The Fifth Annual Balsam Hill Celebrities for Smiles Charity Auction launches today at www.celebritiesforsmiles.com. This year, the public can bid on more than 50 one-of-a-kind, celebrity-autographed, beautiful holiday ornaments on an Ebay auction at www.CelebritiesforSmiles.com. All proceeds and a $25,000 pledge from Balsam Hill will benefit Operation Smile, an international medical charity that offers free cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries to children and young adults all around the world.

Balsam Hill, the leading retailer of stunningly realistic artificial Christmas trees and timeless holiday décor has partnered with Operation Smile, to bring surgeries to children with cleft lip and cleft palate around the world. The auction runs through December 9. Over the past four years, this annual holiday auction has raised more than $200,000 – providing more than 800 smile surgeries for children around the world.

Each unique holiday ornament is autographed by celebrities from film, music, television, art, sports and fashion fame including Harrison Ford, Reba McEntire, Nathan Fillion, Kellan Lutz, Amy Grant, Yvonne Strahovski, Malcolm Jenkins, the band Old Dominion, Michael Douglas, Andy Cohen, Milo Ventimiglia and Tony Bennett. Fans can follow #CelebritiesforSmiles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to spot new ornaments and celebrity participants now through the end of the auction. Updates also will appear on facebook.com/BalsamHill and on Instagram @BalsamHill.

The delicate mouth-blown ornaments in gold with a sparkling white snow scene are approximately 4" in diameter. Each has been hand-signed by a celebrity.

“Celebrities for Smiles allows the public to give a life-changing gift – that of a smile to a child,” said Balsam Hill CEO Thomas Harman. “Owning one of these lovely ornaments is a wonderful annual reminder of the joy that you can not only give but receive during the holidays by helping others.”

“We are delighted to partner with Balsam Hill for the past five years because they are incredibly committed to helping give smiles to children around the world,” said Dr. Bill Magee, CEO and Co-Founder of Operation Smile. “It is truly transformative work and wouldn’t be possible without the support of companies like Balsam Hill. With the celebratory spirit of the holidays, what better gift to give than the gift of a smile,” he added.

To date, Operation Smile has provided nearly 300,000 free surgical procedures around the world to children with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.

About Balsam Brands

The flagship brand of Redwood City-headquartered Balsam Brands is Balsam Hill, renowned worldwide for its superbly crafted, lifelike Christmas Trees inspired by nature. Its exclusive True Needle™ Technology is modeled after real evergreen branches to beautifully replicate nature’s design. Not only known for being life-like, Balsam Hill’s patented technology including Flip Tree™, Instant Evergreen™, Candlelight™ LED and Easy Plug™ make assembly easier than ever. The company was founded in 2006 by Thomas Harman, who was inspired to start Balsam Hill by a family member who was allergic to live trees but still wanted to create a festive atmosphere in his home during the holidays. When Thomas’ search for a lifelike artificial Christmas tree came up empty-handed, he created Balsam Hill to make highly realistic artificial trees. Today, Balsam Hill creates inspired home décor for all seasons and occasions, including realistic artificial florals that capture the beauty of spring. As a community leader, Balsam Brands engages in a variety of civic activities that help strengthen families and support those in need.

About Operation Smile

Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands of safe surgeries for those born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. With more than three decades of expertise, Operation Smile creates solutions that deliver free surgery to people where it’s needed most. As one of the largest medical volunteer-based nonprofits, Operation Smile has mobilized thousands of medical volunteers from a wide range of medical specialties from more than 80 countries. Operation Smile engages public-private partnerships to advance health care delivery, train local medical professionals to provide surgical care for patients in their communities, donate crucial medical equipment and supplies, and increase access to surgical care so that everyone living with cleft is treated. Visit www.operationsmile.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.