Dress your tree in style
Feeling a little overwhelmed as you contemplate the holidays? The gift lists and the gifts, the parties and the guests, the cards and the decorations — we are f looded with products and messaging about how to celebrate the season. ¶ Many of us pledge — in July or August — that this will be a year of moderation, but come the fall, the word “reduction” seems to disappear from our vocabulary, especially when it comes to decorations that ref lect our personality types or interests or philosophies. ¶ This season you can, if so desired, purchase a “Make America Great Again” hat ornament (several versions, actually), a porcelain disk printed with the words “I Voted for Her,” wrinkly slices of bacon to drape on your tree, ornaments inspired by the August solar eclipse, glass hand grenades, and a miniature aluminum Kalashnikov. ¶ There are ornaments that give back (supporting animals or UNICEF or forestation efforts). And who wouldn’t want to hang that little pink brain topped with a Santa’s hat next to a sparkly microbe? ¶ The display space for ornaments seems to be keeping up with the growing number of offerings. At the end of last year, a Market Watch headline read: “Here’s why Americans spend over $1 billion a year on Christmas trees.” The article stated that “some 78% of U.S. households will display Christmas trees this year.” ¶ And consider this: The U.S. Census Bureau reports that we imported more than $1 billion in ornaments from China between January and September 2016 (China accounted for 92% of total imports). ¶ There’s no getting around the enormity of the marketplace, but we can offer a few suggestions about sourcing. Home decor shops, department stores, Amazon and the seasonal displays that pop up at businesses such as Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar are a good place to start. Small specialty and gift shops and museums sometimes offer unusual adornments, and if you start to explore Etsy, you will see almost 600,000 listings for Christmas ornaments. ¶ Or you can peruse our list of suggestions, which could very well ease some of that seasonal anxiety — until you turn your attention to, say, the guest list for your “holiday cheer” cocktail party.