A personalised ornament comes out of the box every December, so it is worth choosing the right one. Ours are made in two materials, round ceramic and shaped aluminium. The material decides whether the design reads from both sides, how it looks under the tree lights, and what happens if it slips off a branch.
In short:
- For a name or a family list that reads whichever way it turns: a round ceramic ornament, such as the Personalised Family Ceramic Christmas Ornament.
- For a light ornament that will not shatter if it falls: a shaped aluminium one, such as Grandma's Stars.
- For something bolder at the front of the tree: the Personalised Family Aluminium Plaque Christmas Ornament.
This guide sets out what each kind is, in the same words as the product pages, and which one suits which person and which tree.
Round ceramic: the same design on both sides
Our ceramic ornaments are round, 7.5 cm across, with the same design printed on both sides, so they read correctly whichever way they turn on the branch. Each comes with a red ribbon for hanging.
The designs are quiet: a name, a year and one small motif, such as a sprig of holly, a ring of fine snowflakes or a sleeping bear. For a family, the Personalised Family Ceramic Christmas Ornament prints your surname across the top as The Patel Family, a sprig of holly beneath it, and then every family member's name, with up to 80 characters of names, so there is room for the dog. For one name, the Personalised Snowflake Ceramic Christmas Ornament sets it in deep green inside a ring of fine snowflakes, and it looks at home on a tree dressed in paper chains and greenery.
Ceramic is the traditional material, and it can chip or break if it drops onto a hard floor, so hang it on a branch that does not get knocked.
If you would rather hang a face than a name, there are photo ornaments too. On the ceramic ones the photo is printed in a circle with a name curving along the base, in versions for a pet, a baby, a family, a couple, a new home, friends, grandparents, a mum or dad with their child, and someone remembered, and there is also an aluminium photo ornament with a short caption. A photo needs at least 600 pixels on its shorter side; our FAQs have a table of photo sizes for every product.
Shaped aluminium: light, and it will not shatter
Our aluminium ornaments are shaped rather than round. They are 1 mm thick and printed on the front, with a brushed aluminium back that catches the tree lights. They are light on the branch, aluminium will not shatter if it falls from the tree, and each comes with a red ribbon for hanging. Because the design is on the front, hang an aluminium ornament facing into the room.
The star ornaments come in both materials. In aluminium, Grandma's Stars offers eight titles, from Grandma's and Nanny's to Grandad's and Gramps'. You add the grandchildren's names, up to 80 characters, and each name gets its own small star. There are also separate designs for Nanny's Stars and Grandad's Stars, each with a row of stars, one for each child, and an aluminium star ornament for a mum, dad, auntie or uncle. In ceramic, there are star ornaments for grandparents, great-grandparents, mums, dads, aunties and uncles, round like the other ceramic ones and printed on both sides. When the next grandchild arrives, a new one can hang beside the old.
The aluminium plaque: larger, and printed on both sides
The Personalised Family Aluminium Plaque Christmas Ornament is the showier choice. It reads Merry Christmas from the Okafors, or from your own surname, in an ornate serif inside a patterned border, with the year at the base if you add it. It is a shaped aluminium plaque, 10 x 6.8 cm, with a glossy finish, printed on both sides and light enough for any branch. There are three colourways: classic red and gold, a darker Gothmas black and gold, and a Nutcracker navy and red. The surname can be up to 20 characters.
Which one to choose
- For grandparents: a star ornament, with every grandchild's name on it. It makes a good gift from the grandchildren themselves, with a parent at the keyboard.
- For the family tree: the family names ceramic ornament if you want every name, or the plaque if you want colour and the surname alone.
- For a first Christmas: the Baby's First Christmas Ceramic Ornament, the Our First Christmas ornament for Mr & Mrs, Mr & Mr, Mrs & Mrs or Engaged, or the First Christmas in Our New Home ornament. All three are ceramic, with the year.
- For a tree in a window or in the middle of a room, where both sides are seen: ceramic, or the plaque.
- For remembering someone: the Personalised Memorial Ceramic Christmas Ornament. Our guide to memorial Christmas ornaments explains how to choose the words and how to give it.
An ornament with a year on it can start a small tradition: a new one each Christmas, hung beside the ones from the years before.
Before you order
We print your wording as you spell it, and some designs set a line in capital letters, so check every name and year before you add the ornament to your basket. We do not send proofs, and orders go to our printer within about 10 minutes of payment.
Everything we make is printed to order in the UK and sent by a tracked service (usually Royal Mail or Evri, chosen by the print partner). Delivery times are on our Delivery page, and the last order date for Christmas is on our Christmas order deadlines page. If an ornament arrives damaged or misprinted, you have the right to a free reprint or a full refund: keep the box and email us a photo within 30 days of delivery. If you no longer have the box, still get in touch. See Returns and refunds.
Our ornaments are decorative and not toys, so hang them out of reach of small children and pets. Every design is in our Christmas Ornaments collection.
More gift guides
- How to fit every name on a family Christmas ornament also sets out the order of the names and what to do when the family grows.
- 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.
- For a new baby, Baby's first Christmas: seven keepsakes worth keeping runs from a name and year ornament to a photo blanket.