I guess it depends. I might spend more on a commemorative ornament like Baby's First Christmas, the Millennium, etc. or a collectible ornament, but I don't know what the maximum for one might be...maybe $100 or so. As for the general ornaments for the tree, I probably wouldn't spend more than $5 - $10 each if they were very special and much less if they were generic.

For me, ornaments aren't about how much I would spend, rather it's about the sentimental value of it. My Christmas tree is on Crack. There is no theme but every ornament has meaning. There is even a sealed Condom who comes out each year and is placed discreetly on the tree. It commemorates the year one certain teenager hosted an unauthorized party at our house. It was Max and having some "forethought," he set our condoms around like Party Favors. I found unopened Condoms in many of my vases for months. As angry as I was at the time, I still felt it was thoughtful to offer protection and protect our home the was he did. One unopened Condom ended up toward the top, in the back.

I have my children's ornaments they made in school. One relegated to the bottom of the tree, they have grown more special throughout the years and moved up higher for protection. Aimee's handmade paper ornaments are almost 40 years old.

I have some memorabilia from departed family members. I turned my Mom's Christmas Pin into an ornament. I have antique ornaments salvaged at yard sales in my early 20's. I turned antique prisms into ornaments as well.

I do have a few traditional bulbs but I am not a fan unless they are old glass bulbs. My tree, like my house, represents my life. My family loves our tree and they spend lots of time looking at the ornaments. Many traditional trees just earn a distant glance... Each year I add something that represents the happenings of the year. Still searching and thinking about what that might turn out to be. Likely something of my MIL's, who died in our house this March. She loved to cook. She made my tree skirt.

I don't mean that sentiment is determined by cost, but how much you pay may be a function of how much you are attached to ornaments (or anything).

My parents started collecting a particular type of ornament almost 50 years ago and stopped collecting them about 6 years ago, when they became harder to get, the price went up, and the place where they hung them was crowded.

Almost all of their current ornaments have a year attached to them. I would like to continue where they left off with the fifty-year-old collection, but I was surprised at how the price has gone up, and thought maybe I would let it end when they did.

I know people who tire of most of their ornaments just like everything else and change the "theme" or color scheme every couple of years, and of course they need a lot of new ornaments and don't want to spend much on them.

I also know someone who collects a specific type of ornament avidly but won't put them on the tree because they are afraid they will get broken. So they take them out and look at them, which is a sort of limited appreciation, but I suppose that has it's place.

If you believe the ornament(s) would make your parents happy and if purchasing them does not cause you financial hardship then they are a wonderful gift.
I will share an ornament we have from DH's grandparents. It gets hung with the price tag still on it lol.

I cannot imagine tiring of our ornaments. Each one we unwrap or take out of the box makes us smile. I love the old ones from my parents and grandparents. I remember picking out certain handmade ones at The Christmas Shop in Manteo when we spent our Thanksgivings at the Outer Banks in the 70s. I remember the ones my son loved best or that were bought with him.

No, I am not a theme person or one-color person when it comes to trees. We do continue to add, but it has to be something special and those are hard to find now. I still like the handmade and I may some day (when the dogs tails are no longer an issue) buy one of the beautiful glass ones from the Artful Home. Some of those are simply marvelous, but I would worry about breaking them. For now, the very old glass ones sit in an old bread bowl-safe and sound.

The most I have personally paid was $ 50.00 for the Christopher Radko American Flag Ornament made after the terrorist attack on 9/11.

I purchased 6 of them. Five were givem as gifts, one hangs from my tree.

most of our ornaments are vintage or collected a few at a time.

ML

If i were continuing my parents' 50 year tradition, I would easily spend $500 each year. I would not hang them on a tree, however. I would purchase an ornament tree and enjoy them as a collection. My DIL and DS collect Swarovski snowflakes; he has purchased one for her each year for the 12 years they've been together. They use an ornament tree.

Every year I get each of my kids a Hallmark ornament that relates somehow to something they did or were interested in during that year. The Hallmark collection changes every year and some of them are movie-themed, so we have quite a few Harry Potter, Batman, etc. ornaments by now. I promised myself I'd do this through age 21 for each kid, and when they each get married or have a home of their own, they can take their ornaments with them. Anyway, these are my most expensive ornaments at about $10-18 each. The others are homemade by the kids when they were younger, souvenir ornaments from vacations, or just misc. ones that I found and thought were cute and relevant. Generally the regular ornaments cost maybe $5 or less.

I find it hard to spend a lot on something I see only a few weeks out of the year.

