What is Christmas without Christmas ball ornaments? It cannot be and it must not be! After all, the most popular Christmas tree ornaments are the ball type which we have all learned to cherish year after year.

Allow me, if you will, to introduce you to my own personal favorites:

There is the beautifully ornate Cardinal Round Ornament Ball that is found at ClassicHostess.com.

These balls are made of mouth blown glass and hand painted by artists who specialize in painting on glass ornaments. They bring your Christmas tree to life while adding value to your collectibles.

How about the Waterford Holiday Heirloom Gilded Christmas Peacock Balls (limited edition) which are found at Amazon.com.

These 5-inch balls come in muted greens, reds and golds and the limited edition has produced only 2,500 balls that are each accented with 24 carat gold overlay.
And lastly, the Ceramic Ball Christmas Ornaments which are found at Horchow.com.

These balls are made of ceramic and their brightly hand painted surfaces were inspired by folk art.

Also known as baubles, Christmas ball ornaments were originally invented during the mid nineteenth century in Lauscha, Germany and today they are tremendously popular through the Christian world. Christmas ball ornament come in a variety of designs ranging from the very simple smoothly blown glass to ones which are artistically decorated with extravagant motifs.

Although Christmas ball ornaments come in various sizes and are made from a variety of materials such as blown glass, wire mesh, ceramic or clay, plastic and so on; they tend to be very delicate and highly brittle. If they survive, however, they are usually stored for use and re-use year after year. In many families, Christmas ball ornaments are viewed as heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to the next.