What are your favorite old, new, and sentimental Christmas ornaments.

We have a set of glass bells that hang from the tree. A looong time ago when my son was about 4 I aimed a HeNe laser at one edge of one of the bells. I moved it so the angle of incidence magically sent the light into and around the bell. It was gorgeous. My son walked up to it and stared in awe afraid to touch it. Humans perceive laser light differently from regular light and even at that young age he knew something special was going on.
I taught him about lasers that year. He’s now an electrical engineer. We still hang that ornament.

I think my favorites are the old blown glass ones that we inherited from both grandmas. They were most likely made in Germany some time around the turn of the century (the last one, not the most recent one LOL). There are 2 kinds, the first ones are blown glass ornaments with concave painted areas on them that look similar to these and the other ones are also glass, but they are birds that have these little clips on the bottom that are attached to the bird with a tiny spring so they kind of jiggle if you touch them and they have this celluloid material that looks kind of like modern fiber optics for tails. You can see them here

I have those birds w/the clips but they’re styrofoam covered with feathers.
My favorites, too, are bubble lights. They cost a fortune on ebay . The old ones are supposed to be better than the newer ones.
When I was a child we had a real tree, of course, and bubble lights, angel hair , tinsel and glass ornaments/lights. Big lights. They didn’t blink. I remember my mother saying over and over, “just one piece of tinsel for each branch !” Maybe she was just trying to keep me busy. lol

@Aster A couple of years ago I saw some modern bubble lights, but the glass tubes were really thin and they just didn’t have the same look. However, the ones I found this year are much closer to the original. The glass tubes are about the same size as the old ones. The main difference is the base. The shape is the same as the old ones, but they are clear and each houses a different colored light (which I kind of like).

FWIW, I found them at “Lowes”.

Thanks, @YoBob !

My favourite ornaments are all weird. There’s the rubber rat shoved into a crocheted wreath, the plastic reindeer whose eye fell off (my dad drew a new eye on), the skating Scrooge with one missing leg… Everyone wants to chuck ‘em but I won’t let them.

The absolute best, though, was the year that the angel tree topper was holding the previous angel’s head in her hands.

@Seelix Definitely do not throw them away! You will be sorry and miss them. Here’s an idea though. We had to take down our tree and put away all of our ornaments last night due to a major plumbing catastrophe. But while I was taking them down, I photographed each one of them individually. Then I posted the photos on FB for my family to see, since they won’t be seeing any Xmas decorations at our house this year : ( And just for fun, I asked all the aunts and uncles and cousins to vote on their favorite ornament. Plus, you never know what will happen in the future, better to keep a record of your stuff for posterity.

@Seelix Wow, you just brought back some memories of one particular Christmas tree my roommates and I had during college at a house we lovingly referred to as “The Commune”.

We hung the tree itself upside down in a corner and decorated it with a wide array of, shall we say, unusual items. The “angel” was a rubber Tweety bird that had a part of the top of his head torn off (I, of course, drew in a brain). We wrapped our lobotomized tweety’s arms and legs to the top (bottom) of the tree where he appeared to be hanging on for dear life.

One of my favorite non-family Christmas trees.

@Kardamom

Way to make lemonade! The idyllic Norman Rockwell holidays are great, but it’s the holiday catastrophes that everyone remembers and talks about down through the years.

I’ve collected ornaments over the course of my marriage (now 37 years), and each year it is a delight to unpack and remember the events represented by many: the birth of my child; the first ornament I made myself; the dozens and dozens that friends have given me to reflect then current hobbies and interests; the photo-frame ornaments; the White House commemorative ornaments; and so many more. I do hope that my daughter, who will inherit this vast collection, can cherish them as much as I have.

My husband received our first “Year Ornament” as a Christmas gift, the day that he proposed to me (Christmas Eve). Every year since, we have purchased an ornament with the year on it somewhere. A few have to do with “Baby’s First Christmas” and such, but they all have the year on them. They’re my favorites!

Old? One I made as a toddler. A gouged up, dirty Styrofoam ball with the occasional sequin and bit of glitter.

Sentimental? A flying dog that reminds me of a dog we had at the time it was given to us. He has wings and is made of wood.

New? A manatee ornament that I picked up in Florida.

BTW, I love bubble lights (which we had when I was a child) too.

All of mine are favorites. Everything has some meaning to me.

Even though I have ADD, for some reason, I’m really organized about how I pack the Christmas stuff away each year, which is by room. Dining room stuff is one box, mantle is one box, living room is one box, etc. When it comes time to decorate the house, it’s easy because everything is grouped together.

My favorite thing is the way the mantle looks, with garland, colored lights, golod bows, and green and red stockings. I like sitting in the dark, looking at it.