Child Loss Ornament

Why an Ornament?

Christmas is a very special time of year -- it's the season for family and friends to gather together and celebrate each other. After all, Christians honor this day as the birth of Jesus Christ. So when a much-anticipated and loved child is not alive on Christmas, parents and other family members try their best to include him or her in the celebration. This can be done through hanging a stocking for the child, donating Christmas gifts in his or her name or by purchasing a special ornament that will adorn the family's holiday tree for many years.

Some families purchase only one ornament to commemorate the first Christmas without the child, while others purchase a different ornament every year, just as they would buy one for their living children. These ornaments may not always be specifically loss-related, but will always in some way remind the family of the child who died.

Types of Child Loss Ornaments

Specific child loss ornaments comes in many styles and sizes. There are ones made especially for young babies or those for older children who have died. Styles include ornaments with:

• Photo holders
• Angels
• Babies in cradles
• Angels alone or holding children
• Doves
• Baby animals
• Footprints or handprints
• Hearts and ribbons
• Crosses and religious figures
• Poems or sayings
• Children playing
• Children sleeping

These ornaments, many of which can be inscribed with your child's name, also come in a variety of materials including:

• Glass
• Plastic
• Ceramic
• Wood
• Paper
• Rope
• Styrofoam
• String, yarn or thread
• Fabric
• Pewter or other metal

Where to Find Child Loss Ornaments

The best selection of child loss holiday ornaments can be found online. While you may find a few at a religious store or specialty gift shop, you will find a larger variety on the Internet. Many of these ornaments can be purchased year-round as well:

• Find Gift has a Framed Baby Memorial Ornament for $34.95. This keepsake is to memorialize a baby lost through miscarriage or infant death. Its matted and shadow-boxed frame reads, "Carried to Heaven on Angel's Wings."
• My Forever Child offers a stunning pewter Stunning Memories Ornament with the following inscribed poem: "Gone yet not forgotten, although we are apart, our memories live within me, forever in my heart."
• Catholic Supply sells a Teardrop Memorial Ornament, which features a rose inside of teardrop. This pewter ornament cost $14.95.
• Remembering Our Babies has a remarkable child loss ornament made from stained glass. The image is of a baby sleeping and comes in two sizes -- small and large.
• Missing Grace offers a personalized round glass ornament that can be inscribed with your deceased child's name. Ornament hangers are also sold. The ornament comes with or without a stylized ceramic bow. Delivery time on this item is about three weeks.

A Final Thought

More times than not, a parent -- usually the mother -- will want to purchase the deceased child's holiday ornament, especially the first one after he or she died. If you are thinking of purchasing one for a family member or friend, make sure they will be OK with that since it is something so personal and special, and usually they are. The holidays can be a very trying time of year for grieving families, and any remembrance of their deceased child will be very much appreciated.