Collectible Christmas Tree OrnamentsAlthough Christmas trees have been around for centuries, "store-bought" Christmas ornaments have only been around since the mid-1800s, when glassblowers in Germany began making colored glass balls to hang on Christmas trees. Since then, of course, hundreds of thousands of different kinds of ornaments have been manufactured. Most families (like ours) have simply hung all of their favorite ornaments on their Christmas tree at the same time, but some folks have taken more pains to only use the best and most appropriate ornaments on their trees. Today, as many "baby boomers" downsize their homes, many are also downsizing their Christmas decorations and are replacing quantity with quality. That said, a few well-chosen ornaments on a smaller tree may be the best choice for anyone without a great deal of room or time. Update, 2016 - Bradford Exchange, who distributes many of the products shown on this page has recently been forced by the attorney generals of several states (including Ohio where I live) to stop letting folks in Ohio and other states recommend products we like. If we keep it up, Bradford Exchange will have to start collecting sales tax for any customers in those states who order from them. So they have sent out an e-mail asking me (and hundreds of other people) to cease and desist recommending products we like. It will take us a while to get things on these pages reconfigured to reflect the new requirements, but in the meantime, please consider the rest of this page an archive of past recommendations, for informational purposes only. We would never dream of continuing to recommend Hawthorne Village products that we liked in 2014 and still think highly of! This page lists a number of collectible ornaments that will brighten any room. Note for October, 2013: Three of the collections I posted in September, 2013 were out of stock by October 2. As far as I can tell, most of Bradford Exchange's limited edition Ashton-Drake ornament collections are issued in relatively small quantities, so they sell out quickly. For this page, we have chosen to use illustrations and product descriptions that are provided by the manufacturer rather than writing a separate review of each ornament offering. The main reason for this choice has to do with the fact that these are selling so fast that we don't always have time to write a review before the product has gone out of stock. After 6 years of posting this page, I've figured out the best I can do is pick out a few examples that show the range and quality of Bradford Exchange's Ashton-Drake ornament collections and try to keep up with replacing each example as it sells out. The good news is that Once you start a collection, you are guaranteed to receive the entire collection (although you can discontinue any time if you wish). In the meantime, if you hit a "buy" button and get a generic Bradford Exchange site page, just enter "ornament collection" in the search window and you'll see some great choices. The "short version" is that if you like any of these sets, don't wait too long to get started. If you have specific questions about an ornament, please contact us, or Bradford Exchange customer service phone number: 1-866-907-3607. In Canada, call 1-866-285-0932. (This used to be called "Collectibles Today," in case you wondered.) If you are NOT in North America, try contacting the Bradford Exchange office in your country or region. Bradford Exchange does not carry the same products in every country, but they may be able to help you with questions.
In the meantime, whether you're reading this a week or eleven months before Christmas, please have a great family Christmas this year, and let us know what we can do to help. Paul and Shelia Race decorations that have been popular with our readers.
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