What is a Christmas pickle ornament signify?
That is what I was wondering the other day at the Dollar tree when I spied a Christmas pickle ornament.
I saw a Pickle ornament and thought to myself “huh that’s odd” pickles must be popular this year HA!
I just went about my shopping never giving it another thought.
That was until I was on pinterest and I saw this pickle on a frame and thought, OK what is the deal with the pickle?
One of my pinterest followers filled me in a bit after I pinned this picture,.
I decided to further investigate the pickle.
Apparently this here ole pickle has some significant meaning.
The Christmas pickle is not an actual pickle, but a pickle-shaped Christmas ornament that is hidden on a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, all of the children in the house take turns looking for the pickle ornament and the child who finds the Christmas pickle receives an extra present for his or her hard work.
Although it is commonly stated that the Christmas pickle tradition began in Germany, facts don’t support this theory.
Additionally, many Germans say they have never heard of this custom.
None the less,
You can add whimsy and cheer to your holiday traditions by adding a Christmas pickle to your holiday tree.The tradition encourages children to take time to appreciate all of the beautiful ornaments on the Christmas tree. Instead of simply rushing to open their presents, they spend time talking about the unique history of all the holiday decorations.
This printable is for an 8 x 10 frame
I made this printable just in case you want to add a little whimsy to the holiday for the kids. My husband actually came up with the poem. He’s pretty clever with his words.
Off to the dollar tree to pick up that pickle ornament and start a new tradition!
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They have some cute ones there.
Did you know about the pickle?
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I have seen pickle ornaments but had no idea what they signified. Love the printable! I have a trip to Dollar Tree on my list for this weekend. Hope inspiration strikes while I’m in there!
Don’t forget your pickle lol!
Thanks for sharing this Debbie! I was at Marshall’s on Monday and of course, there were pickle ornaments in the Christmas display. My though was “what is up with pickle ornaments”? Now I know!
I have heard of the Christmas Pickle. We had one when I was a child, but we never searched for it (but I did know you were supposed to). Mine recently broke so I have to by a new one. :/
This is such a sweet idea and fun tradition! Hugs
I have an Old World Pickle and didn’t know the story till I found it years ago in a Christmas shop
Now I always hang it and so does some of my friends for the Grandchildren to find
I love the old German story
We have had a pickle on our tree for years! I thought it was a fun tradition!
What a cute tradition! I’ve never heard of this, but now I’ll be out pickle hunting! 🙂
The pickle has been around us here in Pa. for many years. I even think there is a town that uses the pickle to celebrate the New Year Eve festival
I need tradition or old one it’s kind of cute.
My grandchildren have been looking for the pickle on our tree for the past 15 years. It’s the first thing they do when they come Christmas morning. The older ones can not tell the little ones where it is, eventually they all find it ( with a little help from Grandpa)
We have a Christmas pickle, and my grandfather was German, so maybe so! 😀 I think they”re fun.
We have had a pickle on our tree for years is been tradition on my house for us it is so fun looking for the
pickle.
Blessing
Isora
XOX
Debbie I have several beautiful pickle ornaments. They were all given to me by Audrey that we are staying with and she is German. It is a huge tradition in her family. Go figure???
Cynthia
They have been around for years Debbie, and I never understood them. I remember my Mom received one as a gift one year (from one of her students) and we hardly new how to respond. It was the strangest gift ever. LOL
I’ve hung the pickle ornament on our tree for many years….wish Dollar Tree was around when I bought mine!
Well, that is kind of a cute idea!
It is a cute tradition and yes, we have a pickle ornament!!!
We have one too-just love it.
I did know about the pickle. And I do hide one. But give consolation gifts to the kids that don’t. Thank You Again Lisa
I have done this for years with my children and now with my grandchildren!
We have one and it was a lot more than a dollar!! We got it after my kids were too old to get into the tradition but I still like the idea of it!
We actually have a pickle ornament! Some years ago, I was picking out individual ornaments for the boys and my middle son love anything spicy…so I assumed it was a jalapeno and bought it for him. A couple of years later I learned about the significance of the pickle ornament…although to us, it’ll always be a jalapeno:)
My friends have had a pickle ornament for years, and when my son was younger, he used to love to try to find it. I didn’t realize it was a well-known tradition..until this post, I just thought it was their own “exclusive” tradition!
How fun! I love pickles… and this is just too cute. I have a friend from back home that had a pickle ornament, but I never knew there was anything associated with it.
This has been one of our very favorite traditions for at least the past 15 yrs! Even now, even with our kids being grown, the mystery of finding that thing still adds that extra excitement. We do ours a little differently though. On Christmas Eve, throughout the day and early evening, I move the pickle to a different spot at least a dozen times because our kids are, and always have been, the sneakiest bunch around! After dinner, we gather around the tree and each of the kids get 30 seconds to hunt for the pickle. This hunt lasted almost an hour last year, but the uncontrollable laughter during the hunt was worth it! We always open 1 gift on Christmas Eve, leaving the others for Christmas morning, but the finder of the pickle gets to open 2. Hmmm….this is making me want to put my tree up!
Very cute tradition! I never heard of it…thanks for sharing it with us:)
I am totally sending this printable to my mom! Since she is the pickle aficionado in our family. (And I swear they made the damn thing green so it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find!)
I had to laugh when I saw this blog- my friend and I were shopping yesterday and I said the exact same thing- what’s up with the pickle ornaments and pickles at Christmas??? I’ve always seen them but never really thought about it until this year! Thanks for the answer!
We used to do the pickle tradition when our kids were little. I need to look for that darn pickle and start it again! Love the poem, by the way!!!~~Angela
Oh my gosh! I used to have a pickle ornament but now that I read this, I realize I haven’t seen it in a few years. I bet I left it on an old tree and gave it away. I guess I hid it too well! I’ll have to find a new one. Thanks for sharing, Debbie.
We have done this for years. When our children were children, it was a contest between them and they always had a blast finding the pickle. Then along came spouses and children and that was even more fun as the competition became more fierce! Now we have grandchildren and I have the adult children and spouses hunt and receive a gift after the grandchildren hunt and win the gift. Last year, the youngest grandchild won and it was hilarious. Because of the age difference, the older children agreed that she could have a head start of 10 seconds……..she came running into the room, crawled UNDER the tree and spotted it before the others could even get over to the tree. We had to give her kudos for that extra creative thinking strategy at 5 years old!
That is so funny Joyce! Thanks for sharing your pickle tradition with us!
My mom’s parents came from Germany. There has always been a pickle on their tree. Also ours while at home and now in each of our homes.
That is so neat!
Well now Debbie….I learned something new today…I just ask hubby about the pickle and he did not know about it either…I will be looking for a pickle at my dollar tree!!! Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas! enjoy, I hope you find one.
Hi Debbie,
I have had a pickle ornament for a few years. I hide it on the tree even though I don’t have any small children. I do it just because…….