AUSTIN — In a state where political fights rarely take a holiday, one small tradition offers a respite, wrapped in gold, glitter and goodwill.

Hanging from the boughs of Christmas trees across Texas, annual ornaments featuring the Texas State Capitol capture the beauty of the season and the history of the state, without the bluster and bile that typically characterize life under the pink dome.

Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, has one on his tree for each year he’s served in the Legislature, where he was first sworn in a few weeks after Christmas in January 2005. Each season, he buys roughly 30 more to give away, a tradition he says transcends party labels.

“They are amazing. It’s the ideal Christmas gift,” he said, making his best holiday sales pitch. “A surefire way to please constituents and mothers-in-laws across the political spectrum.”

Nelda Laney, wife of then-House Speaker Pete Laney, launched the ornament tradition in 1996 with designs created by the Texas State Preservation Board, the steward of the Capitol and other historic state buildings.

Now, the board’s retail team spends at least two-thirds of the year overseeing the annual design, according to the Texas Capitol Gift Shop website. The board runs three shops: one in the underground Capitol extension, one in the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History and one in the Capitol Visitors’ Center on the south side of the grounds.

Over the years, the team has produced dozens of iconic ornaments, made of metal or granite, in flat relief or 3D, some lit up, some mobile. The final designs range from shiny metal locomotives to intricately designed granite miniatures of the entire building.

The 2025 design — a view of the Capitol as seen from Congress Avenue in downtown Austin — is a throwback to the inaugural “First Edition” design in 1996, if modernized a bit.

The ornament shows the Capitol’s entire south face, decorated with holiday wreaths and Yaupon Holly swags wrapped around its columns, the board’s description says. The six flags that have flown over Texas appear on the south pediment, with both the Texas and U.S. flags flying above the entrance. The 1889 Great Walk, paved in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, is flanked by a grand allée of trees, leading visitors inside.

Texas Capitol ornaments through the years

It’s one of dozens of designs that, over the years, have turned the Capitol ornament into a recognizable Lone Star collectible.

A wee statue of the Goddess of Liberty spinning inside golden rings covered in stars debuted in 2006. Three years later, it was black and gold, rectangular — the shape and feel of a tapestry — regarded as one of the more unique designs in the collection. Another from that era used a colorful disc depicting the six flags over Texas. The ornaments start at $25. The current design is fairly typical: Finished in 24-karat gold and 3.5 inches by 3.4 inches.

Older ornaments can be purchased in sets of miniatures. They are available online through the board. The money goes to the preservation board, a taxpayer-funded state agency that releases a new specialty Texas-themed ornament every year.

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The ornament release has become a ritual for many, from Capitol employees to repeat customers who buy the ornament every year as gifts.

“A lot of people will come in and buy six because they give one to each family member every year,” said Lisa Gentry, shop manager. “Sometimes they buy the year of their child’s birth. There’s a lot who have a Texas tree, which is only the Texas ornaments that they’ve shopped for in our stores.”

Lawmakers as designers

Rep. Jessica González, D-Dallas, has the entire miniature collection and several annual ornaments from her four terms in office. Her favorite ornaments, she said, are the ones lawmakers design each Christmas to reflect their home districts. Those hang on the Texas House Christmas tree each season and aren’t for sale.

This year, she had two designed by Jesse Acosta and Alejandra Zendejas, co-founders of Pasos for Oak Cliff, a Dallas nonprofit that provides sneakers and other support services to underserved students.

“It’s a small but meaningful way to showcase the flavor of our community… a reminder that every district has its own voice,” González said.

On the consumer side, on a random Thursday two weeks before Christmas, the Capitol gift shop — next door to the building’s popular Capitol Grill — sold more than 300 of the shiny 2025 Texas Capitol keepsakes.

That one design. In one day. In just that one shop.

“People really love them,” Gentry said the following day, as more than 100 flew off her shelves before noon. “Today it’s been nonstop.”

All the trimmings of the 2025 Texas Capitol ornament

• Design: South-facing view of the Capitol from Congress Avenue
• Finish: 24-karat gold
• Size: About 3.5 inches by 3.4 inches
• Price: Starts at $25

Where they’re sold

• Capitol gift shop (underground extension)
• Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History
• Capitol Visitors’ Center
• Online through the Preservation Board

Where the money goes

Proceeds support the Texas State Preservation Board, a taxpayer-funded agency that maintains the Capitol and other historic buildings.

The staff shake-up continues amid CFP preparation, as Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko is reportedly adding another to his staff.

Soon after the news that the Aggies were expecting to hire former Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams, Matt Zenitz of 247Sports reported that former Rutgers co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Zach Sparber would be added to the staff in some capacity. Sparber is very familiar with new Texas A&M DC Lyle Hemphill, having worked with him at JMU and Duke.

It is an interesting hire, as similar to Travis Williams, Sparber is also coming off a defensive staff that was let go after bottom-of-the-conference defensive performances. However, before joining the staff at Rutgers, he helped James Madison’s team rank 21st nationally in scoring defense as the linebackers coach. While his official role has not yet been announced, his experience with Hemphill should help with continuity heading into next season.

No. 7-seed Texas A&M hosts the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes (10-2) in a CFP first-round game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, at Kyle Field. The game can be viewed on ABC/ESPN.

The 10th-ranked Miami Hurricanes hit the road for College Station for a Saturday afternoon matchup against the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The game is scheduled for noon ET (11 a.m. CT) with tickets still available to watch live.

How to get Texas A&M vs. Miami tickets for the best prices: Tickets for the Texas A&M vs. Miami playoff game are available on secondary markets Vivid Seats, StubHub, SeatGeek and Viagogo.

The lowest prices are as follows (as of Dec. 15):

• Vivid Seats starting at $375
• StubHub starting at $388
• SeatGeek starting at $315
• Viagogo starting at $345

The Aggies own the homefield advantage and are listed as 3.5-point betting favorites to play their way into the second round. Texas A&M won its first 11 straight games of the 2025 season before falling to rival No. 16 Texas (27-17) in its regular-season finale. The Aggies were battle-tested in going 7-1 in a Southeastern Conference that put five teams into the College Football Playoff field. They also join Miami as teams to beat Notre Dame this season, winning a 41-40 shootout back in Week 3.

#10 Miami (10-2) at #7 Texas A&M (11-1)

College Football Playoff 1st round

• When: Saturday, Dec. 20 at noon ET (11 a.m. CT)
• Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
• Tickets: Vivid Seats | StubHub | SeatGeek | Viagogo
• TV channel: ABC/ESPN
• Streaming on: FuboTV (free trial) | DirecTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate)

The Hurricanes’ 27-24 win over then-No. 6 Notre Dame was the best line entry on the team’s résumé as the third-place finisher in the messy Atlantic Coast Conference. Miami rattled off four straight wins to close the season and showed the kind of explosive scoring offense required to stack up with Texas A&M, scoring 34-plus points in each of those four wins. The Canes closed the season with a 38-7 blowout win over then-No. 23 Pitt to strengthen their CFP case.