Collecting Christmas Ornaments That Speak to the Heart

My mother is from a large family, one of six sisters and three brothers who grew up in a tiny town in north-central Indiana. Once grown they spread out across the country — New Jersey, Michigan, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington. Several remained in Indiana, where every year as many of them who could came home to celebrate Christmas together. The aunts and Grandma prepared an enormous meal, and afterward we opened a great pile of presents. The siblings and the grandchildren picked names for gifts, but Grandma, even though she was on a fixed income, still gave a present to each of her nine children, four sons-in-law, three daughters-in-law and 15 grandchildren. She acknowledged her children’s birthdays with a card and her grandchildren’s with a card and a $2 bill, but at Christmas she gave each and every one of us a present.

As an adult, I find it surprising that she continued as long as she did and that none of her children persuaded her to stop. Maybe they tried and she ignored them. Grandma could be stubborn. She shopped for bargains all year long, and many of us helped her with the wrapping, but it was still a huge and costly undertaking. As time passed, her ability to handle all of it began to wane. It was the year she gave one of my Indiana uncles a dress shirt with ¾ sleeves (obviously an irregular bought at a discount store) and forget to buy a present for one of my Wisconsin cousins, that her children realized two things: 1) Grandma was slipping and 2) perhaps it was time for her to stop buying presents for 31 people every year.

And yet gift giving was so much a part of the family culture, they and she were reluctant for her to give it up entirely. I don’t know who thought of it, but someone suggested Grandma should give Christmas ornaments. Everyone (and by this I mean Grandma and the aunts) agreed it was a wonderful idea, and for a few more years Grandma enjoyed the relative simplicity of looking for that year’s ornaments. She usually chose one for all her children, and for the grandchildren she selected one for the girls and another for the boys. It was the year she began having conversations with herself in the mirror that the aunts took over buying the ornaments on her behalf, which they continued until her death.


My mother and several of her sisters already gave an ornament every year to each of their children, and they began to go out the day after Christmas to area boutiques to buy deeply discounted ornaments for the following Christmas. It was a fun and practical tradition. The kids liked it, too. My siblings and I had our own little box of ornaments. One by one we hung our ornaments and remembered Christmases past. By the time I set up a home of my own, between my Grandma’s and my parents’ annual gifts, I had dozens of beautiful and unique ornaments. My mother, my sister and I have continued the tradition with our children, who love it, too.

If you want to make collecting ornaments a part of your Christmas traditions — and I really think you should — here are just a few suggestions.


Ornaments make great souvenirs. Here you can see mementos from my mother’s trip to England (Big Ben) and my husband’s trip to Munich (the little wooden couple, top center.)


Make your own. If you’re crafty, creating ornaments together could be an extra-special family tradition.

Learn how to make the ornament shown


Consider interests and collections. For a while I collected St. Nicholas decorations and ornaments. The pink one in the front is from my sister-in-law Dawn and is one of my favorite ornaments of all time. In the back is a Santa, shaped like a top, that my mother gave me. After several years of receiving only Santas, I asked my mother to please expand her choices, which she happily did.

Remember a little collection can become too much fast. A friend liked Coke memorabilia, and after only a few years of his family’s focused generosity, his tree looked like it had a corporate sponsor.


Buy vintage. “They don’t make them like they used to” is true of so many things, including ornaments. Simple vintage bulbs bring beautiful color and character to a tree. You can find them the cheapest at thrift stores and garage sales, but even antiques stores price them reasonably.


Growing up, we were always given our ornaments on Christmas morning. With my own children I give them the night we decorate the tree. It’s the first present, and they get to enjoy it the entire season.

Your turn: Is giving ornaments part of your Christmas tradition? Please share a favorite in the Comments.

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