Old World Christmas launches monthlong reveal countdown for new ornaments
Old World Christmas kicked off a July 1 reveal countdown for nearly 200 new ornaments, turning Christmas in July into a monthlong hunt for collectible keepsakes.
Old World Christmas turned Christmas in July into a monthlong launch on July 1, starting a 14-day Reveal Countdown that previews nearly 200 new ornament designs for 2026. The rollout runs across Instagram, Facebook and the Yule Blog, with weekly giveaway drawings continuing through July 31 and each contest closing Sundays at 10 p.m. PT.
That cadence matters because Old World Christmas has spent decades selling ornaments as memory objects, not just seasonal filler. Tim and Beth Merck founded the brand in 1979 after reintroducing figurative mouth-blown glass ornaments to the United States, and the company now says it has more than 1,400 proprietary designs. Its figurative pieces are still made with 1800s-era techniques: molten glass is mouth-blown into carved molds, liquid silver is poured inside, then each ornament is hand-painted and glittered. For anyone who gives Christmas décor as a gift, that is the appeal in one sentence, heirloom feel with enough personality to read as a keepsake.
The smartest part of this year’s rollout is the way it leans into fandom. On May 27, Old World Christmas announced 2026 licensing partnerships tied to Elvis Presley, Def Leppard, the Bee Gees, KISS, an expanded General Mills line and Penguin Young Readers properties including The Little Engine That Could. President and CEO Neal Applefeld called the lineup "a celebration of legends" and said the brand mission is about "putting memories on the tree." That is exactly where ornament buying has been headed: away from generic snowflakes and toward pieces that cue a person, a song, a childhood book, or a brand memory that already lives in the gift recipient’s head.
The July reveals also give retailers something useful this far ahead of peak holiday shopping, a drip-fed calendar that keeps newness alive instead of dumping it all at once. Old World Christmas says its 2026 Christmas in July campaign is meant to spotlight the full collection with weekly surprises, and the brand’s own messaging frames the month as an official launch window for its latest releases. For gift buyers, the message is simpler: the ornaments most likely to get a reaction this year are the ones that feel specific, collectible and a little nostalgic.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
