find lots of ugly ones, but fewer truly lovely, keepable ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Not sure why you feel sheepish asking! :001_smile: It's a reasonable question. We haven't been buying many ornaments lately as we have so many. I'll assume you live in the US. I used to buy a lot at World Market (old name Cost Plus) when I lived hear one. Pier One has lots of nice, different sorts of ornaments. Museum stores often have beautiful things too. Handmade ornaments are beautiful, or can be anyway. (We have our share of not so beautiful handmade ornaments that we treasure all the same.) If you are crafty you can make some. I have a cross-stitched reindeer that we still love even if it is a bit cutesy. ;) But I've even seen lovely things at places like Walmart, Target, department stores. It's a matter of style and taste too, of course. Crate and Barrel, too. Hope you get some more responses with more ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 10000 Villages has lots of unique ornaments from around the world that we like. We've also enjoyed using things on our tree that weren't really meant to be ornaments, but that are easy to turn into ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Are you looking for unique or standard but good quality. You really see ornaments everywhere. If you are looking for better quality ornaments then look in better quality stories. We tend to have lots of simple red balls (big and small), big gold Martha Stewart balls from Kmart, some small blue balls. The rest are unique. We have some from places we visit. Some are from my childhood. Others are just ones that I found that I like. I saw a set of three ornaments at Michael's yesterday. I said if we didn't have enough, I would have bought them. There is a group of ornaments that you can find at Hallmark. I can't remember the artist name, but they never go on sale and they are so detailed and to me interesting. But at $35+ per ornament, I'm not buying them. I think that the best idea is to look everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I generally buy cheap ones because they break anyway. I think you could buy good ones at boutiques or high end department stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Kohls, hallmark, michaels crafts. I only buy right before or after Christmas when they are on clearance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipsey Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Thanks for all the replies! I have all sorts of decorations, including some misbaha worry beads from Saudi Arabia. I'm looking for small, individualized ornaments, not necessarily big balls or anything too gaudy. I'm wanting to find small ornaments that can represent my children from year to year, or represent their personalities. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 We tend to keep our eyes open when we are doing touristy things, and buy interesting ones relating to experiences we've shared. Often there will be an ornament for $15-20 (or less) that is actually fairly nice. I find some of the Hallmark ones have been nice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I have a very eclectic tree. I've bought some on ebay- but I was looking for very particular ones from my childhood. I've bought them at hallmark, dept stores, antique stores, and even michaels. I've also bought them at tourist shops when traveling. I've probably spent the most at specialty Christmas shops. what do you like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I have a large mix of ornaments. Items like Lenox, Waterford Crystal, Wallace Silversmith, and various other high end items can often be found in stores like TJ Maxx, Ross and Homegoods. Each year I buy the kids one nice ornament and they all match or are parts of a set. I pay about $15 a piece for those but I have to start looking right when Christmas items go into stores to get 3 matching, good designs that I like. I also buy them one fun one, but I don't try to find one that represents them (ie I do not buy an ice skater for the year they learned to skate). Those come from all over the place. Sometimes the stores mentioned above, but some have been from World Market, Tuesday Morning, JC Penny, Macys, Fred Meyer etc. I doubt that they have been from the same store more than once. It is just where ever I am that has something that catches my eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 While my dc have some of their own ornaments from childhood I can't imagine them wanting me to choose how they are going to decorate their tree as adults. Dd will cheerfully get rid of anything beautiful she doesn't want. lol My guess is they will want me to keep them on our family Christmas tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 The brightly colored thin glass like Christopher Radko ornaments are my personal favorites. We have a mix of stuff but mostly all in that style. If you shop after Chrismas sales you can get some nice stuff for less. The large department stores, Crate and Barrel, Pier One and Cost Plus all have some nice ornaments. I can't stomach the prices before things to on sale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I love Christmas ornaments! Each year I buy a family ornament and an ornament for each of my kids, and my nieces and nephews. For my own family ornaments, I keep my eyes open on any vacations we take. I write the year on the bottom with a fine point Sharpie. Every year, I love looking at the ornaments from the beach, the Redwoods, or wherever we went. I also look at places like Hobby Lobby or gift stores for ornaments for my nieces and nephews. I look for something that relates to their year, or to their interests. I find Hobby Lobby to have the largest selection, but I also like Pier 1 Imports, Cost Plus World Market, street fairs, book stores, and the Christian supply store. I also buy Lenox at Macys. A few years we made ornaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Thanks for all the replies! I have all sorts of decorations, including some misbaha worry beads from Saudi Arabia. I'm looking for small, individualized ornaments, not necessarily big balls or anything too gaudy. I'm wanting to find small ornaments that can represent my children from year to year, or represent their personalities. Thanks again! We do this, too, and we just google like crazy! It's amazing what you can find online. I did get one of our kids' ornaments this year from Hallmark (Lego starwars Yoda) but the others came from vendors online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I buy mine at least one a year, sometimes more because I come across something I want them to have. Some of these places have been mentioned already but mostly they come from: Festival markets World Market Pier One Museum Stores Ten Thousand Villages Craft fairs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 While my dc have some of their own ornaments from childhood I can't imagine them wanting me to choose how they are going to decorate their tree as adults. Dd will cheerfully get rid of anything beautiful she doesn't want. lol My guess is they will want me to keep them on our family Christmas tree. While I do buy my kids ornaments with the intention that they can take them with them when they leave, I also tell them they are free to pick and choose, taking only what they want. My tree will be quite bare when they are gone, so I don't have a problem with them leaving them here on the family tree. :0) So far, they both love the ornaments and they say they are taking them all. We will have to see if it stays the same when spouses or SO are involved. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Everyone in the family gets an ornament every year that represents something unique about them - an accomplishment, a hobby, etc. This year I got an ornament that is a stack of books, dd got a basket of blueberries, ds got a space ship and dh got his initial. Over the years we have quiet an eclectic tree!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Some years, we make ornaments from kits. This will get easier as the kids get older. This year we made ornaments out of the leftover clay from making our history ziggurats. Then we painted them. Other sources of ornament ideas: Oriental Trading Mary Maxim Herrschners Cracker Box -- gorgeous, but EXPENSIVE! ebay Amazon Pinterest Ornament Blog DLTK -- for young kids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 We've gotten some really pretty ornaments in the past at Crate and Barrel and Pier One. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 My jiffy craft each year is to laminate our family Christmas photo to hang on the tree. My mom makes a special ornament for each grandchild annually. Some years they all coordinate, but they're all homemade. When our dd got married this summer, she took her favorites with her, but left most of them behind. I think 90% of our ornaments are homemade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed3x Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Great thread! And great ideas too. Thanks. I will add that we have also bought our older dd's ornaments from Etsy. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 I have found lots of cute ones at CVS and Walgreens. You just have to search everything. I think the glass ornaments are the best at CVS for made-in-China quality. I make lots of needlepoint ornaments for the kids and I finish them myself to save money. I've also made cross stitch ornaments with beads. These are kits by Mill Hill. Everything you need to finish the ornament is in the kit. (By finishing, I am not referring to getting the ornament completely stitched but rather the process by which you turn your finished stitching into something such as an ornament or a free-standing display.) You can find these kits online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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