Okay, so I really, really wanted to imagine things differently when it comes to where my Christmas decorations come from…in fact, a little piece of me hesitated to share this article with you, but since I am just driving along the information highway, it seemed wrong not to snap a picture.
Here goes nothing: Likely, most of those precious little ornaments, strings of lights, etc. don’t come from tinsel town–they come from China…where someone, covered head to toe in red paint has spent day after day dipping them, powder-coating them, and wrapping them up for us to buy and hang cheerfully on our trees, mantle, or whatever. The workers are paid a pittance, and most of them don’t have a clue what Christmas is exactly.
I’ll tell ya, consumerism in reality is not as glittery as the picture of elves up North picture I would rather have in my head. If this doesn’t make you want to put that red flocked ornament back on the shelf, I don’t know what will. As for me, I think I’ll hit up Etsy for handmade decorations instead. I’ll support my local economy AND hopefully, get something that was a labor of love, and not inhaled red dye.
Ho, Ho, Ho
~ Mavis
Lunch Lady says
Hi Mavis,
I have not purchased Christmas baubles or lights for years. That is not to say I don’t own any. I’m not replacing when they die or get broken or worn out. I have my girls’ (ages 32,30) handmade ornaments on my tree and each year we make something new. Something like your cinnamon/applesauce/glue ornaments are wonderful. We first started making those when the girls were 9 and 10. They still look good 20 years later (the smell is gone) Now I’m making those with my 5 year old grand daughter. I LOVE to see all the school pictures inside café’ ring ‘frames’ from all the grade school years. My tree looks like kids decorated it because THEY DID! I love it.
Earlene says
Amen. I’m a little more careful and look more where things r made.
lynne says
ditto
Denise says
Thanks Mavis, I needed that reminder.
Susan Fischer says
OMG Mavis! You mean to tell me you don’t blow your own glass ornaments???? 😉 We learn as we go, so nobody is going to fault you for having made in China ornaments. We still love you….
Mavis Butterfield says
No. Not yet. Glass blowing is on the list though. 😉
HollyG says
I think there’s a coupon for that……
BJ says
Totally agree…was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee this weekend looking at their quilt shops…went into one and looked at the label and they were from China. What a shame…I was looking for some locally made stuff..this was on the main drag…so disappointed.
Cheyanne says
YES! That article has changed my entire idea about how I celebrate Christmas this year. I read it for the first time at the end of December 2014 when it seemed too late to do anything about it. Those images have stayed with me all year though. I decided not to build my holiday celebrations off of the exploitation of others. I just stuck with decorations, cards, and wrapping paper this year but I think next year I will only gift used or homemade (etsy, made by me, etc) gifts.
Lisa Millar says
It gets harder and harder to avoid anything made in China or some other country for slave labour wages and appalling conditions.
We have been conditioned to expect the super cheap prices and mostly the only way businesses can provide that is to import cheap.
We recently took the ferry to the mainland and I was disheartened to see in the on board souvenir shop stuffed full of imported “Tasmanian” souvenirs. Probably 95% of the stock.
We have a great local shop that allows people to rent a shelf space for about $10 a week to showcase their handmade locally crafted articles. Its the best place for keeping the $$ in the local area/state with a good range of prices that are not out of reach.
I drag all our visitors through there! 🙂
I also haven’t bought decorations for years – the ones I have are probably made in China, but there are a few handmade ones in there that I love.
Its a tough compromise sometimes as Christmas can be quite lean moneywise and the attraction of buying your Christmas supplies at a tenth of the price is extremely tempting…
Its just good to be aware in the back of your mind of this and try to do your best!
les says
Anybody know where to get lights made not in China?
pamela sheppard says
I suggest you look at the schedule of your local public television station for a special Called “Xmas Without China”. I watched it last year. It was a real eye-opener.
