Felt Ornaments: A Styling and Gifting Guide to the Felt Friends
Oct 22, 2026
Felt Ornaments: A Styling and Gifting Guide to the Felt Friends
Felt ornaments work best when you treat them as part of a scene: a mouse tucked into a pine bough, a cat curled on a mantel garland, a small felt house beside a candle. They're soft, light and a little bit shy, which makes them a gentle counterweight to glass and ceramic. This guide covers how Indaba's Felt Friends sit in a home, where to place them, how to use the kraft name tags, and how to give them as gifts.
- Why felt ornaments sit differently from glass and ceramic
- Meet the Felt Friends
- Styling felt Christmas ornaments around the home
- Using the kraft name tags
- Building a small collection over time
- Gifting felt ornaments
- Caring for felt ornaments
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Felt Ornaments Sit Differently From Glass and Ceramic
A glass ball hangs. It swings from its hook, catches the light, and pulls its branch downward with a small, steady tug. A felt ornament behaves differently. Its surface is textured, so it grips the needles around it, and its lightness means the branch barely bends. The ornament settles into the tree instead of dangling from it.
That quality changes where you can put them. Felt has no hard edge and no ring when it touches another ornament, so you can nestle it against glass without worrying about chips. It also absorbs light rather than bouncing it back. Next to a shiny bauble, a felted mouse looks calm and matte, and the contrast makes both pieces look better.
Then there's the touch. Most holiday decorations are made to be looked at. These are made to be picked up, turned over and held by a child, or by you while you decide where it belongs. People rarely do that with a glass ornament more than once.
Meet the Felt Friends
The felt mouse ornaments are the heart of the range, and each mouse has its own name, outfit and personality, from Comfortable Cooper and Hip Harry to Nellie and To The Nines Nelson. One might be dressed for a winter walk, another for baking. A kraft paper name tag finishes every one, so you know who you're hanging before you hang them.
The wider Felt Friends family includes felt cats, a fox face and felt houses. A felt cat ornament brings a different shape to the tree, longer and more still than a mouse, and the fox adds a bit of russet colour among the greens. The houses give you a sense of scale, as if the mice have somewhere to live. Together they read as a small village rather than a set of identical decorations.
The mice are made from a blend of 70% polyester and 30% wool felt, and they're spot clean only. You can see the full range of handmade Christmas ornaments alongside them. They've become one of our best-selling holiday lines, and at roughly $15 to $18 CAD each, they're easy to add a few at a time. Indaba is a women-owned, multi-generational family business on Vancouver Island, and we've worked directly with artisans in India for 30 years. These are handcrafted pieces, and you can see it in the stitching and the small differences from one mouse to the next.
Styling Felt Christmas Ornaments Around the Home
Felt Christmas ornaments suit almost every surface in a house at holiday time. The trick is to place them where you'll pass close enough to notice the details.
On the Tree
Hang the mice at the ends of branches, where they can sit on the needles, and a few deeper in where they'll peek out. Keep a handful at child height. A row of mouse ornaments at eye level for a four-year-old turns the tree into something to be explored.
Mix them with your glass. Place a felt cat beside a mercury-glass bauble and the tree looks layered instead of uniform. Fashionable Frankie and Glamorous Gloria are the dressed-up ones, and they hold their own next to anything shiny. If your tree already feels full, replace a few of the shinier pieces rather than adding to the pile.
On the Mantel
Tuck felt ornaments into a garland of cedar or eucalyptus, spaced unevenly, with a house or two closer to the candlesticks. The mantel is where the felt houses make the most sense, since they can sit among greenery like cottages in a snowy field. A fox face leaning against a stack of books gives the arrangement a bit of mischief. For more ideas on layering a seasonal display, see our Christmas decor collections.
On a Shelf
Bookshelves are underrated for holiday styling. Slide a mouse between two spines, or hang one from a shelf edge with a loop of ribbon. A felt cat looks at home next to a framed photo or a small bowl of clementines. Winter White Wendy is a good one for a tonal shelf, since her white outfit sits quietly against wood. Because the ornaments are so light, they don't need much to hold them in place.
