Christmas Ball Ornaments are some of the most simple and stylish decorations that you can use to adorn your Christmas Tree. While there are now many cheap plastic baubles available in every size, shape and color there are also many old and newer glass Christmas Ball Ornaments which give your décor a sparkling elegance and sophistication.
A very simple but stylish Christmas Tree is one simply decorated in a single color with lights and ball ornaments matching. If you want to branch out you could add a second complementary or contrasting color and we are generally told each year by the home décor magazines which colors are ‘in’ each year. There is of course the alternative of an unplanned color scheme with a bit of every color in it!
Christmas Ball Ornaments were first produced in the German village of Lauscha in the 1800s. The whole village was involved with the men responsible for glass blowing, the women were responsible for the silvering and the children added the finishing touch of a coat of color. The village was the main producer of glass ornaments until 1925.
By 1935 more than 250 million Christmas ornaments were being exported to the United States and saw the homemade edible decorations being replaced by glass ornaments. Due to the disruption of this German cottage industry during the World War periods the United States market for glass ornaments went to Czechoslovakia and Japan.
Nowadays, the predominant Christmas ball ornament is the mass produced glass reflector which pays homage to the handcrafted decorations of yesteryear.
Glass ball ornaments certainly lend a radiance to your tree and this can be amplified if you also light your Christmas Tree.
Christmas Ball Ornaments – Handle With Care
Glass ball ornaments are fragile and should be handled with care. They are often handed down through families and it is the responsibility of each generation to ensure their safe passage to the next. When handling or displaying glass ornaments you should ensure that there is padded soft surface available to allow you to remove wrappings and also to absorb any impact should a glass ornament fall from the tree.
It is advisable to hang your delicate glass ornaments near the top of the tree to ensure they are less likely to come to harm. If you have young children and dogs who love playing with the Christmas Tree, then you could consider an old fashioned Christmas Tree Fence.
Be aware of positioning your glass ornaments away from sunlight as direct sun can cause paint to fade. Indeed, colors on antique ornaments were generally made to favourite family recipes which are water soluble. For this reason also, you should avoid using any chemical cleaners on your decorations. Simply flick your ornaments with a feather duster.
When it comes to storing your ornaments away for the next year it is worth investing in ornament storage boxes, preferably acid-free cardboard. Before storing any decoration it is worth placing bubble wrap or crumpled paper towels in the bottom of the box to give a layer of protection. Also, if the box doesn’t have dividers, then you should use extra tissue between decorations to provide further protection. Once you have made the box ready then you simply wrap each decoration in acid-free tissue paper before being placed in the storage container. Once you have all your decorations in the box you can add a last layer of bubble wrap or crumpled tissue paper. It is also worth placing a sachet of silica gel desiccant in each box to remove dampness. You can buy this easily at craft stores.