christmas ornaments

HSN 2010 Designer Ornament Collection

Filed under: Charity

To celebrate the holidays, HSN, has rounded up some of the celebrities and designers in their stable to create the heART HSN 2010 Designer Ornament Collection. As part of the company's overall "HSN Cares" philanthropic campaign, the heART collection is available exclusively on HSN and hsn.com featuring ornaments designed by more than 70 HSN partners. The profits (no less than 30 percent of the purchase price of each ornament) will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute and works on finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.

The collection features ornaments designed by Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Sean Combs, Tori Spelling, Molly Sims, Martha Stewart, Susan Lucci, Jonathan Adler, Nate Berkus, Padma Lakshmi and many others. The collection ranges in price from $19.90 to $49.90, with the exception of the ornament by fashion designer Naeem Khan. That ornament, shown at right, is covered in brilliant, hand-cut Swarovski crystals and sells for $299.

Gallery: heART HSN 2010 Designer Ornament Collection

Tags: christmas ornaments, christmas tree ornaments, holiday decor, holiday decorating, holiday decoration, holiday decorations, holiday ornaments, holiday shopping, home shopping network, hsn, ornaments

Most Expensive Christmas Ornament Valued At Over $130,000

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Jewelry

In England, specifically Titchfield, Hampshire a small family jeweler has taken it upon themselves to create the most expensive Christmas ornament in the world.

According to Mark Hussey as reported in the Telegraph, a partner in Hallmark Jewellers he had a vision about making something special and had done some research into the priciest ornaments currently available. He had been working on the piece for almost a full year starting just after Boxing Day 2008, which is traditionally the day after Christmas. Even though they would love to find a buyer for the fabulous piece he did mention that he wouldn't mind finding this special ornament on his own tree come Christmas Eve.

The ornament itself is composed of 18 carat white gold and is studded with over one and half thousand diamonds. Two rings consisting of 188 red rubies surround the body of the ornament. It took over 130 hours just to set the gems in the piece. The National Association of Goldsmiths independently valued the bauble at 82,000 British pounds which depending on the exchange rate is just over $130,000. All of this hard work and expensive gemstones are not going unprotected. In something out of a James Bond movie the decorative ornament is encased in a special container framed in steel an 6mm thick laminated glass. If the alarm is triggered a internal signal will fill the shop with smoke.

Will the name Hallmark become associated with Christmas the way Faberge is permanently linked to gorgeously designed and bejeweled Easter eggs? Only time will tell, but if you'd like a very splashy ornament for your tree you know where to look.

Tags: Christmas ornaments, christmas shopping, ChristmasOrnaments, ChristmasShopping, diamond studded, diamonds, DiamondStudded, Hallmark Jewellers, HallmarkJewellers

Glittering Ornaments Bring Little Luxuries

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Holiday Guides

We've already highlighted Swarovski's Annual Edition Ornament for 2008 but the luxury-minded shopper may have more sparkling needs in the ornament department. This iconic crystal company is offering sixteen other options for glamorous gifts or tree bling at your own home. Snowflakes are the most common design but angels, trees, stars and stockings with a touch of tasteful color will also ring in the holiday season beautifully. Even babies aren't forgotten with the pacifier- or duckie-shaped ornaments to commemorate a first holiday. Faberge's ornaments, available at Neiman Marcus, showcase a familiar egg-shape of mouth-blown glass with delicately handpainted designs. Jay Strongwater's Musical Ornaments at Saks add a sense of frivolity to your tree with a touch of Swarovski bling too. And Bergdorf Goodman is selling L'Objet's Pagoda Ornament which is14K gold-plated and adorned in freshwater pearls and, again, Swarovski Crystals.

A bejeweled tree is bound to make quite a statement during your holiday gathering and an even bigger impression as a gift.

Gallery: Premiere Ornaments

Swarovski Crystal 2008 Annual Angel Ornament

Swarovski Moments Samanta the Snowflake Ornament

Tags: bergdorf goodman, BergdorfGoodman, christmas ornaments, ChristmasOrnaments, crystal ornaments, CrystalOrnaments, faberge, jay strongwater, JayStrongwater, neiman marcus, NeimanMarcus, ornaments, saks, saks fifth avenue, SaksFifthAvenue, swarovski, swarovski crystals, swarovski ornaments, SwarovskiCrystals, SwarovskiOrnaments

The Cost of the 12 Days of Christmas Up 4.1%

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Holiday Guides

Every year since 1984, the clever folks at PNC Wealth Management figure out just how much it would cost to present one's true love with the items mentioned in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas. While the list is intended to be humorous, PNC claims the tally does mirror actual economic trends.

This year's grand total, from a partridge in a pear tree to 12 drummers drumming, purchased repeatedly as indicated in the song, is $78,100. The total for those 364 items is up 4% from last year. If you choose to shop online, the price is quite a bit more - $128,886.

The hike in minimum wage is to blame for some of the increase over last year. Those eight maids a milking now fetch $47 compared to $41 last year. That only seems fair since the ladies haven't had a wage increase since 1997. Higher food and gold costs are also reflected in the increased total. But not every item has gone up over last year. The cost for partridges, turtle doves and French hens has remained steady over the past year as have swans and ladies dancing.

Our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas can be had for far less money and requires absolutely no care and feeding.

Gallery: Twelve Days of Christmas