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Artist's hurricane relief ornaments bring hope to NC families this Christmas
Teresa Thibault has been selling handmade ornaments at the Southern Christmas Show for 32 years. Now she’s helping Helene victims through the holiday season.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For those who love Christmas, the Southern Christmas Show is holiday season central.
It’s a place to find the perfect gift, support small businesses and make treasured memories. If you’re not sure where to start, Teresa Thibault’s ornament stand is where you can do all three — and put it on your tree.
“I have about everything you can think of,” Thibault, the owner and artist behind Heart Gifts by Teresa, Inc., said.
She has been making and selling her own Christmas ornaments at the Southern Christmas Show for more than three decades.
“Heard about the show and called and asked if I could be in it,” the Ohio native said. “I had no idea how big it was. “She said ‘It takes years to get in here.’ I said, ‘Oh well, I’m sorry I bothered you.’ She called me back, they had a cancellation and I came in, in a tent like I am even still now, and that was 32 years ago.”
Her handmade bulbs preserve memories new and old, one signature at a time.
“I design them all myself,” Thibault said. “They’re all my designs and then I have beautiful, wonderful, talented people who help me paint them all.”
These special keepsakes are for moms, grandmas, doctors and military service members. For marking special occasions and remembering people who are no longer with us.
“These are my memorials,” Thibault said. “I sell a bunch of memorials because Christmas is so hard for people.”
Heart Gifts by Teresa, Inc. ornaments
With every ornament, there’s a story behind who it’s for or the memory it represents. And there is one special ornament this year with a story Thibault wants to make sure gets told.
“I don’t want to end this without talking about this ornament and I’m going to try not to cry,” she said while holding an ornament with “North Carolina Strong” painted on it.
It’s the story of many western North Carolinians this holiday season after Hurricane Helene.
“For a lot of us, this is a beautiful Christmas, and for other people, this is a very hard Christmas,” said Thibault. “They don’t have homes to put a tree in. So I started praying about it, trying to think of what I could do.”
A limited number of “North Carolina Strong” ornaments were made just for this year’s Southern Christmas Show. Thibault says the proceeds from sales will all go to Samaritan’s Purse to help with hurricane relief efforts.
“My heart is around my inspirational ornaments. That’s why I started. To celebrate the meaning of Christmas,” she said. “This is my most special ornament year.”
The last day of the Southern Christmas Show is this Sunday, Nov. 24. To plan your visit, see the official event website.
Contact Destiny Richards at drichards5@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.