The 32nd edition of an Elgin-themed Christmas ornament being sold this year by Shockey Jewelers will be its last, the Elgin store’s owner has announced.
Fittingly, perhaps, it features an image of the store itself, a downtown staple since 1977.
Peter Shockey said the timing felt right to wind down the series, which started in 1996 with an ornament depicting St. John’s Lutheran Church, the Elgin Watch Tower and the Old Main building. Over the years, they have celebrated iconic Elgin buildings, scenes from the city’s past, and historic events like the Song of Hiawatha Pageant and the Elgin Road Races.
Andrea Burzlaff, manager of Shockey Jewelers, and store owner Peter Shockey flank a display that exhibits the 32 Elgin-themed Christmas ornaments sold by the downtown Elgin business since 1996. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News)
For both the 2010 and 2011 holiday seasons, the store sold two ornaments — one featuring a building and the other an event.
The idea to sell a holiday ornament was inspired by something he, his wife Lisa and his late father Russell saw at a trade show in Chicago, and it led them to Massachusetts-based Hestia Creations, which has been designing and producing the collectible made from resin and marble dust for the last 29 years, Shockey said.
“We thought we would be one and done,” he said. “It wound up being so popular that we decided to continue it as a series, with each featuring a different building or event.”
The initial run for the first three ornaments was 1,000 each. With their success — particularly with the one from 1997 depicting the old lagoon skating rink at Lords Park — production was increased to 2,500.
“So many people have memories of skating at Lords Park. We could have sold 10,000 of that one,” Shockey said.
In fact, personal nostalgia has been a key selling point. Store manager Andrea Burzlaff said the 2005 ornament featuring the School District U-46 planetarium and observatory made many remember Donald Tuttle, who ran it from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s.
People who now live in the restored Tower Building, an art deco structure built in 1929 and converted into apartments in 2017, love the 2002 ornament that celebrated it, she said.
Many collectors have created displays with their ornaments that they keep up all year. The store has a backstock supply of most of the ornaments they’ve had made.
The first Elgin-themed Christmas ornament sold by Shockey Jewelers in 1996 depicted St. John’s Lutheran Church, the Elgin Clock Tower and the Old Main building. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News)
Ideas for what to feature have come from employees, customers and by looking through Elgin history books, like those written by late Elgin Mayor Mike Aft.
“Until he passed away (in 2018), my dad would draw the featured building and the company would use that for the design,” Shockey said.
He also provides Hestia with copies of old photos to use as prototypes for creating the ornaments, he said.
The price for the 2025 gift boxed ornament is $28.95. It can be purchased at the 18 Douglas Ave. store or by calling 847-742-0113.
All of the ornaments over the years can be viewed at shockeyjewelers.com/elgin-ornament.html.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/07/elgin-christmas-ornament-shockey-jewelers/