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Tree topper!


Night Elf
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Christmas tree topper?  

101 members have voted

  1. 1. What is on top of your tree this year?

    • Angel
      28
    • Star
      51
    • Stuffed animal
      1
    • Other
      21


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Tree Toppers--sigh. They are a source of endless frustration here. ;)

 

We have a moderately pretty star now. We've gone thru several, trying to get one that is bright and lovely, but not too gaudy. We had one that was like a spotlight! Made the tree look like a lighthouse searching for those lost at sea...

 

We had a little angel once, with orange hair, who held two "candles" made of light bulbs. I fluffed her hair and bent her arms so the lights went into her hair--"Bride of Frankenstein." Ugghh. :D

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We have an angel. Every year I wonder if we should switch her out for a star, but every year we stick with her. I think she's beautiful :) She was bought at Hallmark years ago, part of a series about angels or Christmas around the world. Her wings and the star she's holding would light up if we had the right type of strand lights to plug her into, but we don't, so she hasn't ever lit up for us. She's beautiful anyway.

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I have a beeeeautiful angel... But DH is a star-only kind of guy. So one year I found the perfect star. Which has always been too tall for any living room we've had. So last year I found a new star. It looks is like a miniature thing up there. So I bent the branches and made the darn big one stay. Ds10 is convinced it's going to fall and cut off someone's foot. We shall see.

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I used to make beaded Christmas ornaments when I was in high school (beads, sequins, pins in a styrofoam shape).  I have a 3d star that I made.  It took over 40 hours to make the one item since every sequin had to be trimmed to form a straight edge on the sides.  This will be my tree topper until I die.

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Nothing. When I was a kid, we put a 'piek' on top of it (pronounced like the English word 'peak'). I haven't seen any of those in the US, so, nothing.

 

This is an image search for "piek" and "kerstboom" (christmas tree). Just ignore the occasional star or w/e:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=piek+kerstboom&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKqt724rrJAhVCHh4KHaotAxoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1352&bih=632

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http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-47833506755610/t0186-3.gif

 

 

Ours is a German made tree topper sort of like this. Ours is all silver with just a touch of gold.  We also have the original one I grew up with but no longer use it on our tree.  We visit the Chicago Christkindlmarket every year and we have picked up some lovely ornaments there. Our tree has evolved from kid-made and Hallmark ornaments to mostly German ornaments. 

 

 

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A cheap Walmart star from our first year of marriage. I've been keeping an eye out for a better star, but the trend seems to be all-pseudo-angels in my area. (I'm too into my Biblical studies expertise to accept a winged-woman in a lovely gown as any kind of 'angel' related to the Christian/Christmas narrative... No matter how pretty she is.)

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I grew up with one of those spire-like ornaments for the tree topper. When dh and I married we couldn't find a tree topper we liked so I made a big bow out of wired ribbon and we used that for years. Then it was replaced with a star I made out of craft foam and glitter and a tp tube. The whole family was sad when this one got too raggedy and I tossed it. Then I bought a wooden star which turned out to be too heavy. So a couple years ago we got a lightweight metal star from Hobby Lobby, I think.

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We've never had an official tree topper before this year. I've never found one I liked at a price I was willing to pay. So we have always used an angle ornament that my grandma made. I fully admit it looked ridiculous (the ornament is maybe 3 inches tall).

But this year I found a star topper at a garage sale. I didn't hate it at it was cheap, so I bought it. 

Our kids can't wait to put it on the tree, but that's still weeks away.

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We had one of those pointy toppers when I was growing up. I never knew they had a name. When we still lived in NJ and would get a real tree each year, we always had to choose the height based on whether or not the topper would fit.

 

For years we had a cheap star. When it finally gave out we didn't replace it. Ds suggested a Santa hat and that's what we've been using for the last couple of years.

Edited by Lady Florida
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We have an angel. She started life as a doll that I acquired from some discount store back when I was first putting up my own tree. I added some cardboard wings and ribbons and stuck her on top of the tree. 

 

She had a "makeover" when my daughter was three or four, got a new dress and wings and a sparkly wreath for her head. She may get updated again someday, but I assume she will continue to grace our tree every year.

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One tree has an angel that dh and I bought when we were still dating.  It has been on our tree for over 22 years.

 

The second tree has a star, but I am modifying an ornament I found to make a different topper.

Edited by Tap
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We always have Mike Wazowski, the little green guy from Monsters, Inc. 

 

He's a stuffed toy and it was made with a good sized hole in the bottom. We aren't sure why...was it made to be a large finger puppet?  DH made a joke that the hole was there to stick it on a christmas tree and that was that. We put a plastic bag on the top of the tree to keep sap off of Mike, and then put him on top.

