Old World Christmas Is Celebrating 45 Years Of Excellence!

This year, Old World Christmas proudly celebrates our 45th Anniversary! As a top supplier of handcrafted, blown-glass ornaments for Christmas and other holidays, we’ve come a long way over the years. We’ve revitalized the use of blown-glass techniques for ornament-making. We’ve sparked a new love for hand-made ornaments among consumers.

What’s in store for this special year? Our 45th Anniversary Celebration includes tons of beautiful new ornaments and decor that we can’t wait to share with you. Let’s kick off the festivities with a walk down memory lane. From our origins in Spokane to our current offerings and accomplishments, let’s explore what makes Old World Christmas a premier ornament supplier.

A New Beginning for Blown-Glass Ornaments

Blown-glass ornaments were incredibly popular back in the 1800s. Over time, though, mass-produced ornaments became the norm. Plastic, styrofoam, satin, and other materials replaced glass. As factories took over the process of making ornaments, hand-made techniques were used less and less.

These factory-made ornaments took less time to create. They also had lower price tags. This made them a big draw for consumers during the early to mid-20th century. While they were easy and inexpensive to stock up on for Christmas trees, they lacked a certain charm.

In 1979, Tim and Beth Merck wanted to bring that charm back to holiday decorations. They began making blown-glass ornaments using techniques dating back to the 1800s. Working from their Spokane, WA, location, the Mercks created Old World Christmas. This collection of ornaments made using mouth-blown techniques led to a renewed interest in hand-crafted, vintage-style ornaments.

What makes them so special? Old World Christmas ornaments are made of molten glass and liquid silver — just like in the old days. The silver gives them outstanding vibrancy and color. Once they’re blown into molds, each one is carefully hand-painted and hand-glittered for an eye-catching look that enhances any Christmas tree.

Old World Christmas Over the Years

From our humble beginnings, we’ve become a top ornament supplier that ships to many countries worldwide. We got our start with ornaments. But we’ve branched out to other kinds of holiday decor. Over the decades, we’ve added decor and accessories, like tree toppers, icicles, night lights, and Advent calendars. Our collection now includes puzzles and games for entertainment. We also have practical items, such as ornament hooks and stands.

As interest in our ornaments grew over the years, we’ve expanded our ornament categories. There’s traditional decor, like Santa and snowmen ornaments. But we also have not-so-traditional themes and designs, like food and transportation. How did this come about? At Old World Christmas, we strive to meet the varied interests of our customers. Everyone has their own unique likes and interests. With our eclectic collection, customers can find that perfect ornament for gift-giving or for their own tree.

We currently have more than 1,800 designs, ranging from classic to whimsical. Pickles, soccer balls, and crochet ornaments are offered right alongside beloved Rudolph The-Red Nosed Reindeer® characters, Nativity scenes, and nutcrackers. We’re constantly on the lookout for what’s trending, like the Swiftea Mug or Kringle Cup. Customers can also design custom ornaments to suit their tastes.

Our collection has grown to include other holidays. Christmas is where we started, but we now offer ornaments for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s, Hanukkah, and more! We also encourage customers to submit ornament ideas. This helps us design upcoming ornaments that reflect customer interests.

Our Partners

At Old World Christmas, we partner with many brands to bring customers an incredible variety of designs:

  • In 2019, we acquired Ginger Cottages to offer customers handmade wooden gingerbread houses with customized touches
  • In 2023, we began partnering with Norman Rockwell, MLB, Mars Wrigley, and Morton Salt
  • Our other licensing partnerships include Hasbro, Coors Light, Dungeons and Dragons, Peter Rabbit, Coca-Cola, ICEE/Slush Puppie, Hostess, and many more

45th Anniversary Celebrations

We’re proud to be named the Gifts and Decorative Accessories 2023 Best Ornament Supplier! We’ve worked hard over the years to offer the finest selection of glass ornaments to our customers. 

As we celebrate 45 years of creating beautifully crafted ornaments, we’ll be offering several expansion lines, including:

  • New Sapphire Collection of Santas
  • Scented Candles
  • Snow globes
  • Lanterns
  • Rounds
  • Holiday Cards
  • 150+ new traditional glass figural designs

Elegant beaded ornaments, sprightly gnomes, and sparkling snowflakes are just a few of the new products you can expect this year. Pick out the perfect Christmas cards for friends and family from our greeting card collection. Put a festive finish on your tree with a Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer® tree topper.

Our ornaments provide the sparkle and decor for a perfect tree. And now, our candles give customers a way to fill their homes with the scents of the holidays. Each soy wax candle is hand-poured in California and offers a clean burn.

We worked with a leading perfume house to develop exclusive scents that perfectly match the holiday season. Enjoy the crisp scent of sparkling apple cider or the delicious aroma of vanilla Christmas cookies. Fill your home with the lush, earthy smell of fresh balsam. Breathe in the tangy scent of cranberries or the rich, warm smell of spiced pumpkin. 

Visit us often to keep up with the latest offerings from Old World Christmas. With our new expansion lines, you can bring the quaint charm of snow globes to your home. Or brighten up rooms with seasonal lanterns and scented candles. Our new products are also a great way to expand your personal collection of handcrafted, blown-glass ornaments.

Old World Christmas in the Media

Our famed ornaments have drawn the attention of magazines, news organizations, and other media. We’ve recently been featured on MSN, CNN, Today, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. Forbes, Golf Digest, Architectural Digest, Reader’s Digest, US Weekly, and Billboard have also featured our hand-made ornaments. We’ve appeared in several women’s magazines, including Woman’s Day, Elle, Glamour, Redbook, Women’s Health, The Knot, and Brides.

Where else can you find us in the media? We’ve been featured in all of the following:

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • House Beautiful
  • Gifts and Decorative Accessories
  • Romper
  • Delish
  • Spy
  • CNET
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • Southern Living
  • New York
  • Prevention
  • Reviewed
  • AOL
  • Vice
  • PureWow
  • VeryWell Family
  • The Spruce

Our 45th Anniversary Celebration is just getting started, and we want you to be part of it. Check out our new releases throughout the year to watch for our special anniversary expansion lines. Submit an ornament idea or order a custom ornament through our website. Spread the word about our exquisitely crafted glass ornaments that add instant charm to any home. At Old World Christmas, we look forward to continuing to offer our customers the best quality ornaments.

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Written by

Tyler Higginbotham

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