Christmas Ornaments: Birds

I thought about titling this blog post Winged Victory, in a cute reference to all the beautiful wings and feathers depicted on these German blown glass bird ornaments. It is true that birds of a feather, flock together. I was in good company with others at the Christkindlmarket, oohing and ah-hing over this incredible selection of bird ornaments. I would never believe that there were this many choices.

Many of the shop owners in the German Christkindlmarket in Chicago have walk up wooden kiosk to display their merchandise and interact with shoppers. The Lauschaer Glaskugelhaus has an entire wooden cabin that allows for a much larger display. If you can't make it to Chicago by Christmas Eve, you can shop for these spectacular bird ornaments here.

Birds of a Feather Flock together. We have several bird ornaments on our tree already and I simply couldn't decide which one to add to our collection. They are all beautiful.

Ann Arbor's Downtown Home and Garden has Old World Christmas Ornaments

It starts to feel like Christmas when I finally make it to Downtown Home and Garden in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My mom and I always make a day of it and drive to Ann Arbor for lunch and shopping with my Aunt Carol. The excursion wouldn't be complete without a stop at Downtown Home and Garden, formerly Hertler's.

I always find something wonderful to add to my collection, last year it was thin wooden tree silhouettes. I just looked at my blog posts for last December, and the trees aren't in any of the pictures. I'll be sure to highlight them this year.

One of my favorite sections is the glass blown ornament. You can see the wide variety of choices hanging on the pegboard behind the antique oven. They have glass blown ornaments that look like grilled cheese, ribbon candy, cappuccino, cinnamon buns, and many kitchen copper pots and pans. Adorable!

However, my favorite part of the display is hidden from view. The shop girl prompted us to "open the oven and see if it's done." We did gently opened the antique oven's door and found a pie tin filled with slice of pie ornaments. A little bit of humor and delight on a cold winter's day. Bravo.

The treasure I bought this year is a pastel ball ornament garland for my "family" tree. It will bring out the colors (pink, mauve, mint) of my handmade ornaments and bring an old world feel. I can't wait to decorate! It all starts next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving!