A Look at Christmas Ornaments

For many people the high point of Christmas is pulling out the Christmas ornaments and decorating their tree. This high point of decorating during the season can really be an expression of your personality and style. Christmas ornaments run the gamut from the traditional to the avant garde. The ornaments that you choose can reflect your hobbies, interests or even your food preferences. Many people have even turned the hunt of a specific kind of Christmas ornament into a hobby as they use their time before and after Christmas to find the ornaments they want. So read on for a fun look at Christmas ornaments that might inspire you into a whole new direction for your decorating this year.

Christmas ornaments were entirely handmade until the middle of the 19th century. Homeowners would make decorations out of anything available that often included scraps of cloth, wood, pinecones and other items gathered from nature. Ready made Christmas ornaments only first started appearing on store shelves during the 1870s. These early ornaments were made of lead in geometric shapes or as stars, crosses and butterflies.

Shortly after these locally manufactured ornaments were available for purchase, glass ornaments from Germany began to be imported. The Germans were renowned for making the highest quality glass ornaments. They were truly exquisite and viewed as works of art. The Germans had over 5000 ornament molds and over 100 glass blowing workshops devoted entirely to making them. It was in 1880 when F.W. Woolworth reluctantly stocked his shelves with glass ornaments that these ornaments took over the mainstream in popularity. Mr. Woolworth didn’t think they would sell and would be waste of valuable retail space. Ironically, by 1890, he was importing over 200,000 ornaments a year and selling 25 million dollars worth, at five and ten cents per ornament! Christmas ornaments have been an essential holiday decorating staple ever since.