LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — With less than five months until Christmas, it’s never too early to start thinking about the holidays.
John Coonney of East Hempfield Township takes that expression to heart. For more than 50 years, he’s been making Christmas ornaments for his family and close friends.
“I make Christmas decorations, or balls, out of Styrofoam,” Coonney told FOX43.
Coonney’s passion for crafting began after visiting several holiday craft shows.
He described how he was inspired after seeing other crafters use common materials to make art.
“I passed one exhibit one year, and a guy had about six tables of these Christmas balls, and I thought well ‘I could do that, they’d be nice gifts for my family,'" Coonney said.
Coonney has purchased the same materials for decades. They include Styrofoam balls, needles, beads, glue, and fabric to make the hooks. After years of crafting, he’s developed his own process to work as efficiently as possible.
“There’s a pin, there’s a bead, I use a sequence, and push the pin in Styrofoam,” Coonney explained.
The process takes hours, so Coonney must pace himself.
He spends upwards of three hours a day assembling one ornament.
While this may seem like a long time, Coonney enjoys the work and considers it a labor of love.
“It’s just my own satisfaction overall," said Coonney. "I make them for a few friends and I send them out at my own expense and of course I have to make one for me too,” Coonney said.
He’s already made a few hundred ornaments.
Coonney prefers to deliver the gifts in-person but will mail them if the recipient lives out of state. Even with his stockpile, Coonney has no plans to sell his crafts because he doesn’t want his reason for crafting to change. He describes the hobby as tranquil and an opportunity to occupy his time.
“It keeps your mind working, it keeps your mind active because I have to be active, I just can’t sit around my nerves won’t let me just sit around," he said.
However, Coonney told FOX43 he needs to remember his true age. Recently, he’s had to slow his work pace due to pain in his hands. But he says this won’t deter his holiday spirit.
“I’m a kid at heart, I look forward to it all year, I really do," he said.