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Nothing. When I was a kid, we put a 'piek' on top of it (pronounced like the English word 'peak'). I haven't seen any of those in the US, so, nothing.

 

This is an image search for "piek" and "kerstboom" (christmas tree). Just ignore the occasional star or w/e:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=piek+kerstboom&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKqt724rrJAhVCHh4KHaotAxoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1352&bih=632

Those are pretty!

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A couple years ago I found a darling little doll-like angel topper at a thrift store.   I love how she looks like a humble handmade doll, but with just the right touch of frills and lace.  Before we got this topper, we actually didn't use any tree topper at all, because I couldn't find something I liked.  Stars seemed too boring, and an angel seemed to be making a religious statement that doesn't fit my beliefs.  I like that this "angel" seems more like a doll with wings.

 

Here's a picture.  I don't know if mine is handmade, but it looks pretty easy to make with some basic sewing and/or gluing skills.  If I ever need to replace this one, I'll probably just make another one like it.

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Nothing. When I was a kid, we put a 'piek' on top of it (pronounced like the English word 'peak'). I haven't seen any of those in the US, so, nothing.

 

This is an image search for "piek" and "kerstboom" (christmas tree). Just ignore the occasional star or w/e:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=piek+kerstboom&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKqt724rrJAhVCHh4KHaotAxoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1352&bih=632

Now I know what it's called! This is what I grew up with and have never seen one to get for my own tree. I have sometimes felt like I was imagining it.

 

We used to have an angel now we have a woven paper star.

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Now I know what it's called! This is what I grew up with and have never seen one to get for my own tree. I have sometimes felt like I was imagining it.

 

Well, that's what it's called in Dutch, although you're welcome to call it a piek/peak (it's on top of the peak of the tree, no?). The Dutch Wikipedia page for 'piek' links to the English page 'tree topper' (when you click on "other languages"), so I'm not sure there is an English word for that kind of tree topper.

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I voted other because as of right now there's nothing on the top. I'm not sure if we're going to decorate it this year. My youngest has been turning the lights on & off non-stop. He's also putting his little people in the tree and then saying they're stuck. Then there's him getting under the tree and pushing it.  :lol:

 

We have an angel for the top though. I wanted to get this really cool star when we were getting the tree but the family vetoed my suggestion. I still may go to the store to get that star!

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my mother gave me a german wax angel she bought at the christmas market in bavaria.  it's been on my tree ever since.

 

I do have fond memories of the fiber optic tree topper we had when I was a child.  I periodically look on ebay -but haven't found one. (i'd put it on my 'snowflake' tree.)

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Now I know what it's called! This is what I grew up with and have never seen one to get for my own tree. I have sometimes felt like I was imagining it.

 

We used to have an angel now we have a woven paper star.

 

I've seen them in stores.  you need to go to one that carries more upscale christmas ornaments.  macy's holiday lane here has them, I've even seen them in target.

 

you can also find them online amazon or ebay.  do a search for glass tree topper.

 

eta: generally, you can find them with a glass tree topper search.  I've also seen them listed as christmas tree finial.

Edited by gardenmom5
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My parents bought an ornament for me every year of my life and the very first one was an inexpensive cardboardy angel that was purchased from Frank's Nursery and Crafts.  This, along with all of my other childhood ornaments was passed on to me when I reached adulthood.  So she sits on the top of our tree.  She is 40+ years old, has some little rips in her wings, and a small sap stain on her face, but tradition rules.

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We have a snowflake which tilts to the right. Before this year we had always had a star. That tilted too which also is why we upgraded to the snowflake. I swear one of these days it's going to fall on top of cat since they insist on being part of the tree too. :laugh: Maybe I need to find myself a mike to put on top. I bet he would sit up straight.  :laugh: 

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Nothing. When I was a kid, we put a 'piek' on top of it (pronounced like the English word 'peak'). I haven't seen any of those in the US, so, nothing.

 

This is an image search for "piek" and "kerstboom" (christmas tree). Just ignore the occasional star or w/e:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=piek+kerstboom&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKqt724rrJAhVCHh4KHaotAxoQ_AUIBygB&biw=1352&bih=632

 

We had this growing up. My mom was of German descent. 

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I have a star that plugs into the strand of lights. We also have an angel my MIL bought for us when we married 20 years ago but the kids prefer the light-up star. I think of angels as more religious than stars though, so I'm not sure I'd like to use that angel again. But that is sort of strange seeing as how Jesus was born under a star, isn't that right? I like the idea of a santa hat.

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I'm actually sewing a new one this week as a surprise for my husband.  A white, furry Yeti!   :lol:   Last year he wanted some yeti ornaments, so I'm also making 2 smaller white yetis and three brown, furry bigfoots.  Lol.  Obviously I've given up on beauty and perfection in favor of humor and weirdness!

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