12 Handmade Christmas Ornaments Families Have Hung for Decades: a Laundry Scoop and “the Other Tree”

This is a great-grandmother’s Christmas tree, and she made every single ornament on it by hand. Most of them are satin balls covered in beads, sequins and pins: a purple one with gold trim, an ivory one with a beaded bow, one wrapped in a tiny wreath, a white one with beaded loops on top. The great-grandchild filming held them up one at a time and admitted it was impossible to pick a favorite.

“My great grandma’s Christmas tree but she handmade EVERY. SINGLE. ORNAMENT.”

“My ancestors made these Christmas ornaments decades ago but now we don’t know how to make them again, do any of you know?”

Me looking at a craft style that was popular in the 1980s and someone pointing out it was DECADES ago, and possibly calling people from the 1980’s ANCESTORS.

Edit... I will upvote, but I refuse to be helpful as I am feeling OLD.

“My mom remembered I don’t have room in my place for a Christmas tree, so she made me this wreath with built-in lights and all the ornaments from when I was a kid”

In first grade, she made a Christmas ornament out of a laundry detergent scoop. Her parents have hung it on their tree ever since. As a teenager, she admits, she rolled her eyes at it. Now that she’s a mom herself, she gets it.

“True parental love is my parents still hanging the ornament I made in first grade out of a laundry detergent scoop.”

This mom has two Christmas trees. The main one gets the matching red ornaments. Everything her kids ever made by hand, including a clear plastic cup with a photo glued inside, gets banished to the second one. Her name is Becky, and according to the caption, she still loves them.

“When your mom banishes your homemade ornaments to ‘the other tree’”

An aunt and a mom made these salt dough ornaments in the late ’70s and early ’80s: elves in striped hats and scarves, painted red, green and blue, one holding a candy cane. The person filming them vaguely remembers being allowed to help a bit. Today they are the most cherished ornaments in the house, and losing one would be devastating.

“My aunt and my mom made these salt dough ornaments in the late 70s and early 80s!”

Vintage wool felt ornaments made from [craft] kits. Most were made by my mom in the 70s. So many tiny details. My mom divided her collection between me and my brother. All are Absolute Treasures.

In the 1970s, this family’s mom handed out sequin ornament kits to keep the kids out of trouble. The habit stuck. Today the collection fills whole bins: satin balls covered in sequins and beads from the same era, some made at home and many found over the years without spending a lot.

“Mom used to give us kits to make these to keep us out of trouble.”

The 47th year on the tree for this little stuffed tree ornament I made in kindergarten.

I’m 57 years old and I still have the pine cone ornament I made in kindergarten in 1968. It’s dilapidated, so it doesn’t go on the tree anymore, but my kids and I have made new ones over the years.

My mom still has this ornament I made 52 years ago.

I have several hand sewn felt ornaments that my [mother] made when I was a child, so likely 50 years ago. They mean the world to me, and I’m thankful she is still with us at 92!