Christmas Ornament Collecting for Kids

A beautiful live tree dripping with ornaments and lights is a beauty to behold, but ornaments that represent cherished memories are far more precious.

Children can start collecting Christmas Ornaments at an early age. They may come in the form of gifts at birthdays, holidays and special events. They may be received from special people in their lives – parents, grandparents, doting aunts and so on. Children can be taught how to care for delicate ornaments at an early age but of course will require some help from parents for several years.

One of the first things that is needed, is a specific storage container and place to keep the ornaments. Creating the storage container is in itself a great rainy day project for kids.

 A child’s collection of ornaments needs to be accessible throughout the year rather than stored in a place with the regular Christmas decorations to be dug out of a closet or attic once a year. I’m not suggesting you leave them in their closet where they can be played with, but perhaps placed on a higher shelf or somewhere in your own closet so that small children will require your help in gaining access to the ornaments until they are old enough to manage on their own. Ornaments need to be looked at, touched and held by children as you help them to remember special occasions, or who gave them the ornament etc. Ideas for ornaments listed below:

Baby: Try ornaments such as rubber ducks, baby bottles, ABC blocks, rocking horses, pacifiers….baby ornaments don’t always have to be "baby’s first Christmas. Baby items also make very nice table favors for Baby Showers. Baby animals are a good choice. Special keepsake boxed ornaments for babies or small children make a very memorable gift. Baby gifting is a good time for dated ornaments also.

Birthday: Continue your birthday party theme with an ornament for each child to take home versus the standard "goodie bag" of 1,000 calories of candy! Moms will love it! Lipsticks, sunglasses, perfumes, evening bags, shoes, work well for princess or dress up parties. Jellyfish, fish, mermaids, seashells work great for "Little Mermaid" parties; pirates, ships, jolly roger flag, treasure chest for "Pirates of the Caribbean." You get the idea…..ornaments can be found in most any price range for any budget and depending on the number of guest you expect.

Vacation: Everyone brings home vacation souvenirs. Even if you can’t purchase your keepsake ornament while you’re away on vacation, do it soon afterwards. Even a trip to the zoo is special for children. Ask them what their most favorite animal or part about the zoo was, then find a keepsake ornament that is just right. You want them to be able to hang that monkey on their tree when they are grown and say….awwww I remember that’s when we went to the zoo with NeNe and Pop….

Sporting Events: Ornaments for most any sport your child participates in can be found. What a great way to mark the end of a season for your little first baseman. Baseballs, gloves, bats, footballs, soccer ornaments are easily found and fairly inexpensive. Tennis balls, tennis racquets are great gifts for team members. Golf balls for your favorite little duffer. And don’t forget fishing. Catching that first fish is a great "first" to be commemorated with a keepsake fish. Cheerleading is a sport too! Pompoms, cheerleaders, footballs, basketballs, megaphones, and ornaments of Pro teams and college teams are great keepsakes.

Junk Food: What kid isn’t a junk food junkie! Pizza, tacos, cheeseburgers, french fries, popcorn, hotdogs, pretzels, cookies, cakes, pies, ice cream….all kids have a favorite junk food…well, more than one for most. This one should be easy to find!

School: First day of school or back to school is a memorable events. School bus, schoolhouse, red apples, teacher’s pencils, lunch box, alphabet, number ornaments work well. Any achievement associated with school is a great opportunity to give an ornament – spelling bees, beta club, school paper, band, sports, graduation just to name a few. And don’t forget those favorite teachers. Children love to give gifts to their teachers. A special Christmas ornament from a child would be treasured by any teacher.

Pets: Ornaments depicting special pets are good gifts for children. Especially…well, when they pass on. You could always get a turtle, frog, or baby chick ornament to immortalize that special little creature that didn’t survive the soapy bath etc. Dog and cat ornaments abound in breed and colors, easy to find.

Bible and Storybook Characters: Reading to children is a wonderful way to introduce your child to magical, storybook characters and heroes. And don’t forget the classic Little Golden Books and Mother Goose. What better way to teach your children about faith and values than to read Bible Stories. A great example would be to read the story of Noah’s Ark and follow that up with a pair of animals or a Noah’s Ark ornament. A great gift for small children is to choose a book and ornament. Package them together, the child has the book for now and the ornament to last a long long time. For example, take a version of "The Three Little Pigs" and also the Three Little Pigs ornament; "Alice in Wonderland" and the Cheshire Cat; "Treasure Island" and Pirate’s Treasure Chest; "Bible Story Book" and David, Joseph, Jonah, Baby Moses, Moses, The Three Kings, or The Holy Family.

Music and Dance: Musical instruments are plentiful – piano, guitar, violin, horns, trumpets, harmonicas. Band instrument ornaments are even available such as clarinets, drums, and french horn. Dance recitals can be commemorated with ballet shoes. A very special keepsake for little ballerinas is a trip to see the Nutcracker Suite followed up with a keepsake box of character ornaments from the Nutcracker – Clara, Sugar Plum Fairy, Prince, Soldier Nutracker and even a mouse. Most of these ornaments can be found individually or in more expensive boxed sets.

Of course, you don’t have to have a special event to make cherished memories. It could just be a day when you’ve made cookies, had a picnic or just stayed home and watched a movie. Plus, its not exactly like you have a stash of ornaments just waiting to be passed out when a great opportunity arises!

The point is, give the ornament as a remembrance of a special feeling shared between the giver and the receiver.

Browse through our ornaments, something will catch your eye and make you recall a special time spent with a child that is special to you. That’s the time to get the ornament, and when you give it, say "you know, this giraffe reminds me of the time we went to the Buffalo Park and the giraffe followed you around…..you remember? And the child will grin….and say "yes…I remember."