Buying mushroom Christmas ornaments at The Christmas Shop
A mushroom Christmas ornament is a tree hanger or clip ornament shaped like a mushroom, usually the well-known fly agaric with its red cap and white spots. Most are made from mouth-blown glass or polyester. The Christmas Shop carries more than twenty different mushrooms, mainly from Inge Glas Manufaktur in Germany and Decoris in the Netherlands. Some hang freely from a loop, others clip upright onto a branch with a metal clamp, so you choose whether the mushroom moves with the tree or stays put as a fixed accent.
Mouth-blown mushrooms from Inge Glas
The finest mushrooms come from Inge Glas Manufaktur, a German glassblowing workshop in Neustadt bei Coburg that has been in the Müller-Blech family since 1596. Each glass ornament is still mouth-blown into a wooden mould and then painted by hand. You can see the craftsmanship in the details: the spots on the cap aren't machine-spaced, and no two mushrooms look exactly alike. The full Inge Glas collection also includes other classics in glass, from birds to Christmas bells.
Mushroom ornaments on clip
Many of the mushrooms at The Christmas Shop have a metal clip on the bottom rather than a loop. You attach this kind of ornament directly to a branch, letting the mushroom stand upright as it would on the forest floor. This works particularly well at the outer edge of the tree, at eye level, where the mushroom remains clearly visible. Combine clip-on mushrooms with other natural animal ornaments like squirrels and birds to complete the woodland look.
The fly agaric: red with white spots
Most mushroom Christmas ornaments depict the fly agaric, the mushroom you recognise from fairytales and children's books. It's no coincidence that this particular mushroom appears so often at Christmas: across large parts of Northern Europe, and especially in Germany, the fly agaric has been considered a symbol of luck and good fortune for the coming year for centuries. On old New Year's cards it stands alongside the chimney sweep and the four-leaf clover. The red-and-white palette also blends effortlessly with classic Christmas colours, which is why you'll find it in so many Christmas collections. Beyond the Christmas tree, the fly agaric works just as well in an autumn arrangement, so you can enjoy it well before December and well after New Year. For more inspiration, the broader Christmas ornaments collection is a good next step.
