The Ultimate Guide to Christmas Baubles
A Christmas tree without lights or tinsel still looks like a proper tree, but without baubles, the tree appears to be missing a special something. This ultimate guide to Christmas tree baubles will answer every possible question you might have about these festive ornaments.
Baubles, or ornaments, are decorative objects hung on a tree at Christmas time by string or ribbon. As well as adding colour and festivity to a tree, buying and hanging them each year is a beloved tradition for many families.
We love building up our collection of baubles slowly with sentimental and intricate pieces.
Buying ornaments from Christmas markets, independent shops and craftspeople make them extra special. Buying baubles this way lets you re-live each Christmassy memory every year.
Baubles are such an important part of our Christmas, but where did they come from and why are they so significant?
For more holiday ideas, check out our guides for Christmas décor tips and hacks, festive activities, and perfect budget gift ideas.
Related: 25 Best Christmas Ornaments To Buy Now
History of Baubles
The first Christmas trees were decorated with natural objects that could be easily found in people’s homes. It wasn’t until the 1500s that tree decorations were first made out of glass.
Originally the first glass tree ornaments were glass beads and tin figures. The popularity of these tree decorations led to the creation of the glass bauble by Hans Greiner.
Hans Greiner popularised glass ornaments by creating glass fruit and nuts to hang on Christmas trees. Eventually, wood and clay mould ornaments were created, followed by the plastic ones we know today.
| According to Wikipedia “The first decorated trees were adorned with apples, white candy canes and pastries in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. Glass baubles were first made in Lauscha, Germany, by Hans Greiner (1550–1609), who produced garlands of glass beads and tin figures that could be hung on trees.” |
Why Do We Put Baubles on The Christmas Tree?
The tradition of hanging baubles comes from hanging apples on a tree to represent Eden. Red Christmas tree baubles definitely look like a hanging apple! It’s so cool to see that this tradition has continued for hundreds of years.
We wonder if this is the reason for red becoming such a popular Christmas colour…
Today, we decorate our trees as a fun and festive way to kick off the Christmas season. There aren’t many modern alternatives for Christmas decorations, aside from new models of Christmas lights. Keeping decorations traditional basically invites a piece of history into our homes each year, which we think makes it extra special.
Take a look at this photo from 1848, of a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle. Their tree looks almost exactly the same as one today!
How Are Christmas Tree Baubles Made?
Glass ornaments are made by skilled glassblowers, who shape the bauble by placing fired glass tubes into moulds and blowing hard to make the glass expand into the shape of the mould.
For circular baubles, glassblowers can just heat the tube in one section and blow in the tube, which creates the perfect spherical shape.
This Youtube video shows the process of glass blowing Christmas ornaments.
How Christmas Ornaments Are Made
Where to Buy Baubles?
In the run up to Christmas, you can buy baubles from most retailers. Most will start selling them from September onwards, but of course there are places you can buy baubles all year round.
For bulk buying multiple baubles, we like to buy baubles from supermarkets, garden centres and department stores.
But, for intricate, personalised, and more special decorations we like to shop online. These baubles tend to be more costly, so shopping online can keep the costs down by comparing prices.
This is our mini guide to our favourite 5 Christmas tree baubles available on Amazon.
Gisela Graham Gold Glass Festive Bauble with Holly Vines
For Christmas tree baubles, our go-to brand is always the award-winning manufacturer Gisela Graham. Their baubles are all absolutely stunning, amazing quality and there’s something to match every taste and colour scheme in their collection.
Choosing our one favourite bauble is an impossible task. But, they also make beautiful gifts too!
We love this gold glass bauble with holly vines, but you can take a look at the other Gisela Graham baubles on Amazon.
Red Glass Letterbox Christmas Tree Decoration
Another beautiful bauble from the award-winning manufacturer Gisela Graham.
This red glass bauble adds some fun to your Christmas tree, and what is more festive than a Christmas letter box!?
Take a look at the other fun and festive baubles from Gisela Graham such as a brussel sprout or even a Turkey dinner here.
Personalised Family Christmas Tree Ornament
This handmade personalised Christmas tree ornament is absolutely beautiful and is available in family groups of 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8.
Each family member is handwritten onto the red glittery stockings, including the year and your chosen phrase.
This will also make the perfect gift for a loved one, and each ornament comes with a small presentation gift bag.
Warmiehomy Set of 4 Christmas Tree Baubles Balls
These glass baubles will add a touch of luxury to any tree. We love that you can also unscrew the cap of the bauble, and fill with glitter or other festive decorations to personalise them.
The baubles comes as a set of four, each with a different design, so they can also make a wonderful gift for any family or friends.
