A New York ornament is a small thing that carries a lot. For someone who grew up in the state and moved away, it's a piece of home on the tree. For someone who just moved there, it marks the first year. And because it comes back out every December, it keeps doing that job long after other gifts are forgotten.
The trick is matching the ornament to where it's going to live. A piece for a family tree, a piece for a desk and a piece that has to survive the mail all want slightly different things. Here's how we'd choose from our New York gifts and souvenirs.
Three materials, three personalities
We make New York ornaments in three materials. They carry the same kinds of designs, so the choice is mostly about weight, look and how rough a life the ornament is going to lead.
Slate
Dark natural stone with the design engraved in light. It's the heaviest of the three and comes in 3 inch or 4 inch rounds, with a pre-drilled hole and hanging string. The edges are natural stone, so no two are identical.
Wood
Light natural wood, 3.5 inches across and about a tenth of an inch thick, with the design engraved dark into the grain. A rustic twine hanger comes already tied on.
Leatherette
A thin, 3 3/4 inch disc in black, blue or brown, with a cord attached. Engraving removes the surface layer to show a contrasting color: silver on the black and blue discs, black on the brown. It's shatterproof.
For the tree
On a full tree, the 3 inch slate is the size to pick. It tucks into the branches instead of taking them over. The New York slate Christmas ornament comes in a range of state designs, from the plain outline to "Home Sweet Home" and NY initials, so you can match the look to the person.
If your tree has little kids or cats circling the bottom branches, go leatherette for anything hanging low. It won't break if it hits the floor. The New York leatherette ornament carries the same state designs in three colors.
And if you want the ornament to say exactly what it is, the Merry Christmas From New York slate ornament arches the words over the state shape, with the name in script and a laurel wreath underneath. It also comes in wood and leatherette.
For the office
A desk or a cubicle doesn't have a tree, but it usually has a hook, a lamp, a monitor edge or a door. The 4 inch slate is the size to reach for here. It's big enough to see from the doorway, and since it's a plain stone disc rather than something glittery, it doesn't look out of place in March.
For a New York City person, the New York City skyline slate ornament is the one. It's engraved with the skyline, the city name and the state beneath. For someone from Buffalo, there's a Buffalo skyline ornament on the same slate.
Want something that nods to the whole state in one design? The Empire State slate ornament pairs the state outline with the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, plus "The Empire State" and "EST. 1788," the year New York ratified the U.S. Constitution.
For the care package
If the ornament is going in a box with cookies and a card to someone who moved away, weight and breakage matter more than anything else.
Wood and leatherette are the ones to mail. The New York wood Christmas ornament is light, thin and ready to hang straight out of the box. The Merry Christmas From New York wood ornament does the card and the gift in one. Leatherette is just as easy to slip in and won't crack in transit.
Slate can travel too. It's sturdy stone, but give it some padding and don't let it rattle around loose against anything hard.
Mix materials, keep the design
Because the state designs run across slate, wood and leatherette, you can build a small set: a slate one for the family tree, a wood one in the care package, a leatherette one for the kid who keeps knocking ornaments off. Same design, three places, one family.
Order timing
Ornaments are made to order, engraved after you buy and shipped within 1 to 3 business days. Add carrier transit time on top of that, and order early in the season if it has to arrive by a specific date.
You'll find every New York ornament, along with the coasters, boards and wall art, on our New York collection page.
