• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Traveling Mom

Traveling tips, deals, info from moms and families

  • Road Trips
  • Destinations
  • Disney
  • Packing
  • Outdoors
  • Travel Resources
  • Search
  • Road Trips
  • Disney
  • Free Things to Do
  • Destinations
  • Outdoors
  • Packing
  • Travel Resources
  • About TravelingMom
    • Privacy Policy
    • Website Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Mobile Menu

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
You are here: Home / Travel Tips / The Best Family Vacation Souvenirs: Unique Christmas Ornaments
Unique Christmas ornaments - suitcase
Photo credit: Cindy Richards

The Best Family Vacation Souvenirs: Unique Christmas Ornaments

December 17, 2019 //  by Cindy Richards

FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy, TravelingMom may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Unique Christmas ornaments 
  • One-of-a-kind ornaments
  • What counts as an ornament?
  • Collectibles as ornaments
  • Getting a cohesive look to your tree
  • DIY Christmas ornaments
  • Document the memories
  • Decorating the tree

One of the best parts about the holidays is the Christmas decorations. What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to gather together with the family and hang strings of uniform sparkling lights and colorful globes on the tree? However, if you’re looking to spice things up while putting your travel souvenirs to use, we’ve got you covered. Read on to learn about several unique Christmas ornaments that will turn your tree into a mix of meaningful memories this holiday season.

Unique Christmas ornaments
Photo credit: Cindy Richards

Unique Christmas ornaments 

In some houses, Christmas decorations look like a interior designer did the work. Everything from the tree topper to the holiday ornaments to the Christmas lights are draped perfectly around the tree and the Christmas stockings are hung along the mantle.

I don’t know about you, but at my house, Christmas is less stellar home decor and more “remember when” holiday cheer. That’s because our tree ornaments are keepsakes from our family vacations.

Here’s why hanging unique Christmas ornaments such as your travel souvenirs on your tree adds an extra layer to holiday joy.

Unique Christmas ornaments - a mini violin and case from Austria.
Some of the best ornaments aren’t ornaments at all — like this mini violin and case from Austria. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

One-of-a-kind ornaments

My first Christmas tree was covered in perfectly round glass ball ornaments. They were part of an ornament set I got on sale for half-price in the after-Christmas sale a year earlier.

Each subsequent year saw fewer of the glass ornaments and more of the unique Christmas ornaments from our family travels.

Read More: Gift Ideas for Everyone on Your Holiday List!

Unique Christmas ornaments - Greek evazone
Greek Evazone (Presidential Guard) is a toy the author bought on her honeymoon. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

What counts as an ornament?

Some of our travel souvenir ornaments aren’t really ornaments at all. Rather, they are symbols of the trip we picked up along the way. We turned them into bobbles that could be hung from a tree branch or tucked into the limbs, much the same way some families hide a pickle in the tree. My favorite of these: a cork coaster I picked up in Wales. All it took was a small hole drilled into the cork to insert the hook.

This cork coaster from Wales became a unique Christmas ornament by poking a hole to add an ornament hanger.
This cork coaster from Wales became a unique Christmas ornament by poking a hole to add an ornament hanger. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

Collectibles as ornaments

Some families have holiday-oriented collections. For one friend, that means nutcrackers. For another, it’s whimsical animal ornaments. And there are families that go retro or choose Old World Christmas ornaments.

Whether your holiday collectibles are all about Santa or snowflakes, Disney princesses or Marvel superheroes, you can use the collection to create a Christmas tree that is uniquely yours. Expand the collection on your family travels and get a two-for: a Christmas tree festooned with travel memories and your collectible passion.

Read More: Best Christmas Lights Displays Around the World

Unique Christmas ornaments - South Padre Island
Round glass Christmas ornament from South Padre Island, TX. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

Getting a cohesive look to your tree

My tree is an eclectic collection of all sorts of different ornaments. There’s the Greek Evasone (President’s Guard) that my husband and I picked up on our honeymoon. And the crazy Dymaxion House we marveled at during a visit to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

But I know there are people who like a more uniform look to their holiday decor. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a tree filled with family vacation memories! Most destinations offer a round glass Christmas ornament bearing the destination’s name.