Similar to maddielee, the Radko 9-11 ornament is my most expensive. Many ornaments on our tree are handmade either by my son when he was young, my SIL who made numerous quilted hearts for us when we were first married, or by myself. The most sentimental item on our tree is the string of popcorn that I spent hours stringing for our first Christmas as a married couple...31 years ago!

I buy one new ornament each year to represent something that happened during the year. One year I bought a cat ornament that looked like my cat that had died that year. Another was a chef the year the kitchen was remodeled. Can't remember what else right now. I never spent more than $10 or an ornament. I did get a heart shaped ornament with red white and blue stripes for 911, but it was less than $10. I have many ornaments the kids made and some handed down from my great aunt. I do treasure those.

I have lots of things that are rarely used that I paid more than everyday items: dress clothes, dress shoes, good dishes, and I grew up in a house that has a full complement of china, sterling flatware, silver serving pieces and linens that only come out maybe six times a year (some of the linens only once, they are season or holiday specific). So, I don't really correlate frequency of use with how much I will pay. If so my everyday shoes and work clothes would be the most expensive.

Some of the most sentimental ornaments I have I am actually afraid to hang on a tree because I don't want them to get broken. I usually put them in a bowl or something.

Price of an ornament doesn't usually factor into my decision whether to buy or not but I don't even look at extremely expensive ones. There are so many reasonably priced ones that are nice that I wouldn't pay a lot for any.

I usually buy ornaments at the after Christmas sales for gifts and the most expensive I've ever bought was likely $10. regular price $20. I'm no longer buying each person an ornament tho as many people like theme or specific color trees and I expect some of the ornaments I've given have ended up at thrift stores.

Several years ago I divided the good ornaments we had collected over the years between my 3 kids and only kept the clear glass ones I bought in Europe. I've since bought inexpensive balls in various colors and decide each year which color combo to use along with gold or silver.

I don't know how much I would spend on an ornament if I had to have it. I've spent three dollars on some ornaments, $10 on others, $25 on others. The price is not related to the sentiment attached to the ornament. I am a profligate spender on all things Christmas, and have been known to spend $85 on a roll of ribbon, BUT--before anyone drops a jaw--- it was wool velvet, three inch wide embroidered ribbon, and fantastically wonderful.

I still remember the first tree dh and I had. It was about 2 feet tall. I made a star out of tinfoil and an old cereal box. The ornaments were shapes cut out of wrapping paper and glued on the cardboard from that same cereal box. The garland around the tree was a length of cheap ribbon.

I'm not sentimental about Christmas things, so I wouldn't spend that money on an ornament. Also, I know that after a certain age my in-laws are now getting rid of things they spent their younger years collecting. However, my mom is hanging on to hers. Unfortunately, her collection is mostly large wool blankets that are incredibly hard to store. A need born out of being raised in a log cabin with only a fireplace for heat (and remember, we are 3 hours north of Faron in Fargo). But I digress. Buy it if it means something to you and you will get joy from it. If you think you will look at it and kick yourself for wasting money, then don't.

I think we had some ribbon like that but it got used over and over for years. You could actually iron the stuff we had.

The ornaments my parents have that am thinking of continuing with get stored in little flannel bags. They have others that go in their own egg crate boxes separated by year. So there has always been a certain amount of care taken and that's why it may make sense to continue on: someday, someone might have 100 consecutive years of dated ornaments.

I just threw out $500 but I couldn't actually find one nearly that expensive with a quick search.

I'll admit that I buy expensive ornaments. I buy sterling Santas for my two boys each year. I can generally find them for $150 each. I also collect sterling stars for myself. They're usually in the $100 range. Our family room tree just has the silver ornaments, hung with red ribbon, and gass icicles. The plan is to give each boy his set of Santas when he gets married.

The LR tree has all glass ornaments, and the playroom tree has a mix, mostly handmade things by the boys and ornaments that represent their interests through the years. I add to those trees each year too, but most of those ornaments are relatively inexpensive.

We all love taking that little trip down memory lane as we unwrap each ornament.

This post was edited by porkandham on Sun, Dec 1, 13 at 10:09

Not to be a Debbie Downer but for those of you collecting ornaments for your kids, is there a contingency plan if they don't want them? Will your feelings be hurt? Will you continue to use them? What if they accept them but you never see them displayed? Will you be able to accept that graciously? It's a possibility that they won't care about them and you might want to emotionally prepare for that.

I throw this out not to upset anyone, just to suggest you might be unpleasantly surprised that your collections won't be as meaningful to them. It's great when traditions carry on but it's not guaranteed.

I figure if I leave behind a set of 75 sterling ornaments dated back 75 years, it would be interesting enough as a collection that it could be sold, at least, so I would still be giving them something (even if it just went to pay bills).

