I also collect ornaments when we travel. It is always such a joy to unwrap those ornaments and reminisce about those family vacations. There are other ornaments on our tree as well. There's the ornament I made in catechism in 2nd grade out of beads and glitter that were put into a muffin tin and melted. I love that ornament!
And the Christmas ball given to me by my mom that has a Christmas scene on it and says "To a Special Daughter, 1980". There are ornaments from dear friends that I left behind in AZ when I moved and handmade pasta angels that were given to me by my dear friend Margaret.
And then there are ornaments that speak to my soul.
Every year when I see those ornaments again I am reminded of our family's history. Where we've been, what we mean to each other, the milestones in each of our lives and how we've built this family together. It may seem silly, but I believe that our ornaments tell our story in a very tangible way. They are among my most valued possessions. Silly or not, they mean the world to me.
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19 comments:
I always love seeing the tree at my mom's house because just about every ornament is sentimental.
How special and lovely! I am sentimental too, and we are also building a collection of special ornaments. Have a Merry Christmas!
That is so nice. What a nice way to remember all the things you have done together as a family. I love the idea of collecting ornaments while on vacation. I envy your tree. I keep telling my husband that we could have a Hanukah tree but he's not quite seeing it the same way. :)
You know I have done the same thing over the years, collecting ornaments as we travel. I have stopped recently but now I'm wishing I had. I can start again and think I will. I have ornaments that remind me of past events, too. I have them going back 30+ years and some are very dear. Katie helped me decorate the tree when she stayed a couple weekends ago and it was fun to point out certain ornaments and to tell her what their originations are.
That's awesome! My grandma used to give all of us ornaments every year, and I never appreciated them as a kid, but now (especially that she has passed), they take on a whole new meaning for me.
I get choked up every year when we decorate the tree for the very reasons that you stated. Every ornament has a meaning. This year was especially difficult. My father and step mother sent Ashley a very special every year for Christmas and this year is was very emotional putting those on the tree.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Colleen
This is not any more silly than, say, losing and finding a favorite brolly.. :)
We have sentimental ornaments too, and especially try to collect them on our travels. I love Christmas for the reminders of all that is special!
Happy Christmas to you and yours!!
Stopping by from SITS!
What a great tradition! I love the ornaments you featured.
Good morning. I am coming to you by way of Sits. Love ornaments that tell a story. Great way to bring in Christmas...Hope you have a good one.
What a lovely story and some Superior Snaps, too! I'm also pretty sentimental about Christmas. Hope you and yours have the happiest of holidays. SITS sent me by, and I'm glad they did!
The True Reason for the Season
Hi Pam,
I enjoyed this post very much! In the "great minds think alike" stream, I did a post a couple of years ago you might enjoy: http://jadepagepress.blogspot.com/2007/12/sitting-by-tree.html
in fact, you inspired me to re-post from the archives my post . . . and I have given you credit for that inspiration. Thanks!
We started that tradition as well. I always buy my husband an ornament that signifies something we did together that year or that holds special meaning to us. My children pick out their own ornaments of what the last year meant to them. My 19 year old, when he was about 3 picked out an ornament showing Santa "laying a finger alongside his nose" before he rose up the chimney. When I asked him why he chose that ornament replied "because I pick my nose a lot!" I chuckle every year when I put that one on the tree. Needless to say our ornamnets are quite the eclectic collection!
Oh those ornaments are so lovely!! I love that each has a story.
Our memory ornaments are priceless to me! I look forward to collecting many more as our little one, and hopefully future little ones, grow! Your stories are lovely!
What a wonderful way to keep your memories alive! We collect rocks from different beaches, but it's a bit hard to keep the stories separated!
Yes, we collect travel ornaments, too. I've been blogging the last couple of weeks about some of our older pieces (from grandma's tree, etc.). I'm sure people wonder about the red-chili-pepper tree in my header (it's from a trip to Ft. Worth) ... must do some of these pieces next year!
LOVE that pasta ornament - so cute and creative! And I just love that you have so many sentimental ornaments to you. That makes everything about your tree special. Thanks for sharing :)
Cheers friend!
What a great tradition. one I might have to start with my husband when we can actually have a Christmas tree.
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