Lucy Ellefson

My name is Lucy Ellefson, I am married into a family with a beautiful tradition: crafting and creating beautiful Christmas spiders. My husband’s mother was a wonderfully creative artist—one of those souls who always had a project going, always making something with her hands. After she passed, I picked up her supplies and began making the spiders myself, partly to feel close to her and partly to keep her legacy alive.

What started as a way to honor her memory has grown into something I deeply love. Each spider I make feels like a little piece of her creativity moving forward into the world, and sharing this tradition lets her spirit keep shining—one bead, one wire, one story at a time.

The Legend of the Christmas Spider:

The Christmas Spider is a cherished folktale from Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and Germany. According to the legend, a poor widow and her children had a small tree growing in their home, but they had no money to decorate it. On Christmas Eve, while the family slept, the house spiders scurried across the branches, spinning delicate webs. When the sun rose, the morning light flooded the room—and the webs transformed into shimmering strands of silver and gold.

This magical moment, a reminder that beauty can come from the unexpected, is said to be the origin of tinsel. Today, many people place a spider ornament on their Christmas tree as a symbol of good luck, creativity, and finding wonder in even the smallest things.

I make Christmas spiders to honor my mother-in-law, to share her love of crafting these beautiful artistic pieces, and to keep this enchanting legend alive—bringing a little sparkle and story to every tree they land on.

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