Golddust and I must be sisters from different mothers. My ornaments are also, um, a bit schizophrenic! When we bought our old house, I used to regularly flip the kitchen faucet half way across the room trying to get water in the morning. When we remodeled our kitchen, DH drilled a hole in that handle and hung it on the tree for me - one of my most treasured ornaments because it reminds me of a precious time when our boys were young, we struggled financially and lived in a house that was a constant construction zone for years. Another is the mother board from our first computer that our youngest 'blew up' in an attempt to make it a gaming computer. My DH had braces at the same time as our oldest and he turned his first retainer into an ornament. We kept the ceramic 'rock' from the catalytic converter of the huge old station wagon I carted my kids and all their friends in for 13 years. Our ornaments are priceless but not pricey for the most part although there are a few that were expensive. The ornaments made by friends, family and our boys are the most valuable ornaments. I'd give up my most costly store bought ornament to save those - in a heart beat.

No need for a contingency plan. If they don't want them, I'll gladly keep them on my tree, and they can sort it out when I'm gone. Also the silver has value beyond sentiment, so they can always be sold.

I do the ornament thing for my kids too. We have all dh's ornaments from his childhood and I absolutely love them and stole the idea from MIL. She has them all labeled from the year they were purchased and I'm surprised the labels have held up 40+ years. My kids and I love putting his ornaments on the tree as well as their own...it's one of their favorite holiday traditions. While it's possible they won't want their ornaments when they are adults, I can't imagine that they wouldn't since each year they have such fun reminiscing when they pull them out. I would imagine they would continue feeling that way...dh does, as do I, and they are his ornaments, LOL. In any case, I wouldn't care at all if they don't want to actually use them on their trees when they are older. In fact, while I would love to have a "pretty" tree, I can't imagine anything different than a tree filled with ornaments that have meaning for our kids/family. Some day, I hope to have room for a second tree that will be all matching and color coordinated, while the other tree will be the fun one. So yes, I could see my boys marrying someone who wants a "pretty" tree and not one full of hodgepodge ornaments from their childhood, and in that way, I wouldn't care if she didn't necessarily want to use them. I suppose my girls my feel the same way too. But again, it wouldn't upset me. If they didn't want to use them, I'd be happy to keep them and continue to use them on my own tree.

nan53, that little musical instrument ornament is precious! It reminded me of a set of little instruments that my mom had (has?) when I was a kid. I haven't thought about them for years!

Mine are mostly medium priced. I'm attached to a few of them, mostly ones the kids made. I don't think I'd spend more than $25 for one, I don't really collect things like that.

I also have two Dear Santa letters my Dad framed for me that I wrote when I was in kindergarten and first grade.

I had a box of old ornaments I stored in the garage several years ago, but mice built a nest in them. :(

We buy one (or more) Radko ornaments every year that has some meaning or is just beautiful to us. They range from $35 to $75. This year I hope to get the "Paddle On" ornament because it was the first year we took my son out in a canoe and because he loves scouting so much. We also have an adoption ornament from Radko for every year we've had my son.

I buy the Radko because they are made by artists--not mass produced in China or Mexico. I feel they are worth their cost.

I also have the hand made ones my son brings home from school and a tin foil star he made me for a tree topper. No matter the cost, they all have memories. The Radko ornaments are staying packed this year because of a new obnoxious dog, but once she grows up a little they will come back out. In all the years we have only lost one glass ornament to a lab tail. It never fell off the tree--he shattered it to pieces just wagging his tail and the hanger was still attached to the tree. I have no idea what the ornament was but we'll always have that memory of his waggly tail.

If there was a more expensive ornament that I fell in love with, I'd have no problem spending more than I currently do. I've ordered plenty of vintage mercury ornaments off ebay over the years to use as filler towards the inside of the tree. Those are just as special to me.

I would pay a fair amount to continue a 50 year old tradition started by my parents I think. Especially so IMO if you have someone who you think might treasure or at least appreciate the collection twenty or thirty years from now, someone with a connection to you and your parents.

The point about future generations not wanting the collections is a good one, but if the collection is valuable and has a market that really doesn't matter, as you suggest.

The condom on the tree is a riot!

We buy a Christmas ornament on every vacation we take. Our first was our honeymoon and Santa was in Hawaiian boxers sitting on a Christmas ball that said mele kelekemaka (sp?). One of my kids dropped it as a toddler and the ball broke but we still have Santa. My daughter asked Santa for a trip to Hawaii so she could buy mommy a new one. It was really sweet and every year I take out the broken ornament to hang it. There are also many homemade ornaments from my kids, which I love. Each with the dates, tiny handprints, I cherish each one. Every year I buy a new ornament my kids pick out, we spent anywhere from 5-20 dollars. My tree is full of sweet memories.

