“First Christmas in heaven” puts the first difficult December into five words. The designs around it add a candle, snowflake, empty chair, name, or single year.
To date it or not
A first-Christmas-in-heaven design can carry the year of that first December. An undated “Christmas in heaven” or “celebrating in heaven” ornament belongs just as easily to the years after. Choose the dated version for that first season and the undated one when you want the same words to return.
The chair and the candle
An empty-chair design makes the absence at Christmas dinner visible. A candle design brings in the small light already used in many kinds of remembrance. If either detail belongs to your family’s Christmas, the ornament can echo something you already do.
Good to know
Questions people ask
Should it have the year on it?
Use the year when the ornament is specifically for the first Christmas. An undated version can return in later years without changing its wording.
What do people write besides the phrase?
The name, and sometimes one line: "saving us a seat" pairs with the chair designs, "always with us" works everywhere. The wording guide has a full group of these.
Is this a good sympathy gift?
It can be, if you know the phrase fits the family. When unsure, a cardinal or a plain name-and-dates design is the safer give.
When should I order for Christmas?
Personalized pieces are made to order. December 10 is the safe cutoff for standard shipping.
From the Ornamagic studio
From our studio
Our own memorial designs are made to order. You see the preview with the name and dates before anything is engraved.
Seasonal reminders
Three emails a year. That's the whole list.
September (order early), late October (personalization deadlines), late November (last shipping day). Plus 10% off your first ornament.