History of Christmas Ornaments

Christmas ornaments are decorations (usually made of glass, metal, wood or ceramics) that are used to festoon a Christmas tree. Ornaments take many different forms, from a simple round ball to highly artistic designs. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year, rather than purchased annually, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Santa Claus is a commonly used figure. Candy canes, fruit, animals and snowflake imagery are also popular choices

Lucretia P. Hale's story "The Peterkins' Christmas-Tree" offers a short catalog of the sorts of ornaments used in the 1870s:

The modern-day Christmas ornament was originally invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the late 16th century.

Bauble

A bauble is a spherical decoration that is commonly used to adorn Christmas trees. It is one of the most popular christmas ornament designs, and you can find at least one bauble on virtually any Christmas tree. Baubles can have various designs on them, from "baby's first christmas," to a favorite sports team. It has been produced since 1847.

Invention

Greiner originally started by blowing glass into the shape of fruit and nuts. The inside of his decorations were made to look silvery, at first with mercury or lead, then later using a special compound of silver nitrate and sugar water.

As demand for Greiner's ornaments grew, he began blowing the glass into new shapes including the sphere which is now the most popular.

Export

Other glassblowers in Lauscha recognised the growing popularity of christmas baubles and began producing them in a wide range of designs. Soon, the whole of Germany began buying christmas glassware from Lauscha and after Queen Victoria's christmas tree was pictured in London paper decorated with glass ornaments and baubles from Prince Albert's native Germany, Lauscha began exporting its products throughout Europe.

In the 1880s, American F. W. Woolworth discovered Lauscha's baubles during a visit to Germany. He made a fortune by importing the German glass ornaments to the U.S.A.

Mass Production

By the 1920s, traditional handblown methods gave way to mass production and before long there was competition from other regions of Germany and from abroad as well. The demand for the decorative items grew steadily, especially as new colours regularly became fashionable.

Post World War II

After World War II, East Germany turned most of Lauscha's glassworks became state-owned and production of baubles in Lauscha ceased. After the Berlin Wall came down, most of the firms were reestablished as private companies. Today there are still about 20 small glass-blowing firms active in Lauscha that produce baubles.

The Modern Bauble

Although glass baubles are still produced, baubles are now mainly made from plastic and available worldwide in a huge variety of shapes, colours and designs.

Christmas pickle

The Christmas Pickle is an American tradition related to the Christmas tree. In this tradition, a family decorates its Christmas tree with ornaments including one glass pickle. On Christmas morning, the first child to find the pickle on the tree would get a special gift and would supposedly have a year of good.

This tradition is commonly believed by Americans to come from Germany, but this is probably apocryphal. In fact, the tradition is widely unknown in Germany.

An original Christmas Pickle

Source: From Wikipedia

Personalized Christmas Photo Ornaments on a Tree

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly…Fa la la…Tis’ the season to be jolly…” Indeed, Christmas is truly a time to be jolly. It is without a doubt one of the most celebrated occasions of all times. Regardless of some parties accusing Christmas to be overrated and exaggerated, it is the very tree, turkey and the snowman which completes the full package of Christmas.

This festive season is often identified with snow and Christmas trees. Fir trees works best as it has the traditional Christmas tree look and the evergreen leaves. It has a lot of branches rendering it easier and more functional to hang as much ornaments as the trees can support. Normally, an angel or a star would be attached on the top of the tree.

However, there are some parts of the world where fir trees do not grow and the sky does not snow. Do they still celebrate Christmas? Of course. There are artificial trees that are manufactured and being sold throughout these hotter climate countries. It is identical and similar to the authentic one and some even has extra branches for those extra pieces of ornaments.

Before there was electricity, the olden Christmas trees were decorated with lit candles. Some are still using it even today. These candles are decorated with golden and silver colored balls, much more known as ornaments. Christmas would never be complete without these tiny little trinkets which makes the Christmas tree a Christmas tree. From the little angels to the candy canes, ornaments are an absolute necessary alongside Christmas lights and the slightly bigger the David Star.

However, if you were to look around in the stores, the ornaments which are sold are most probably much similar to the rest. It tends to get repetitive and boring to see the same colored baubles hanging from branch to branch. There is, however, a way to diversify these decorations. Personalized photo Christmas ornaments are a fresh new alternative to those Bavarian themed baubles. What can be better than putting pictures of your loved ones behind these little pieces of glass balls and hung among the Christmas lights?

The other great news is that these personalized ornaments are easy to make and it is very cost effective. It will be much better if you have some kids helping you as it will not only lighten the workload, but also promote healthy family fun. It is a great way to nurture family togetherness with your children to prepare for this joyous season. All you need is just some clear Christmas bulbs, scissors, a pencil and of course photos of the intended individuals. Snippets of ribbons, colored pieces of paper and potpourri are optional to further enhance these ornaments.

First and foremost, remove the tops or the hooks of the bulbs. Wrap the photo around the pencil. Make sure the photo is facing out. Simply just slid in the pencil into the hole of the bulb and allow the photo to spread. A cautious step is to ensure the size of the photo is roughly the same size of the bulb. You would not want the photo to exceed the size of the bulb or the other way round. Use the pencil to straighten up the photo. The last step is to put in the ribbons or dry flowers and fill the bulb up. There you go! Your very own personalized photo ornaments.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be ball shaped ornaments. There are various shapes and sizes which you can choose from. Rectangular ornaments enable more pictures to be inserted. This is especially great if you have more than one child. Just align their photos together and it will bring smiles to their faces. Another popular option is the gingerbread ornament. Aside from the turkey, gingerbread man is another necessity of the Christmas meal. It is not a surprise that it has made its way from a delicacy to an ornament. Gingerbread man is a big hit among children. Measure the size of the head of the gingerbread man and cut out the exact size from your photo. Simply use glue and stained it on the paper. It is that easy.

Personalized Christmas photo ornaments are not hard to make at all. All it needs is just a little bit of creativity and a bit of time. They can also make great gifts to your relatives especially to the grandparents. This way, this does not only represent sensitiveness and understanding from your side, but also ensure your children to receive big Christmas presents.

If you decide to go all out, how about decorating the tree with only these personalized photo ornaments? Perhaps the whole tree can be covered with your 21 year old son’s baby photos and your wedding pictures. It will truly be Christmas to remember.

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