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Carol McGahey
has been hand
crafting ornaments
since she was a
young girl in the 3rd
grade. Now a mother
to three children and
a grandmother of two,
she continues to make
ornaments throughout the entire year, most
of which she gifts to others. She recalled that
while living in Louisiana as a child, a friend of
her mother’s introduced her to crafting and
ornament making. The rest, as they say, is
history. She has enjoyed making ornaments
and sharing them with others since she was
eight years old.
Carol expressed, “My favorite part is seeing
the joy that it gives people.”
For years, Carol has made handcrafted ball
ornaments for friends, family, customers, and
colleagues. Beginning with a simple round
Styrofoam ball, she creates a one of a kind
ornament in various styles and colors. The
typical size she makes uses approximately
200 pins, sequins, pearls, or beads and ribbon
and takes about 2-3 hours to complete. Carol
said she doesn’t have a certain style in mind
for most ornaments. She just begins and sees
where it goes. She admits, “It is therapeutic for
me.” Laughing as she remembered just how
therapeutic it can be, she recalled that once
boredom set in at the beginning of the
coronavirus pandemic, she sat down and
before she realized, had made 54 ornaments.
Being in a career of
conducting communication
for hospitals, she has met
people from near and far.
She has hand-crafted and
gifted ornaments to many
customers across the
country to make their
holidays a little more special. “Customers
will text me out of the blue when they get
their ornaments out–as they’re decorating for
Christmas–and text that they are thinking of
me,” she said.
Although she enjoys the traditional colors
for herself for the six Christmas trees she
places in her own home each season, she
handcrafts her ornaments to suit what others
like as well to match their home décor or
holiday style. Her favorite style to make is her
version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“They are so fun with their googly eyes,” she
said. And in the South, we cannot forget
about the football rivalries. She stated she gets
many requests for college team ornaments
with the most popular being Ole Miss,
Mississippi State University, and University
of Alabama. Carol once made an entire set
of Alabama ornaments to completely fill her
brother’s office Christmas tree.
Carol has since passed this tradition on to
her daughter, daughter-in-law, grandchildren,
nieces, friends, and a few co-workers. She truly
enjoys making each one and giving with it a
small piece of her heart. And she hopes that
her crafts can give someone a smile every
time they place it on their Christmas tree.
She said, “It truly is the gift that keeps giving.”
Hometown RANKIN • 31