I’ve never decorated my very own Christmas tree before. So it was super darn special for me to go and pick out a tree and all the ornaments and garlands this year. I obviously chose a 7 1/2 foot tall tree. Why obvious? Because my husband is a whopping 6’6″ and I wanted the tree to be taller than him. LOL. Because I plan very far ahead in most things in life, I already had a collection of ornaments. Seriously haha, I’d been keeping these ornaments for years that and was waiting to use them on my own tree.

The only thing I didn’t have yet were garlands because honestly, those super fluffy, plastic garlands just aren’t my favorite. I went onto Ten Thousand Villages website to see if they had any artisan garlands. Sure enough, I found the perfect one. These gold star garlands are handcrafted by women in Bangladesh, and the length of these garlands varies from 13 to 14 feet. Three garlands were enough to decorate my Christmas tree completely.

The official makers are called Prokriti. Prokritee (meaning “nature” in Bengali) manages several handicraft enterprises and helps other groups sell their products in local and foreign markets. Prokritee and its enterprises provide jobs for poor rural women. By providing jobs for women, Prokritee improves women’s standard of living and helps them send their children to school. The organization offers skills development training to artisans. Prokritee creates and promotes income-generating projects that benefit the artisans, adhere to proper safety and environmental standards, and have the potential to become self–reliant. Prokritee was established in 2001 as an independent organization. Ten Thousand Villages has purchased products from Prokritee and its predecessor MCC Bangladesh since 1986.

It’s a purchase that gives back to creators, and having those garlands on my tree makes me think of them every time I look at my tree. I absolutely love these garlands y’all. One of my best friends lives abroad, and she was in town, so I invited her and her husband to come over for cookies, mulled wine, and decorating our tree. It’s a memory I’ll never forget, and I’m so thankful that we were able to do that.

Have you decorated your tree up for Christmas? If you are looking for unique and special Christmas ornaments for your Christmas tree, check out Ten Thousand Villages for all your Christmas decor! PS: Their nativity sets are fantastic.

Cheers,