Art Beauty Christmas Baubles 12pcs Shatterproof
These Santa baubles are so fun, yet not tacky and we absolutely love them. Perfect for adding some fun to your Christmas tree.
They come as a set of 12, six of Santa’s face and six of his body, and are super easy to hang with the hook provided.
The best part is the baubles are shatterproof so they are safe for any children and cheeky pets around.
Bauble FAQ’s and How To’s
How to Choose Christmas Baubles?
Before buying any Christmas tree decorations, it’s important to decide on a colour scheme.
Your colour scheme might be a minimalistic two colours, or you might want a colourful mish-mash of all your favourite decorations! Whichever colours you choose, try and use those colours as your ‘backdrop’ decorations.
For example, if you choose blue and gold then you could buy cheaper plastic decorations in a set of 24 blue and gold baubles scattered which are scattered evenly on the tree. Then you can fill in with your more neutral glass ornaments. These are great because they are versatile enough to fit in with every colour scheme.
By keeping your expensive and detailed pieces neutral, you can easily change the colour scheme whenever you want without having to spend a lot of money replacing your decorations.
We recommend using silver, white, glass, and glitter for your neutral ornaments.
P.S. Neutral doesn’t necessarily mean boring. They can be as glittery or intricate as you want, just keep the colours a bit more simple so they match with whatever colour scheme you’re doing.
How to Arrange Baubles on a Christmas Tree?
We think the best process for decorating a tree is to start with your lights, then add in the tinsel and then your baubles. Starting with the lights and tinsel works best because they are still visible further back in the tree behind your decorations, and they are difficult to adjust once they’re on.
After each step, take a step back and see how the spacing looks and adjust as needed.
Arranging baubles on a tree is easiest when you start by spacing them out evenly and build up the busyness. Keep stepping back and finding areas that look empty, and fill them in with decorations.
Keep your favourite ornaments at the places that will be seen the most, but try not to leave spaces completely bare.
How many baubles on a 6ft Christmas tree?
Depending on the width of your tree, and amount of tinsel and lights we recommend at least 50 baubles for your tree. For a 6ft tree, it’s better to use regular-sized baubles as large ones can look a bit big and take up a lot of space.
How many baubles on a 7ft Christmas tree?
Having a 7ft (or bigger) tree looks great with a mixture of regular-sized and larger decorations. If you’re buying your first set of baubles this year, we recommend using a minimum of 60. This number can increase if you aren’t using any larger ornaments.
How to Decorate your own Christmas Baubles?
If you feel like getting crafty with your Christmas decorations, start with a set of clear or plain baubles. We like this set of 20 top-fillable shatterproof plastic baubles.
You can either decorate the inside or the outside of your baubles. To decorate the inside, fill your baubles with artificial berries, holly sprigs and glitter or fake snow. Try filling your baubles with colourful buttons for a fun twist!
There are tons of ways to decorate the outside of your baubles. Get yourself some super glue to create designs on the outside and dip the bauble in glitter! Drawing snowflakes or writing words like peoples names work really well for this.
We’ve found some great crafting resources for a bauble decorating session:
Pompoms
Sequins
Beads
Pipe Cleaners
Christmas confetti
Paints
Sharpie Permanent Markers
Glitter Pens
Holly Berries
Felt (to cut out shapes like holly or snowmen)
Once your decorations have dried, reattach the top of your bauble and loop some ribbon through and tie a knot at the top. You can get big batches of ribbon very affordably from Amazon. We love to use these red and green satin ribbons, but you can buy any ribbon to match your colour scheme.
How to Hang Baubles on a Christmas Tree?
If your baubles have ribbon or string in them already, then they are ready to go on your tree! Choose where you want them to go, and slide the loop onto a branch and adjust the needles slightly to help the ribbon stay in place.
If you have an artificial tree, you can bend the branch slightly upward to stop your baubles from sliding off.
If your baubles don’t come with ribbon or string then you can buy some here. To make a loop, cut a length of ribbon twice as long as how low you want your bauble to hang down (normal length is about 15cm for your bauble to hang 7.5cm).
Thread the ribbon through the hook on the top of your bauble. Bring the two ends together and tie them in a secure knot at the top. You can now hang your bauble on your tree!
Final Thoughts on Christmas Tree Baubles
We hope you found what you were looking for in our ultimate guide to Christmas baubles, or are now feeling inspired to get decorating. We definitely are!
Related Christmas Tree Articles:
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- How To Decorate A Christmas Tree With Ribbon
- The Best Christmas Tree Topper For Your Tree
- The Best Artificial Christmas Trees 2020
- The Best Farmhouse Christmas Ornaments And Easy DIY Ideas
- The Best LED Christmas Lights in the US
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- Ultimate Guide To Victorian Christmas Decorations
- History Of Christmas Trees: The Ultimate Guide
