Glass Christmas ornaments are traditional decorations made of glass and hung from a Christmas tree. Fragile, festive, and brightly colored, glass Christmas ornaments can be globe-shaped or made to resemble animals, toys, or abstract shapes. They are often more expensive than department store decorations and may be passed down as heirlooms.

Glass Christmas ornaments first took off in popularity in Britain in the 1870s, after a London newspaper printed an illustration of Queen Victoria's Christmas tree decorated with glass ornaments. Glass Christmas ornaments became widely popular in North America after 1880, the year that F.W. Woolworth imported German-made ornaments to sell in his stores. By 1890, Woolworth stores sold $25 million worth of ornaments annually. U.S. manufacturers began making glass ornaments in 1939. Using a machine originally designed to make light bulbs, more than 2,000 glass ornament balls could be produced per minute.LoveToKnow Christmas: Glass Christmas Ornaments