I really like Golddust's idea of making an ornament from her mothers pin. In our family we have always had a tradition regarding our pets, every pet has a small, hand -decorated xmas stocking on the mantel. When the pet has passed, their stocking goes on the tree. So every year when we decorate, it is a lovely reminder of the beautiful creatures that have shared our lives. Our pets include, beta fish, a canary, cats, and a dog. This year, Godzilla our wonderful anole of 7 years will join this tradition. It is not sad, it's a wonderful way to honor their memory

I did the whole collecting ornaments thing for years. Not necessarily a lot for each, but I did the Hallmark thing, and I did the collecting thing with my kids.

No more-got tired of it all after many years, and gave the ornaments away to my kids or trashed them.

Now my trees are very minimal -- lots of lights and inexpensive bows, flowers, or other types of them ornaments which are not reused. Uncluttered, low stress, and the holidays still mean the same without all that junk!

This post was edited by Violet.West on Tue, Dec 3, 13 at 14:21

Since they were born I began collecting various Christmas "treasures" for my kiddies - now in their 20's.. It started with nutcrackers with my oldest because he seemed so thrilled by them. Then came Dept 56 North Pole for son #2. I thought he might outgrow them but he has made such a wonderful display with snow covered mountains and many different levels to make it appear as if It is a real North Pole. He is 25 (actually not till Christmas Eve!) but he still enjoys it. The physical village has grown and it now takes up more space than the tree but I love it and obviously so does he. For my daughter I began collecting Snowbabies. Throughout the years, the additions have varied - lean years the nutcrackers came from Walmart, better years they were produced in Germany with a hefty price tag and so on.

I was concerned about turning them over when they might be to young to truly appreciate them and I refuse to let the thousands of dollars go to waste. More than the money you can't reclaim history which seems to be a running theme in this post. My decision is quite simple - yes those are gifts, but I will decide when you get to keep them in "another" home. So far they don't mind, then of course they are all still living here, but I don't believe they will argue my rule.

I've never given any thought to the ornaments, frankly. I have a box of the special ones-the hand made ones from the kiddos, some from my childhood, etc. Generally, if I see something that strikes my fancy, I'll buy it-but those are around $15 or so-I'm not big on the ornaments. I prefer my trees to be themed more so than collected. When the kids were small I used to always put 'their' ornaments on the decorated tree, however.

My sister got my mom Hallmark ornies for over 30 years, but just last month my mom gave them all back to her. My sister was just saying she might just try to sell them on Ebay-she doesn't want them.

Now, I HAVE kept the Christmas stockings. We still put out the one I had as a child-and every year my kids get a kick out of seeing their stockings from their childhood. Each new family member who joins gets a stocking and it's kept by me until the next year when it's put out. I'm hoping that next year I might get to start some for grandchildren, but I won't hold my breath.

* I've got a couple Snoopy/Peanuts ornaments that I treasure...
* A couple from my hometown's 75th-Anniv. in 1974...
* A Star-Wars AT-AT (from Hallmark), from the Hoth snow-battle scene, & makes a laser-cannon sound!!!
(DW just rolls her eyes when I haul that thing out...;-))
* yes...a MN-Vikings ornament!!
* Assorted trinkets from old friends & rural neighbors...
* DD/DW's Swarovski stars (they're members of the SCS too)...
* They also decorate a small white tree, with blue lights (white-wire), & put all the Swarovski Christmas bears, Flakes, & Stars on that. A pretty blue blanket is wrapped at the base. Lit at night, it's very pretty! This is placed on a table in front of the backyard patio doors.
(I've lost track of all the Swarovski stuff over the many years...it's getting ridiculous!)

Faron

I have loved the antique ornaments, candle holders, regular and glass beaded garland, and antique reproductions -which are themselves getting pretty old - collected over the years along with hand blown glass ones. I have always treasured beautiful older items in my life and the effect of a heavily ladened vintage-looking tree - and the few ones from the 1800's which were my grandmothers as a child, and a few 50's ones of my mom's, make it all the more special. I always include a few items my children made under the tree. The most spent has been around $100 for a hand blown topper for my daughter's spectacular tree of all blown glass ornaments. She is thrilled that I have begun to yearly gift some of mine to her. I love reading about how varied our trees may be but may share in common the importance and nostalgia of the decorations. I always felt a little sad that my MIL's decorations held no special meaning for her - she would throw on a few styrofoam ornaments and and be done. And that's ok, but I'm glad for some the unwrapping and viewing holds meaning.