BROOKFIELD, Wis. — You can often learn a lot about someone by taking a look at their Christmas tree.
Many people have ornaments given to them at different points in their lives, reflecting milestone events or their interests and hobbies at certain points in life. Sometimes, these ornaments are even personalized.
If one is hanging on your tree, there is a chance a Wisconsin company had a hand in creating it.
Brookfield-based Callisters Christmas has been selling personalized ornaments since 1991. A team of “ornament personalizers” work throughout the holiday season to write personal messages onto ornaments they sell.
Megan Donart has been an ornament personalizer for the past six years. In that time, she has seen just about every family milestone marked through decorations.
From happy moments like celebrating a new baby or first anniversary, to harder moments like remembering a family member who has passed away, Donart said she has seen it all.
While Donart may never meet most of the people she writes ornaments for, she knows her work has a long-lasting impact.
“It is really cool, sometimes a little bit of pressure,” said Donart. “Sometimes I am like, ‘Wow! They are going to have that for 30 or 40 years or something.’ Really cool to think about.”
As she personalized a gymnastics-themed ornament for a girl named Cleo, Donart said it is interesting to see the different interests and stages in life people are in when buying ornaments.
Donart said it takes some work to get good at writing clearly on small ornaments.
“It takes some settling into. There is a specific way to write on each ornament, so it takes practice, but it is fun practice,” said Donart.
Callisters sells ornaments at their brick and mortar store in Brookfield, Wis., as well as nationwide via their website. Tammy Crouch helps procure the different ornaments they sell. She said the variety of ornaments produced has exploded since the company first began over 30 years ago.
“There are over 6,000 ornaments and 30 different vendors that we are getting them from. It is really work for our elves to go out and find the new trends,” said Crouch.
Crouch said TikTok-related ornaments and ornaments from the children’s TV show “Bluey” have proven especially popular this year.
As for Donart, no matter what the ornament, she said she is glad she gets to play a small role in families’ holiday traditions.
“I think being involved in the joy in the process of getting people gifts, keeping them happy, and every year knowing they can look back on their ornaments and remember what they did that year is really special,” said Donart.