Favorite Christmas ornaments

Sometimes hanging ornaments on the Christmas tree can be a trip down memory lane. We remember who gave us the ornaments, the trip we were on when we bought them or who made them for us, and when. We'd love to see your ornaments. Upload photos of them here and tell us a little of the backstory. We'll gather them together in an online photo gallery and use some in print. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Section:Reader Photo

Mon., Dec. 7, 2015

Photos in This Album

Made by a friend 30 + yrs. ago she was differently abled and spent much time home bound she made these for her friends/family for almost every holiday, I have several three Xmas, one for St. Pat's day , Easter, and Thanksgiving she is gone now so I treasure these and make sure they are included every year

Photographer: Colleen Gardner
another creepy one made in some forest cottage in the Black Forest of Germany by some hook nosed hag whose got a cauldron boiling in her kitchen we don't EVEN wanna know about. but it is shiny and hangs well.

Photographer: Bob Salsbury
these are creepy but they are shiny and hang well

Photographer: Bob Salsbury
original property settlement ornament from my divorce. I love these old world buffet pine cone ornaments.

Photographer: Bob Salsbury
I rarely buy ornaments. In fact when me and the ex divorced 17 years ago, she wanted an observer/mediator present for when we split up the ornaments (srsly)because she was so ornament-crazy. I still have a lot of those original property settlement ornaments. Anyway, I saw this and just had to have it. IT'S A TRUCK BRO.

Photographer: Bob Salsbury
a skier ornament i received as a gift. I love to ski so I love this ornament.

Photographer: Bob Salsbury
This dinosaur ornament is hung on my tree in memory of my grandson, Max. He passed away before his first Christmas, so I purchased dinosaur ornaments in his memory and continue to add another to my tree each year.

Photographer: Grant Ogren
One of my other favorites is from my sister, Tia. She bought the knight ornament and added handmade clay coconuts to make it a knight from Monty Python. "Ni!"

Photographer: Shannon Zielfelder
I made this "we wished for you" ornament with real dandelion wishes inside for my daughter. It was her first Christmas with our family in 2013. She was in foster care and we didn't know if she would be able to stay forever or only be here for a little while. I am happy to say that she was adopted in September and is stuck with us forever!

Photographer: Shannon Zielfelder
My younger sister is very artistic and she made my youngest daughter her first ornament featuring the grinch. On the back of it says 'Laila's first Christmas'.

Photographer: Lorisa Pauli
A hand lettered ornament from my friend and talented artist Dan Martin.

Photographer: Mike Vanderbosch
The story of the Christmas spider is a wonderful story.....our tree and everyone in my family, has a Christmas Spider somewhere on the tree....when you find it, you get to hide it. I thought I had done pretty well, until a couple of years ago, when I hid it in a bird nest on the tree. I came home to find a tiny little note tucked in the nest from my granddaughter Sydney that simply said, "Nice try"

Photographer: Sue Riener
When I started college, my grandmother gave me one of the antique ornaments from her tree. It was so beautiful and I cherished it. I was using it for an art project for one of my classes and my cat knocked it off the table and shattered it and my heart. A couple of years later, I made a trip up to the Christmas Store in Sandpoint and found this beauty. It is almost a perfect replica of that broken ornament. I allow my kids and nieces and nephews to decorate my tree every year with the exception of this and one other ornament.

Photographer: Diane
This is my replacement for my old Radio Flyer, that my friend Rick gave me after he and his daughter destroyed my original on the hill while sledding. Just one of my favorites. This is always one of the first to on the tree.

Photographer: Michael Long
My favorite babysitter, Trisha Smith, made this for me 35 years ago, when I was about 5. It was made out of a Styrofoam ball, thread, stick pins, sequins, and plastic beads, ie: not much. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Every year when I pull it out again, I feel that same 5-year-old's sense of awe and appreciation.

Photographer: Sarajoy Van Boven
Sorry this is so dark. Look closely, you will see a lot of snowflakes. We put up our tree in our dental office and asked our patients to write a Christmas wish on one side and their name on the other side. We have a three year old's drawings on one, and wishes for good health to a woman's husband, who has had health issues this year. Some are more general, like world peace, and others praying the mass shootings will finally come to an end. We have always loved our patients, but now we feel even closer to them as they express these positive wishes and hopes for the future.

Photographer: Nina Rudd
This was made out of a Cheerleading picture of me when I was a freshman at Liberty High School. It has hung on my mom's tree every year for the past 23 years. My kids always help my mom hang ornaments and they all love when they come across this one.

Photographer: Katy Byrnes
Christmas ornament made by my daughter in elementary school (1998).

Photographer: Robbi Price
DO NOT USE - DO NOT USE I made this ornament last year shortly after the birth of our son in late October. It holds our hospital bands - his is so tiny! - and the hat he wore when he came home from the hospital. When hanging it on the tree this year, it made me stop and remember those first days with him. Such precious memories.

Photographer: Teresa Leighton
Bulb was purchased in a Christmas store on Broad Street in Shrewsbury, NJ in 2001 about 6 weeks after the WTC bombings. I remember my admiration of its beauty and then buying it.

Photographer: Robert Stock
I always wanted to have a unique tree topper. When I was in college, my roommate and I turned this T Rex into our tree topper. I've used it every year since! I look forward to seeing him all year.

Photographer: Melody Daines
When our daughter was young she would never eat the crust off her pizza at dinner..she always said she was saving it for later. We were out to dinner with our friends and she left a piece behind. She got this ornament from them that Christmas. She is grown and out of the house but we always send her a picture of this ornament every year.

Photographer: Janet Hoffman
No words are necessary. :)

Photographer: Lisa