The Cutest Personalized Christmas Ornaments for 2022

Oct 20, 2022 | posted by Karin Cypriano

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When I was 5 years old, the number one thing on my Christmas list was Mr. Bucket.

If you don’t remember him, he was a yellow bucket on wheels. He had a cartoon face and there was a hole in the side of the bucket where his mouth would be.

(Photo source: Amazon)

His gig was rolling around on his wheels, shooting balls out of his mouth, and I would run around to chase them and throw them back in the top of the bucket. It was a race to pick up balls faster than he could spit 'em out.

Man, those toymakers got me good.

I didn’t realize I was getting scammed by a toy that just made cleaning up seem super fun.

Later, when I was in fourth grade all I wanted was a Furby—those little gremlin looking animatronic “pets” that would talk and need caring for. I never got one, but I remember that Christmas feeling like the plot of Jingle All The Way, where adults were losing their shit trying to find that creepy little Gizmo.

(By the way I looked up Furby photos, WTH is a long Furby?! This is creepy AF. Obviously I was even more out of the loop on these than I realized.)

(Photo source: today.com)

Of all the Christmases I've experienced over the years and all the presents I've received, I honestly don’t remember many of those gifts. I could spout off a handful more that were fun or memorable, but there’s really only one kind of present that has stood the test of time. It’s something I still have and treasure, even more than I did when I was young.

Every year, grams picked out a special ornament for each of her grandchildren. We each got something unique, and she’d always find a place to write a little note on it: "Juli, age 5. Love gramma and grandpa xoxoxo."

Now, every year when I decorate for Christmas, I smile when I open my specially packed box of ornaments from grams over the years. I find a special place on the tree to show off each of them, the rest of those colorful ball ornaments are really just fillers.

Grams is getting older and we don’t get to spend as much time together as we used to. Nothing could ever replace her or the joy she brought to me and my whole family, but I treasure the collection of ornaments that will always remind me of her. Since we don’t get to spend the holidays together anymore, it makes me feel like she’s still close by.

I see her perpetual smile and feel her tight hugs. I can hear her voice and her sweet laugh. And I giggle thinking of the the playful banter she had with my grandpa, who was always making jokes, while grandma would roll her eyes and say something like, "Oh, John!" And then she'd laugh too.

Christmas has become about a lot of "stuff" over the years--literally just things on shelves that get discarded over time. And while it's so much fun to give gifts and open them up, that joy has always been short lived for me. After the presents are opened, the magic and anticipation of what's under the shiny paper is over, and we're onto breakfast and chaos. But--not to sound like a Hallmark movie--the collection of ornaments from grams brings joy every year, more and more.

If you're in the market for a meaningful gift this season that won't end up at Goodwill sooner or later, you should try a personalized ornament. Here are four I'm loving for 2022:

1. Personalized Wooden Stocking