Handbell Gifts

Buy a special handbell gift for the handbell ringer in your life.

Handbell ringers have a culture all their own, and they share special accessories and knowledge that help them ring with precision. They also have symbols within their handbell-ringing culture that carry special connotations for the music that they love. Give a special handbell gift for the handbell ringer in your life, and let them know you understand their love for handbell music.

Bells

Bell gifts are an obvious symbol for handbell ringers, and the gift you give can be an actual handbell or an ornamental bell. Check with the person to whom you would like to give a handbell before buying it, because he may need a bell of a specific pitch and size. Ornamental bells come in many different materials such as metal, glass, crystal or enamel. They may be embellished with wire or have other decorative features.

Jewelry

Earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings with bell-ringing motifs are other gifts that you can give to your bell ringer. You can also find tie tacks, charms, lapel pins and miniature collectibles that can relate to bell ringing.

Recordings and Sheet Music

Handbell recordings and sheet music are a useful way to learn a handbell part, or they can just provide hours of enjoyable listening and practice. Ask your handbell ringer if she would prefer a specific handbell piece and part, or recording, as a gift before you buy a handbell CD or MP3 for her.

Ringing Accessories

Make handbell ringing more convenient for your musician by giving ringing accessories. A standalone binder holds sheet music in place and, combined with mini page clips, makes it easier to turn the pages. Binder insert sheets place information on playing techniques, musical notation and stretching all within a ringer's easy reach. Special handbell LED lights are useful gifts, as they curve over the sheet music and provide a focused beam in low-light environments. Colored pencils that can mark sheet-music parts are also useful gifts. Polishing cloths and creams help a ringer to take good care of his instruments.

Ringing Novelties

T-shirts, sweatshirts, performance shirts, ties, appliques and patches, pencils, decals and stickers, buttons, rubber stamps, tote bags, keychains, Christmas-tree ornaments, cups, bookmarks, cookie cutters, cards and stationery are all available as novelty gift items that can be customized with handbell ringing messages and symbols.

References

• "The Handbell Choir"; Doris Watson; 2009

Resources

• Handbell World: Gifts and Novelties
• Handbell Services, Inc.: Jewelry
• Gold Coast Music Company: Bells