Christmas Tree Memories

Every year, when we pull out the boxes of Christmas decorations, we feel like we are opening a box of memories. So many of our cherished ornaments hold special memories for our family, collected for the past 34 years of our marriage…and even before. Some are treasured for the person who made them. Others for the person who gave them to us. There are family photos hanging on the tree. And there are numerous ornaments collected from our travels. While we love the pretty baubles that we’ve purchased in stores for their mere prettiness, it’s the ornaments that hold special meaning that make our tree so unique and so cherished to our family.

At the very top of the tree hang two ornaments. One is a white, glitter-covered bell that was attached to the wedding gift my parents gave us. My parents have a bell that hangs on the top of their tree which came on one of their wedding gifts, and so the tradition continues. And near it is this white heart ornament that my mom made from the fabric and lace from which she made my wedding gown.

One Christmas, I spent quite a bit of time copying old, family photographs and mounting them in glass frames to create ornaments for our tree. They have become some of the most unusual and most loved ornaments we have. Pictured at the top is my Gramps on one of his horses. Bottom left is the only photo I think anyone has of my grandma before she was an adult. And bottom right is her sister, looking very glamorous…maybe in the late-1920’s. I remember these people clearly from my own childhood. And for our children and grandchildren, who do not, they are a visual remembrance of those who came before them.

Throughout our tree are ornaments collected because they represent family interests and loves. There is this Golden Retriever ornament to represent all the Goldens we’ve had through the years and how much we love them. There is a U.S. Coast Guard boat, because our son is a Coastie. There is a piano, a tiny flute, and an Irish dancer for our daughters’ childhood/teenage hobbies.

Some of our ornaments hold special memories of those who gave them to us. The white dove was an unexpected gift given to us by friends in the UK when we visited in 2017. The sleeping elf gets tucked way back into the tree, just as she has been every year since I was about six years old. That year, my grandparents flew out of state to celebrate Christmas, and I was very sad at the thought that Christmas would not be the same without them. We took them to the airport to catch their flight, and in the airport gift shop, my grandpa bought me this sleeping elf. And she’s slept in our tree every year since.

Many of our ornaments are treasured for the people who made them. All over our tree, you will find ornaments (like the one on the left) that were hand-painted by my mom. Each one is signed and dated with the year she made it. She made them for all of her grandchildren too. And I treasure the ornaments that our grandkids (on the right) have made for us through the years too.

It’s always good to have a few ornaments to make you chuckle, because homes should be filled with laughter! Since, “A Christmas Story” is one of our family’s favorite Christmas movies, it only seemed appropriate (or inappropriate?) that our family should have a leg lamp on our tree. But don’t touch…it’s “FRAG-ILE”.

Some of the ornaments that our family enjoys unwrapping and hanging on the Christmas tree the most are the ones we’ve collected from travels all over the nation and the world. Before our kids had left home, they had visited almost all 50 of the states and Canada. And since then, we have traveled to Europe with Julia. So travel memories are something we very much treasure in our family. Whenever we travel, I search for an ornament to bring home to add to our collection. Top left: a beautiful glass mushroom found during a delightful afternoon spent shopping with my daughter at the richly charming shop, Cutter Brooks, in Stow-on-the-Wold during our 2019 trip to England. Top right: the Nantucket lightship basket is one of just several Nantucket ornaments picked up on many trips to our favorite island. Bottom left: a London cab, to remind us of our trip to London in 2017. Bottom right: this large and beautiful Statue of Liberty was given to me by a friend, who invited my daughter and I to join her in New York City for a couple days immediately after Christmas. She had an ornament hanging on her tree for each of us to choose from…such a thoughtful gesture of hospitality and a remembrance of a truly fun trip exploring the big city.

I hope, if you haven’t started collecting ornaments with meaning, that you’ve found some inspiration to create your own Christmas tree of memories. Merry Christmas!