Christmas Ornaments in Berner Oberland

I recall seeing Christmas ornaments at shops in Grindelwald, but nothing particularly memorable. Pretty much generic ornaments with Swiss imagery. I was there over a winter holiday, but it looked like the kind of merchandise you would expect to be sold year-round at any souvenir store.

Buying Christmas decorations in June? The famous German year-round shop selling Christmas decorations is Käthe Wohlfahrt, but they don't have any permanent shops in Switzerland. List of shops here: http://wohlfahrt.com/en/christmas-stores
Also here in Basel is one shop, Johann Wanner: http://www.johannwanner.ch/en/
I don't think there are any such shops in the places you list. The best idea is to come back for the Christmas markets. They are packed with decorations.

Hi Heidi, I also like to bring back Christmas ornaments from the places I visit. One of my favorites is actually from Switzerland and all I did was pick out a small replica of a Swiss cow bell that I liked and tied a ribbon through it to hang on the tree with.

Heidi, I would think you could find Christmas ornaments in some of those kitschy souvenir shops that line the streets in Interlaken near the Interlaken West station-they have everything! Maybe stop there on your way out to Bern.

I second the bells.

Laser-cut wood carvings and other mass-produced hangings can be found in almost every place that sells maps or cheap chocolate.

Look for a wood carver in your Muerren. No 3' tall Virgin Mary's of course, but smaller items are perfect as ornaments (like the little bells). They may do larger pieces but much of there market is tourists who do not have a steamer trunk in which to transport back their newly acquired altar pieces. Most sell smaller items for just these people. In the past I have brought back small, really small carved horses as ornaments from Brienz. While it is sort is a popular area (Brienz) to go to I am surprised that it isn't MORE popular.

If you are there on a Monday sometimes (not sure of schedule so don't want to say this or that) they have a small market. It might have something small if you are creative.

My vote though is bells or something from a wood carver, something smaller.

I emailed Muerren Tourismus and they said no wood carvers :( Hard to believe, really. They said to try Brienz ;)

Glas Hergiswil is located near Lucerne. The company produces household goods made of glass. I have a cow-themed cutting board carted back from a 1980s trip to Switzerland. You can watch glass-blowing there if you're interested.

The web site shows some Christmas merchandise, including a few ornaments. Note that the company works in clear, not colored, glass.

This page of the company website has a clickable map to find retailers carrying its products. I don't know that you'd have much luck finding Christmas merchandise at any of them outside the holiday season, however.

I think Tom is right, when you're outside of Christmas-market tourist season I don't recall seeing a lot of ornaments anywhere in Switzerland except at touristy stores. The country doesn't seem to be the kind of place that has all-Christmas-all-the-time stores, unlike many tourist destinations.

We've also found lovely decorations in department stores in our travels, but I have to think that would be seasonal as well.