Find Unique Ornaments for Your Tree
I'm always on the lookout for deals and bargains. At the same time, I'm also looking for great platforms, easy shopping, nice ways to save me time to get everything done.
This year, one of the cool places I've found is ornamentshops.com. At this store, there are numerous Christmas ornaments vendors, and I was able to find kids ornaments, a dad ornament from the kids, stuff for the grandparents, and the family ornament we always buy each year. I liked that I didn't have to rely on continuously looking up various things on the search engines, and had that one-stop shopping experience. They have a broad range of ornaments and the site is big enough selection that its really easy to find everything you want. Seriously, I just love this place where I can shop in my PJs with a warm cup of cocoa.
If you're interested in personalized ornaments, you can also find several thousand at Personalized Christmas Ornaments that's a great place for comparison shopping, and they offer an incredible free shipping on all Christmas ornaments deal. more > > >
Christmas Trees Types and Tree Ornaments
We often look for the most beautiful tree, or the best tree under $50, or the best tree to fit into a specific corner of the house. However you look for your next Christmas tree, I thought it would be a good idea to start with what we all do anyway: the Christmas tree ornaments.
The kinds of ornaments that dominate your collection should determine how you choose your Christmas tree. For example, have you ever started joyfully hanging your ornaments only to find they don't fit? The branches are too close together, so your wide Russell Rhodes Christmas ornaments or your tall Radko Ornaments just don't fit into the tree the way the branches are made. Sometimes we choose to literally cut the tree. At other times, we try to remember what kind of tree we bought so we don't do it again, (back to the closet with some of the favorite ornaments). If this is rarely or only sometimes a problem for you, it's doubtful you've given a lot of thought to the type of tree you ought to buy. But for most people who have ornaments of size, this problem is fairly frequent. It's not enough to "just put the big ones near the bottom", particularly if there are curious pets or young children. To that end, first check out the Christmas tree decorations at Christmas tree locations. "Locations" are included for where each type of tree typically bought as a Christmas tree grows so you can limit your search to the types of trees you're likely to see for sale in your area. Details on each tree variety are included. To find your favorite and the most popular types, click here.
Next, if you're interested in how tree ornaments are actually made, the very best kind, in most peoples' opinions are blown glass ornaments. There are times when I've certainly balked on the sheer high cost. Sometimes you're certainly paying for "a name". But even no-name blown glass ornaments tend to be on the pricier side. Hence, I thought I'd educate myself on why. For a complete though thankfully brief rundown on how glass ornaments are made by hand, click Christmas tree ornaments making (be sure and scroll down the page) followed by the actual painting process glass ornaments finishing from start to finish. more > > >
Christmas Tree Ornament Artists
I want to spend a little time giving respect where respect is due. As in any retail industry, there are people who drive the delivery trucks, the vendors who buy the ornaments and display them in their carts and retail stores, the buyers for large chain stores, the ocean liners, dock workers -- you name it. There are 10s of 1000s of people working in various capacities to bring all of us unique Christmas tree ornaments each year, unique designs to help us celebrate the special times in our lives. But I wanted to take a little time this year to give respect to the designers, the handfuls of people who really determine what it is that we have to choose from each and every year. These are the people we thank for giving us that thrill of excitement when we find just the right ornament for our needs.
The list is growing, but here's what I can start with:
Merck Family Old World Ornaments
Russell Rhodes Custom Glass Christmas Ornaments
Christopher Radko Blown Glass European Ornaments
Larry Fraga Designs
Debi Allison
I'll write a little about what's unique about each of these designers after I complete my research next week. Stay tuned!
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The Evolution of Christmas Decorations
Christmas "decorations" takes on different meanings depending upon the generation you're talking to. Decorators used real candles and small German ornaments to make the high-style tree of the 1950s. The 1960s brought in the "mod" colors of the day, and while some of these decorations might survive as conversation pieces, most people would consider those tree ugly, even trashy, a look later associated with the drug culture. Yet, before the Haight-Ashury district of San Francisco came to fame, the very finest of houses had these "mod" tree designs.
The 70s brought in the colors most of us have loved to hate: lemon, pea-green lime hues, and other un-natural hues. Most Christmas ornaments from the 70s passed away long ago in garage sales and finally the local landfill. In the 80s we returned to traditional looks, lots of gold and silver, intricately designed ornaments of a quality that wasn't possible 50 years before. Radko Christmas ornaments were born in the 80ies, for example.
By the mid-1990s, we saw a mixture of the traditional with the whimsical. Whimsical, all the way up through 2005, meant non-traditional lines. The colors might still include some jewel tones, but they tended to be softer hues, not the strange odd-ball hues of the 70s, but true colors, just muted. The emphasis, however, was on design. Whimsical design tends to be unnaturally shaped arms and legs, over-sized heads on figurines, almost doll-like sculptures, irregularly or randomly drawn lines and circles. Finally, these shapes have taken a bizarre turn, reminiscent of the drawings and figurines of Tim Burton. more > > >
Sports Ornaments for the Modern Family
I've recently completed my research on the web's best sports ornaments. I've decided to avoid the standard collegiate sports ornaments that have flooded the market. Instead, I'm concentrating on today's family and our active lifestyles. Beyond the tradition football and soccer ornaments, you'll see pilates and rock climbing, aerobics and light weight training ornaments and others to commemorate important active experiences in our daily lives.
First, I want to start with the least expensive sports Christmas tree ornaments. What I love best about this website is that their pricing is moderate to cheap, and they've done a very nice job at personalization for kids. You'll find baseball ornament designs from little figurines to personalized baseball Christmas ornaments in blown glass on the high end, to resin baseball team ornaments on the less expensive end. This site is likely to have most of what you're looking for if you focus is children from around 3 or 4 up to the big kids in the late teens, and everything at a good price.
Next, this large site has tons of personalized sports ornaments for all ages-- a great selection of football ornaments and other personalized sports Christmas ornaments for kids and adults. You won't find professional teams or collegiate sports here. Instead, you'll find sports ornaments particularly suited to children ages approximately 4 - 18. For example, they have a precious soccer ornament with a darling snowman ornament throwing a football that makes sense for younger kids who are just learning to play. They have graphically designed footballs, as well as football Christmas ornaments for teens. If you're focus is on a range of ages, I recommend this site's sports ornaments department.
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