Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related FFQ: Christmas Ornaments

Okay, this is a little random, but here we go. I need ideas of christmas ornaments from around the world. I don't want something as cheesy as a miniature Eiffel Tower to represent France. I need ideas that are slightly more unique. So to all of you around the world, if I were to come visit you and want to buy an ornament to commemorate my time there, what would you suggest I buy?

Thanks!

Annie

If you were to come to Canada and buy some kind of ornament, I would suggest perhaps something to do with a maple leaf. Or, you can find ornaments that are designed like a bird native to Canada - or at least to part of Canada. I have a couple of ornaments for our tree that look like a Blue Jay - not the baseball team, but the bird - and a Cardinal - not the baseball team, but also the bird!

Irene

A small tree ablaze?

/me runs

Annie, when I was little, my grandmother gave my sister and me ornaments from Czechoslovakia, where she grew up. They were delicate birds made out of thin metal painted in bright colors. They had a fan for a tail (made out of some type of soft fiber) and instead of hanging, they had a clip at the bottom where you would attach them to sit on top of a branch instead of hang underneath.

I have no idea whether these are "classic" ornaments for that region or not, but they were beautiful and we really treasured them.

Kathy

I live in Canada and have British heritage. When my Grandad does his tree every year (always on his birthday at the end of November) he likes to pull out his mini Father Christmas. He has a Canadian influenced Santa (not in a tacky way), English Father Christmas, and an Irish influenced one.

I love the maple leaf idea (not the hockey team...ugh! Go Habs!).

I dunno, but how about go after a country's colours, animal or flower...

I have mythical creatures from varying countries. That comes about from trying to include everyone in my family on the tree. Some other stuff - I have a Japanese step-family (I have a oragami doll and my grandma gave me a Buddha to hang), had (yes had) a French Canadian branch (a voyageur), my best friends are Italian (musical notes)and Vietnamese(a creature from a story made out of Jade); so I try to include something from their culture on the tree through that way. My great grandma was Jewish and I have a Star of David on there for her.

Oh dear I babbeled ... hope I was some help.
Cheers!

What a lovely idea, Roo, to include ornaments in your tree that remind you of your friends' heritage.

Annie, here in Amsterdam we have a Christmas shop that's open all year long and surprisingly it's one of the busiest shops in the tourist (summer) season! They sell lovely ornaments, also typically Dutch ones, like tear-shaped, transparent glass balls in different sizes. They're painted in the typical Delft blue colors showing winter scenery. Like skaters with a windmill in the background or quaint Amsterdam houses covered with snow. They're quite lovely.

Ursie

I don't know that it's particularly 'representative of the regionn,' but when I went to France, I found this blown-egg ornament that had a little painting of the Nativity on it and I bought one for my mom and one for me.

Because a) my mom used to have three blown eggs from...Germany? I think. Anyway, they had flowery-ribbony designs on them and they were beautiful and over the course of 8 moves, the movers managed to crush all three of them. b) my mother and I love Nativity scenes and have a whole bunch that we put out every year.

Add the fact that I got them in France (which holds a special place in my heart) and you have very precious ornaments.

Bethy

These are perfect. Thanks to everyone who responded. And if anyone has any other idea, be sure to let me know.

Thanks!
Annie

My grandmother is Danish, and we always had cloth-covered candy-filled paper cones hanging on our tree. <G> She brought them back the last trip she made to visit relitives. We also had advent calenders. <bg> Open up the door for the day and find chocolate.

Laura

My family is Jewish, but acording to the Ukrainian custom (I think ) , a tree also symbolizes New Years. So... in my family, except for hanging the traditional ordinary ornaments, we usually have candy in shiny wrapping hanging on it, and also we kids always make paper "lanterns".
You take a piece of paper and fold it. then you make cuts on the closed side of the folded sheet, roughly down to the middle. open it, and make a circle out of it by folding (but not pressing on it) it perpendicularly, and you should get something that looks like a lantern. Sorry, I am not good at explanations
To represent Israel: well, people don't normally celeberate it there but I would recommend either a Star David or one of those hand thingies that are supposed to be lucky charms.


You could also have something to represent Hannukah: a whirligig thingy, or top as some call it, or a Menorah would be great.
hope this helps some.

Julie

We have one ornament on our tree that is a German tradition. It's a glass pickle, about 4 1/2" long by 2-2 1/2" wide. When the parents would trim the tree, they would hide this ornament far back inside the tree near the trunk and whichever child found the pickle would get a special treat.

We don't follow the whole tradition (no kids) but we do hang the ornament as far into the tree as we can.