Starting a Christmas Tradition: 5 Tips for Collecting Ornaments

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is collecting ornaments. I got the idea back in my early college days when I went to a tree trimming party. When I stepped into the 2 story family room, I was shocked to a tree standing over 9 feet tall! But even more impressive? Their ornament collection. Every square inch of floor, every single table or chair, and most of the couches were covered with a stunning eye catching arrangement of beautiful ornaments, some rare antiques, some from Hallmark’s recent collections, and everything in between.

My friend told me that they’d been collecting for a long time and every year, every member of his large family got a new ornament. That was so beautiful, I decided that one day, when I had a family we’d do that too.

Chris and I started some time before we got married collecting a few ornaments, and it quickly became an annual stocking stuffer for each of us! One of my favorite, a tiny prop plane with rotating wheels and propeller, got lost one year…left on a real tree the year before, I believe.

Ornament Collecting Tip #1: Don’t buy tiny ornaments.

That wasn’t the only ornament hiccup though! We have a lovely collection now that includes Disney ornaments, Star Wars and Star Trek light up ornaments, animals of all kinds and special ones for the kids. I even have a Daffy Duck, my favorite Bugs Bunny character. While Daffy looks O.K. now, he’s been through tough times. One time, his feet/legs snapped off so we had to crazy glue him back on. That was back when my mother in law used to come over and she’d throw out the boxes, or the insides…hence the danger.

Ornament Collecting Tip #2: Keep the entire packaging.

Of course, we knew enough not to throw it out those boxes for the collectibles (namely the Star Wars stuff), so we haven’t made that mistake again. But, some of my favorites, including one or two that I kept from my childhood, were not strong or sturdy enough to last that long.

Ornament Collecting Tip #3: Buy packaging for your most precious ones.

Then, one year I had my heart set on one that doubled as a pendant. It was a heart with a mother and baby in it, and a tiny diamond. I wore it after Christmas, but the diamond got lost and then the hook broke.

Ornament Collecting Tip #4: Don’t buy ornaments that double as something else.

Nowadays, we make sure that we have plenty of plastic and wood ornaments. We do have glass ones, but again, some of the ones from my childhood – which didn’t arrive with the boxes my parents kept FOREVER – ended up getting smashed.

Ornament Collecting Tip #5:

Don’t buy too many glass ones and, when you do, securely place them high up when the kids aren’t around. (That goes for any “grown” kids you might have too!)

Tips for buying ornaments:

1. Keep the safety of your precious ornaments in mind. No glass if you have tots, dogs or cats.
2. Mark the big occasions, like baby’s first Christmas or first Christmas as a married couple, with a keepsake
3. Make some collectible but make some ordinary.
4. DO collect the ones your kids make. You’ll really treasure those some day.
5. Buy them as stocking stuffers, and make sure they reflect the person you’re giving it to!

What’s your favorite ornament or holiday decoration,
or do you have a good story around? Share!

Looking for more Christmas ideas? Over the next week, 25 bloggers will be sharing their creative ideas with you for recipes, decor, crafts, printables, and holiday traditions. Each day 5 new posts will go live so make sure you come back to check them out! At the end of our 25 Blogs of Christmas, we will be hosting a HUGE giveaway for a $250 Amazon Gift Card!