CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) -- In the Southern Tier, the Corning Museum of Glass is already getting into the holiday spirit with a unique Christmas tree made of glass ornaments. It all started in 2008, with the museum's first holiday ornament tree, which had more than 600 handmade ornaments. 

"The first year, first couple of years, it was about eight feet shorter, and then we made it a little bit larger and now it's about as big as it can be," says Eric Meek, Hot Glass Programs Manager at the Corning Museum of Glass. "So I think it's going to stay at 14 feet high. It has over 2,000 ornaments on it."

Over the past few years, the tree had grown to 14 feet tall and was fully decorated with more than 2,000 ornaments. 

"Every year when we set up the tree, it takes about a day, but we have a team of six people working on it and we have lifts and everything and it's really an intense day to unpack all of them and to set them all up," shared Meek.

The ornament tree at the Corning Museum of Glass has become a holiday tradition in the Southern Tier.

"What I like about this ornament tree is that it could only be done here in Corning, and in fact we really set a precedent here. We see other places around the world that have made some ornament trees, but none as grand, as beautiful as this, and I really just hope it becomes part of people's holiday tradition. I have pictures of my kids here in front of the ornament tree for many years, and I hope a lot of other folks in the region do too," says Meek.

For families that are looking to stop by with young kids, there will be an open house at the Corning Museum of Glass from December 7 and 8th. It will offer visitors, especially young kids, time to experience the magic of the tree and the thousands of glass creations at the museum.