Christmas Wine Glasses

Christmas only comes once a year, so break out the special Christmas wine glasses you've been storing all year. If you don't have any, here a few places where you can get your hands on the perfect holiday stemware that will look beautiful on your holiday dinner table.

The varieties of wine glasses available that are Christmas themed are vast and range from the whimsical to the very fancy.

• Painted wine glasses – These glasses are clear and have various Christmas themed paintings that adorn them such as Christmas trees, holly leaves, candy canes and snowmen.
• Colored wine glasses – Colored wine glasses are offered in either less expensive colored glass or more expensive crystal.
• Etched wine glasses – These glasses have etchings around the globe of the glass.
• Stemless wine glasses – Stemless Christmas themed wine glasses come in deep, rich holiday reds and greens.

Here are a few places to begin your search for your holiday wine glasses.

• Painted wine glasses
  • Bed Bath & Beyond – This mega store offers the "Winterberry" collection from Pflatzgraff.
  • Pfaltzgraff – Check out the "Holiday Cheer" and "Garland Spruce" collections.
  • Spode – Spode offers their beautifully hand painted "Christmas Tree" wine glasses.
  • Artful Jones – Show off these beautifully painted "Christmas Poinsettia" wine glasses at your next holiday gathering.

• Colored wine glasses
  • Christmas People – What better place to get your Christmas themed wine glasses than from the "Christmas People." Check out their collection of "Ruby Red" wine glasses.
  • Home and Garden Art – The "Lolita" wine set includes wine glasses that are frosty white and decorated with candy canes.
  • Amazon – The "Artland Midnight Rouge" wine set features beautiful jewel toned wine glasses.

• Etched wine glasses
  • Horchow – The "Twelve Days of Christmas" flutes are beautifully etched Waterford crystal.
  • Christmas People – The same company that offers the painted "Christmas Poinsettia" glasses also offer the same design in an etched glass version.

• Stemless wine glasses
  • Lenox – Offered in both a deep ruby red and rich, jewel-toned emerald green, Lenox allows you to mix and match your stemless wine glasses in the traditional Christmas colors.
  • Wine Enthusiast - The Wine Enthusiast offers a "Holly Leaf" etched stemless wine glass in both Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon glasses.

Slideshow:Types of Wine Glasses

If you have been seeking out the perfect holiday wine glasses, but haven't found anything that has caught your eye, consider purchasing a set of plain wine glasses and getting them etched with your monogram. Wine Enthusiast, Red Envelope and Riedel are among the many companies that offer monogrammed wine glasses. These wine glasses are beautiful, elegant and offer the perfect finishing touch to your stylish holiday place settings.

Even if your holiday wine glasses claim that they are dishwasher safe, you should not put them in the dishwasher. The water in the dishwasher may be too hot for delicate wine glasses, causing them to crack or break and over time, dishwashers will scratch the surface of glassware and mar your beautiful holiday glasses. Instead, opt for washing your glasses by hand in warm, not hot, water and storing them away after the holiday season is over.

There aren't any rules to choosing holiday stemware -- rules only apply to caring for them. There is nothing that says you can't serve your expensive wine in cheap wine glasses from your local "big box" store or your cheap wine in expensive glasses by Riedel. It really doesn't matter because during the holidays it isn't about the wine. The holidays are, of course, about spending time with friends, family and love ones. So relax if your wine holiday glasses don't match or if you bought them at the dollar store... just pour the wine and enjoy!

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