15: Are tree ornaments the jolliest souvenirs?
Trim your tannenbaum with mementos from your trip.
A tiny wooden St. Bernard from a mountain village in Switzerland. A fuzzy wool sheep from the Scottish Highlands. A ceramic dove from Portugal. Wherever Jane Killebrew and her husband, Jon Kay (pictured, below), go, they purchase a holiday ornament.
“Our tree is decorated with 100 percent travel souvenirs or kid memories,” says Killebrew, a retired brewing industry exec. “Plus our cat, Scarlett [pictured, above], loves to sit under its branches hanging out with the wooden Pinocchio dolls we bought in Italy.”
A 2024 study by ABTA Travel Money found that many travelers are shopping for fewer souvenirs, citing financial and environmental concerns. But holiday ornaments twinklingly buck that trend.
“I travel so much, and could be weighed down with souvenirs I will never really appreciate,” says travel writer and author Marcia DeSanctis. “But an ornament is something I will always love. Once a year, I can look at a compendium of all my travels in my living room.”
I amass ornaments when I travel, too. My tree currently glows with a painted wooden bell from Prague, a mouse-sized nutcracker dressed as a Mountie from Ontario, and a leather camel from Morocco that, frankly, smells of dirty socks.
Below, you’ll find ornaments readers and friends shared with me. I’d love to see and hear more about any tannenbaum trinkets you’ve picked up on the road.
Crafts to hang on the tree
An object made in or near your destination to dangle from your boughs—or gift to a pal—supports local artisans and helps to preserve traditional crafts.
“I bought a school of silk tasseled fish on my first trip to Hong Kong and China in 1985. It was the first big trip I had made alone, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. It launched a lifetime of global travel.”—Jane Wooldridge, Miami travel and arts writer
“Whenever we go to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I spend hours browsing the Mercado de Artesanias. Vendors there sell a rainbow array of tin Christmas ornaments. I inevitably pick up a few speaking to the spirit of the season or alluding to my hobbies and interests.”—Nevin Martell, Maryland writer, author, and forager (second photo, right)
“Twenty years ago this coming summer my wife Cathy and I traveled to China to adopt our daughter, Claire,. We visited a cloisonné workshop and watched craftspeople shape copper wire into intricate patterns and deftly apply colored enamel. We bought several ornaments, including these mama and baby pandas. They remind us of the ‘Christmas in July’ when we received the gift of becoming parents.”—Randy Steward, healthcare exec, Los Angeles
People and places
Interesting (often famous!) people and notable sites inspire many of us to hit the roads or skies. Grab a souvenir ornament of a landmark or local character, and you’ll bring home a token of their charisma or some of that architectural flourish.
Subscriber Kayla Johnson, a beer industry consultant from Los Angeles (right), bought a mini Eiffel Tower in Paris.
“I collect ornaments from local attractions as well as farther-flung destinations. I bought this felt one of George Washington at Mount Vernon. It shows the founding father on his famous horse, Blueskin.”—Amy Alipio, travel editor, Maryland
“I bought this Hawaiian angel during one of my trips to Kauai, where my parents had a timeshare. She reminds me of all the wonderful memories my family created in Hawaii. Now, my parents are getting older, and my dad sold the timeshare. I feel that our trips to Kauai are a thing of the past. Yet, every time I see this ornament, she brings a spark of joy.”—Barbara Noe Kennedy, travel writer, Virginia (third from left in first photo)
Well-traveled subscribers Tom Natan and Cy Behroozi purchase ornaments frequently on the road, including these shoe bijoux from Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, Alaska’s Denali National Park, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. “They could represent walking into new places,” says Behroozi. “Tom says it’s because I’m a shoe queen!”
A close friend gave reader Michele Johnson, a lobbyist from Washington, D.C., this Prince ornament from Minneapolis. Johnson (left, in white boots) also visited his Paisley Park headquarters there. “I went the day before I saw Taylor Swift, and it was a great experience,” she says.
such a perfect holiday essay! I love seeing people I know quoted! Tom and Cy I am a shoe queen too but mine don't hang on a tree they are on my feet. also good work including other travel industry peeps.