Christmas ornament availability - gift shops

Wow- such a broad question, too broad to answer yet. Perhaps list your itinerary. Thanks

You might want to visit the Käthe Wohlfahrt stores that specialize in Christmas ornaments. They are quite beautiful and have a large selection of gorgeous items. You can find multiple stores in most cities in Germany (their home base), but they also have shops in the UK (York), Belgium (Bruges), France (Alsace area), and Spain (Barcelona).

I will say that many museum gift shops do have Christmas ornaments, etc., but you will find more options the closer you are to the actual holiday.

In London, the major museums (National Gallery, V&A, etc.) will have Christmas ornaments in their gift shops. Also, the gift shops for Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace will carry ornaments.

In Rome, there is a store called Sempre Natale that has all kinds of Christmas ornaments.

Without knowing your exact cities, hard to give specific shop recommendations. You can probably find something that will work even if it isn't labeled "Christmas". For example - I purchased little mini wooden shoes strung on a ribbon in the Netherlands. They weren't sold as an "ornament" but look great draped over a branch. You can easily convert keychains or other bobbles into hanging ornaments.

Basic rule of thumb: the larger the museum, the larger the gift shop. And the larger the gift shop, the more likely they are to keep ornaments out year-round, because, well, they sell and they have space! So Victoria and Albert, or Rijksmuseum, or the Prado, or the Louvre -- bet my bottom dollar they have ornaments year round. Smaller museums? Probably more hit and miss, depending on your time of year.

Also, don't forget that Christmas ornaments can be made from lots of gift shop staples -- postcards, note cards, bookmarks, jewelry, keychains, even scarves.

There are Christmas shops in areas where woodworking is a tradition; I am thinking at Oberammergau in Germany and Ortisei in Italy. In other places you can find plenty of ornaments, but mostly in the Xmas period, not year long. The Xmas market in Piazza Navona, Rome, looked somewhat different to me as items were closer to Italian traditions. Also the nativity scene makers at S. Gregorio Armeno, Naples, are very famous.

Let me approach this from a different side, I collect nativities, and have had no trouble finding them in the "off season" in Poland, Ireland, Slovenia, etc. Hand crafted has been almost easier, I think you will be able to find what you want

Buying “Christmas” ornaments are the only souvenirs I buy on my European travels. I have a specific Christmas tree that I display all my ornaments on that I call my “travel tree”. I’ve had to upgrade the tree size a couple times now based on how many ornaments I’ve collected. I never have a hard time finding some sort of ornament, or something I could turn into an ornament, in each of the cities/countries I visit. But I’m very particular with my choices; I want the ornament to represent something specific/unique about each place I go to, and extra points if it has writing that notes the location. I like to be able to look at the ornament and remember exactly where it came from. If I can’t find something that truly is an ornament, I look for key chains, magnets or small figurines that I might be able to turn into an ornament by adding a loop ribbon or hook. On average I probably spend 5E - 15E on each item that I find. Only spending higher if it is truly special or hand crafted.

It would help to know where you are traveling to. I found that not all places have ornaments year around. Google and Google Maps will help you find ornament shops. Or just walk in and look around.

I try to add an ornament to my collection everywhere I go. If I can’t find an ornament, I buy a necklace that can be used as a small ornament. Example: Vieste Italy didn’t have ornaments but a shop that made alabaster statues had alabaster pendants. The gift shop at Lipica had locally made colored glass pendants with horses painted on them.

Salzburg has a Christmas Museum with Krampus ornaments.
Lots of glass and lace ornaments in Venice.
The Christmas Shop (that’s the name) in Prague has glass ornaments.
Czech crystal ornaments were difficult to find.
Museum gift shops often have ornaments.
Naples has a street of nativity figurine shops, Via S Gregorio Armeno.
Sempre Natalie in Rome had a good selection on glass ornaments several years ago.
In Vienna, besides the Spanish Riding School gift shop, there is Andrea Cecconi.