Tis the Season to Buy Ornaments!

What with all the decorating possibilities it's no wonder that Christmas is my favorite time of year. It's also a chance to combine figurine collecting with the holiday season! Most of the well known figurine creators do a holiday line. I want to share a few of my favorites with you.

I'll start with my first love: Hummel. My mom had a handful of Hummel figurines and I loved them from an early age. There's something so pure and innocent about the figures. At that age I didn't realize that they harkened back to a simpler time. I just knew I loved those little boys and girls. When I was older and on my own I bought a Hummel figurine to remind me of my own childhood. The collection grew and grew!

I try to limit myself to one Hummel ornament each year. The obvious choice would be the dated one, but that gets old, for me anyway. I have a few different styles of ornaments. Some years we do only ball ornaments and other years everything is all figurine style. I can't believe that I don't remember what we did last year! Oh well, I have my heart set on the figurine ornament. It's called "Good Tidings" and it's a sweet little girl holding a present.


Lladró is another one of my tried and true figurine makers. I'm not always super traditional, but there's a reason Lladró has been around so long! When it comes to Christmas ornaments, they really mix it up a bit. You can get the yearly Christmas bell, which is very classy. Or you can get their yearly Christmas bear. They team up with Steiff each year to offer a little teddy bear ornament. Too cute!

I have two folk-art style ornament makers that I love, too. If I want something more like a "country Christmas" I'll break out the Willow Tree ornaments or my Jim Shore ornaments. With Willow Tree, I swear I could do a whole "angel" themed tree. Susan Lordi's work is just so great. The ornaments are a really great price, too. You will spend less than $20 for an ornament -- compare that to the $150 for a Lladró Christmas bear! Willow Tree ornaments make wonderful gifts, too.

Have you heard of Jim Shore? I love, love, love his Christmas cats. The other ornament designs are wonderful too, but the whimsy of the "Cat Snowman" is irresistible. Part of me wants to put it on the tree every year. Earlier this year I saw the pineapple ornament he's introduced for this Christmas. It's gorgeous and it's going to be my hostess gift this year. At $10 it's a nice thrifty option and I love the symbol of the pineapple.