A family Christmas ornament with names carries your surname and a list of everyone in the house. On our family ornaments with names, and on the family Christmas print, that list can run to 80 characters, counting spaces and commas, which leaves room for a large household and the dog. When the family grows, add a new ornament each year and keep the old ones, or choose a design that gives each person a place of their own.
In short:
- For every name on one ornament: the Personalised Family Ceramic Christmas Ornament with Names, or its aluminium counterpart.
- For a very large family: the Personalised Family Aluminium Plaque Christmas Ornament, which needs only the surname.
- For a name each: the Family Christmas Ornament Set of Three with Names.
Fitting everyone on: what 80 characters holds
The Personalised Family Ceramic Christmas Ornament with Names has three boxes. The surname, up to 20 characters, is printed across the top as The Patel Family, above a sprig of holly. The family members follow, up to 80 characters, and the year is optional.
Every character you type counts towards the 80, including spaces, commas and the ampersand. The example on the product page, Raj, Meera, Aarav & Dev, uses 23. As a guide, eleven five-letter names, with commas between them and an ampersand before the last, come to 76. Longer names fill the box sooner.
Close to the limit? Use an ampersand rather than "and", and use the names the family actually says. The box on the product page counts the characters as you type.
Ceramic or aluminium for a family list
The ceramic ornament is round, 7.5 cm across, with the same design printed on both sides, so the names read whichever way it turns.
The Personalised Family Aluminium Christmas Ornament with Names takes the same 80 characters of names and an optional year. In the first box you type the whole family name line yourself, up to 20 characters, such as The Wilsons, so two surnames can go on if they fit. The family name runs across the centre in cream on a forest green band, with the names beneath, inside a round design with a gold-look rim and a sprig of holly. It is printed on the front of a shaped aluminium ornament, 1 mm thick, with a brushed aluminium back.
Our guide to ceramic or aluminium ornaments covers the material question.
What order to put the names in
There is no right order, only the one your family will recognise:
- Oldest first: the grown-ups, then the children from eldest to youngest. It reads like a family tree.
- As you would sign a Christmas card: the order that sounds right read aloud.
- Alphabetical: useful in a blended family, where any other order might be read as a ranking.
The order shows clearly on the Personalised Family Name Print with Names, where each name has its own line in a stacked list beneath the family name, with Est. and the year at the base if you add them. It takes up to 80 characters of names, printed on 220gsm smooth matte fine art paper in 12 x 16 in (30.5 x 40.6 cm) or 8 x 12 in (20.3 x 30.5 cm), supplied unframed. It is not a Christmas design, so it can stay up all year.
Does the dog go on?
Yes, if the dog is family. The family members box is free text, so a pet can go anywhere in the list. The Personalised Family Christmas Print with Surname and Names shows this in its own example, which ends with Biscuit the dog. Writing Biscuit alone saves eight characters.
On this print, The Bennett Family Christmas, or your own surname, sits in large serif inside a leafy wreath, with everyone named beneath, printed in forest green and terracotta on a cream background. It comes in the same two sizes, supplied unframed, to put up near the tree.
For a very large family: the surname alone
If the list will not fit, or keeps changing, leave the names off. The Personalised Family Aluminium Plaque Christmas Ornament needs only the surname, up to 20 characters, and the year if you want it. It reads Merry Christmas from the Okafors, or from your own family, in an ornate serif inside a patterned border, in Classic red & gold, Gothmas black & gold, or Nutcracker navy and red. It is a shaped aluminium plaque, 10 x 6.8 cm, glossy and printed on both sides.
Because nobody is named, nobody can be left off, and a new baby belongs on it from the day they arrive. It suits the grandparents' tree, where every branch of the family gathers.
A name each: the set of three
If you would rather each person had their own ornament, the Family Christmas Ornament Set of Three with Names is three matching round ceramic ornaments, 7.5 cm across, with the same design on both sides. Each has Merry Christmas across the top, a sprig of holly, and a single name in large serif, up to 15 characters, with the year beneath if you add it.
It suits a family of three, or three children, and its page suggests giving one to each person to hang. If there are more than three of you, a second set adds three more names.
When the family grows
A family ornament records the household as it is that Christmas. Two ways to keep up:
A new ornament each year, with the old ones kept. Order the family names ornament again each Christmas with the year added, and hang the new one beside the last. After a few years the tree holds a small record of the family.
A star for each child. The Personalised Aluminium Christmas Ornament with Stars and Names is titled Mum's, Mummy's, Dad's, Daddy's, Auntie's or Uncle's, with the word Stars beneath, then a row of terracotta stars, one per name, and the names under them. It takes up to 80 characters of names, and the type shrinks so a long list stays legible. It is printed on the front of an aluminium ornament with a brushed aluminium back. When another child arrives, a new one can hang beside the old.
For grandparents, our guide to Christmas gifts for grandparents covers the star ornaments with a grandparent's title.
Before you order
Check every name before you pay: names are printed as spelt, and some designs set a line in capital letters. Our FAQs explain how to check your wording and what can be changed after you order. Delivery times and charges are on our Delivery page, and the last order date for Christmas is on our Christmas order deadlines page. The ornaments are decorative, not toys, so hang them out of reach of small children and pets.
Everything here is printed to order in the UK. The family ornaments are in our Christmas Ornaments collection, and the set of three and the family Christmas print are in Christmas Keepsakes.
Questions about family ornaments with names
Do spaces and commas count towards the 80 characters?
Yes. Every character you type counts, including spaces, commas and the ampersand.
Do I have to add the year?
No. The year is optional on every ornament and print in this guide. Add it for a dated record, or leave it off so the same ornament suits every year.
Does the ceramic family ornament read from both sides?
Yes. The same design is printed on both sides, so the names read whichever way it turns. There is no space for a second, different message.
When should I order for Christmas?
The last order date is on our Christmas order deadlines page, and delivery times are on our Delivery page.
More gift guides
- If you want a small tradition that lasts, start with One first-Christmas ornament every year: small traditions, for the bump, the new home or the puppy as well as the baby.
- What to put in a Christmas Eve box builds the box around a mug with the child's name on it.
- For a new baby, Baby's first Christmas: seven keepsakes worth keeping runs from a name and year ornament to a photo blanket.