On a Wreath
Tie two or three mice onto a wreath with thin twine or velvet ribbon, clustered off-centre rather than evenly spaced. A felt ornament on a front door wreath will do best under a porch or in a sheltered spot, since damp is not kind to felt.
At the Table
Lay a mouse across a napkin or perch one on the rim of a bread plate at each setting. The ornament doubles as a small favour that guests take home. A cat at the head of the table, or a fox at the end, is a good way to give the table a bit of personality without adding more clutter to the centre.
Using the Kraft Name Tags
Each ornament comes with a kraft paper name tag, and that tag is more useful than it first appears. Left attached, it tells you who the mouse is. Used as a place card, it does double duty at the table: write a guest's name on the back, or turn the tag over and write beneath the printed name.
For gifting, the tag works as a ready-made label. Tie a mouse to a wrapped parcel with the tag facing out, and add a short line on the reverse. Kraft takes ink well, so a fine-tipped pen in black or deep green looks tidy against the brown paper. If you're giving several ornaments to one family, let each person choose the mouse whose name or outfit suits them.
Building a Small Collection Over Time
Most people don't buy a full set of anything in the first year. Start with two or three mice that you like on sight, then add a cat or the fox the following season. The houses tend to come last, once you've decided you want a little village.
A collection built this way looks collected rather than bought. Each ornament carries a bit of the year it arrived, and you'll find yourself saying "this one came the winter we moved" while you hang it. Keep the kraft tags if you like them. A small envelope or box with the tags tucked inside makes a handy record of who joined the family and when.
Gifting Felt Ornaments
Because each mouse has a name and a personality, a felt ornament feels chosen rather than grabbed. The price range suits small gifts, and the packaging is already half done thanks to the kraft tag.
| Occasion | What to give | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Hostess gift | One mouse tied to a bottle or tea tin | Small, personal, and lasts longer than the flowers |
| Teacher gift | A mouse with a handwritten note on the tag | Light enough to carry in a backpack, with a name that suits the classroom |
| Keepsake | A mouse, cat or house dated on the back of the tag | Gives a family a new ornament each year to build on |
For a new baby or a first Christmas in a new home, a felt house makes a quiet, thoughtful choice. Merrymaker Miles and Fairytale Fiona are the two we reach for most often as gifts. For a child, let them pick the mouse whose outfit they like best. They'll remember choosing it long after they've forgotten what else was under the tree.
Caring for Felt Ornaments
Felt ornaments need very little, but a few habits help them last. Spot clean with a barely damp cloth and let the area air dry. Don't submerge them or put them through a wash, since the blend of polyester and wool felt can lose its shape.
At the end of the season, store them flat in a box with a layer of tissue between them. Squashing them into a corner of a bin flattens the shapes, and the tiny details on the outfits will wear. Keep the box somewhere dry, away from basements and garages where damp collects. A cedar block or a sachet of lavender in the box is a nice touch, if you have one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the felt mouse ornaments made from?
The felt mice are made from 70% polyester and 30% wool felt. Each one is finished with a kraft paper name tag. They are handcrafted by artisans in India, which is why small differences between pieces are normal.
Can I wash felt ornaments?
No, they're spot clean only. Dab any mark with a slightly damp cloth, then let the felt dry in open air. Avoid soaking them or putting them in a machine.
How much do the felt mice cost?
The felt mouse ornaments are generally priced between $15 and $18 CAD. That makes them a comfortable size of gift for a hostess or teacher. It also makes it easy to build a collection one or two at a time.
Do the felt ornaments only come as mice?
Mice are the best-known part of the range, but it also includes felt cats, a fox face and felt houses. Each mouse has its own name and outfit, so no two feel the same. Cats and the fox pair well with the mice on a tree or mantel.
How do I store felt ornaments after the holidays?
Lay them flat in a box with tissue between layers and keep the box somewhere dry. Avoid damp spaces such as basements or garages. Stored this way, the felt keeps its shape from one season to the next.