Join our Private FB Group for more travel inspiration and tips! JOIN HERE

Unique Christmas ornaments - ski boot from Switzerland
This ski boot from Switzerland sits on the branches of the Christmas tree. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

DIY Christmas ornaments

I’m not crafty and I’m in awe of people who are. If that is you, consider making unique Christmas ornaments that reflect your travels and your family’s personality. You can cross-stitch the name of the destination, create an ornament featuring a photo shot on vacation, or pick up a pinecone or another bit of nature on your travels and paint it with the name and date of the trip.

Unique Christmas ornaments -
Ornaments from Maui and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

Document the memories

I don’t always buy ornaments that have the name of the destination written on the front. And they rarely include the date. When I get home with those, I take a Sharpie and write the name and year on the back.

I learned this the hard way. While I remember the year we picked up the Greek Evazone (hello, honeymoon!) I don’t remember exactly which year we first visited the Henry Ford Museum and picked up that Dymaxion House model. But I will know that I visited the Galapagos Islands in 2019. I wrote the date on the bottom of the blue footed booby carving I bought while I was there.

Unique Christmas ornaments - a blue footed booby from the Galapagos Islands.
Buy ornaments that remind you of a fabulous trip — this one is from the Galapagos Islands — but write date on the back so you remember when as well as where. Photo credit: Cindy Richards

Decorating the tree

Each year when you decorate the Christmas tree, plan to take a little extra time. When you pull out each ornament, ask the kids what they remember as the best part of the trip. Just note that it is likely to lead to a desire for more family vacations!

Looking for a unique Christmas ornament idea this holiday season? Decorate your tree with family vacation memories with these ideas!
Photo credit: Cindy Richards
FacebookTweetPinLinkedIn

Category: Travel TipsTag: Christmas

Previous Post: «Mammoth Ski Resort California 10 Things Families Need to Know About Mammoth Ski Resort
Next Post: European Christmas Markets Deliver Old World Holiday Magic Crowds at a European Christmas market.»

8 Comments on “The Best Family Vacation Souvenirs: Unique Christmas Ornaments”

  1. Jill barnes says:
    December 22, 2016 at 11:22 am

    My husband and I have been collecting ornaments for our tree since before we were married (almost 11yrs ago). I love putting our memories on the tree each year. I have started “collecting memories” for my daughters too; they each get a Christmas ornament that correlates with their Halloween costume each year.

  2. Caroline Knowles, Travel Agent TravelingMom says:
    December 22, 2016 at 11:07 am

    My favorite part of decorating the tree is the memories that I associate with our ornaments. We started this tradition on our honeymoon.

  3. Caroline Knowles, Travel Agent TravelingMom says:
    December 22, 2016 at 11:06 am

    5

  4. Bonnie S. says:
    December 22, 2016 at 11:06 am

    I do this too. Love reliving the memories every time we hang them up. And like you our tree has tons of different kinds of ornaments. It makes our family tree ours.

  5. Summer says:
    December 22, 2016 at 11:05 am

    I love this! We went to the Smokey Mountains in March and my husband and son took the ski lift in Gaitlinburg and he came down with an ornament of a bear and a rabbit on a ski lift. At first I was annoyed, but when we added it to our tree this year I decided we must keep this tradition up!
    I also love the idea of turning a picture into an ornament, for the times when we can’t find the right one.

  6. Shelly Weidner says:
    December 22, 2016 at 10:52 am

    Love all your ornaments! We have done this since my husband and I’ve been together. My souvenir that I choose is always a Christmas ornament. Unwrapping the ornaments each year brings back a lot of good memories!

  7. Cindy Richards, Empty Nest TravelingMom says:
    December 22, 2016 at 8:56 am

    We’ve done this for years! Every time we put up the tree, we get to relive the memories of our travels.

  8. Cindy Richards, Empty Nest TravelingMom says:
    December 22, 2016 at 8:56 am

    5

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Ask Us!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website Terms and Conditions
  • Manage Push Notifications

Copyright © 2022 Traveling Mom ยท All Rights Reserved