Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas Tree

Years ago, I started the tradition of giving my children one Christmas tree decorations every year.  A soccer ball, a ballet slipper, coffee mug, pickle, princess, angel each fitting the time and personality of my precious ones lives.  Our tree every year now droops with the weight of 43 kid ornaments, seven years of collecting them before child, plus a few collectibles from our childhood, store bought ones, gifts from others and of course, the ugliest handmade ones we’re too proud of to destroy.  It’s enough to even kill a fake tree.  Nobody puts it in their day planner, but it’s the most beautiful thing how we seem to gather each year to decorate it.  The laughs, the memories, the significance of each ornament, all the while building a unique thing of beauty.  Our lives together hang on those limbs.  It’s a symbol of being a part of something bigger than yourself.  There are no presents wrapped underneath, but the family spirit glows brighter than the star or angel on top. This is when the holiday season begins for me, but in my home it will always be called a Christmas tree..........


7 comments:

  1. Awww...you make me misty-eyed! Our tree is the same, filled with memories. Every year I give Ethan and ornament and he gives me one most years. Some years we have given each other the same one!! I can never be one of those people that has a "theme tree" or a color co-ordinated tree!! What hangs on it every year is too special!! It's perfect, as is!!

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  2. Hey! Me three! Buy the kids an ornament each year and those plus the homemade make up our tree! You guys rock! So does this lovely warm post!

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  3. My kids are 36 and 33 and I still have all the decorations they have ever made. There is the green faced angle and the purple faced father christmas with some sort of a weird looking christmas pudding. They are now too fragile to be hung so I preserved then all in a folder that comes out every year.

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  5. The tree in the photo was made by my wife out of jewelry that belonged to our mothers.

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  6. O, Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

    This is a very special time of year and one that brings forth memories of family and place. Enjoy!

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  7. Very nice post even if I did have to put my glasses on to read it;-) Lovely traditions. Maybe if I had kids I'd have traditions too but as it is, my tradition is just get it over with as fast as possible. I'm a humbug, I admit it.

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