Erin says
Every year my little boys, this year they’re 6 and 4, and I make most of our ornaments by hand. This year the theme is paper ornaments. One year I sewed felt ornaments when they were younger. There will not be a glass ornament or metal hanger to be found on our tree this year because our baby is 18 months and still puts everything in his mouth. And I prefer to not have to store tons of decorations from year to year. I have one small box that has lights and some keepsakes, but that’s it. And at the end of this year our ornaments will be able to be tossed/recycled with the tree, and the kids will have had the fun of doing arts and crafts nearly every day with me. It’s a win win.
MaryW says
I buy my ornaments at estate sales at this point. I look for the vintage stuff that’s made in the States 🙂
Katie says
Thank you for sharing this article. It is a good reminder to look at the country of origin labeling. There was also a good article in yesterday’s (12/2) Washington Post about a Chinese copper company that opened a factory in Alabama. The pay and conditions for the workers are very different from what traditional American manufacturers (used to?) offer.
Mavis Butterfield says
I found the article and WOW.
Andrea says
We still have a few of the bulk ornaments, but I haven’t bought anything in years. People comment that my tree looks “hokey” because it is starting to have more homemade ornaments than bought ones. My son is 7 and loves arts and crafts so he constantly making homemade ornaments during Christmas. Because we try to keep the clutter down we keep the best ones and sent the others to his dad. We started making our own stuff because finances became so tight after my divorce. Now I look at the stuff made in China and to me the mass produced stuff looks cheap. Plus everyone has it. So making our own or buying handmade stuff makes our tree look more unique. But I did have an elderly lady tell me that our tree reminded her of her childhood. Back before mass production, most ornaments were homemade, and if they were bought they were expensive and treated very carefully.
Deborah Herman says
Well said. I think it is time to take back our ownership of Christmas. Not merchandised crap. As an artist I can’t compete with China. It takes me days or weeks to make something, where as stores sell some cheaply made item for far less then I can even purchase the supplies for. Homemade items are not just slapped together junk. It takes thought, time effort and money to thoughtfully make our crafts. We invest blood sweat and sometimes tears into the items we lovingly create. A little respect would be nice. And stop snipping that we would charge more then the buck the dollar store charges. Ours is made out of Love …….
Amy says
Thank you for your post. I’m glad you decided to share it with us. It’s important for us to know so that we can decide what’s really important at Christmas time. Our family has started a family game night for our Christmas celebrations, each family brings their favorite game to share and play and we can actually spend quality time with each other.
Sarah says
I just read the article… wow, I had no idea. When I see stuff like that in the store, I guess I always assumed it was made on some mechanized assembly line. What a crappy job; I feel so bad for that guy in the picture! Thanks for sharing!
Kimberly says
I have an etsy shop selling handmade Christmas wreaths if anyone is interested! https://www.etsy.com/shop/WreathMotif?ref=hdr_shop_menu
karen says
Totally feel this way. Most of my ornaments are now ‘vintage’ made in America. This year, I took a beautiful paint by number painting laying in the back of a closet and cut it up into vintage shaped ornaments. My tree has no theme, but each year something is added, usually from the grandchildren. It’s a hot mess, but I love it. Walking through the stores now just leaves me feeling ‘cold’, nothing grabs me. Every year, we all say the same thing. “This is the prettiest tree we have ever had”.
Aileen says
Concur with you on this. Just back from our Irish National Craft Fair in Dublin, Ireland – all Irish craftspeople in attendance, over 600 exhibitors & loads of Christmas decorations – ceramic, felt, wool, glass, edible etc. I agree it is worthwhile contributing to one’s own local economy & appreciating all the talent ‘at home’.
Jen Y says
I just saved this to try next year, though I may go ahead & make one for my kitchen window.
http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/stringing-popcorn-garland-2/
I imagine this would make your home smell heavenly…much more like Christmas than any artificial spray or candle.
I guess the only new Christmas decorations that really tempt me are the little bottle-brush trees. I never seem to have enough of them. I’m sure they’re made in China as well.