Personal History via Christmas Ornaments

Every year when I decorate for the holidays, I enjoy the personal history the ornaments represent.

From the 1960s, there are red tree shapes with gold braid (my mother gave them to be years later when she was cleaning out Christmas ‘stuff’),

A ceramic candle holder of carolers given to me by a friend from early elementary school, and

A Madonna and Child from an elderly neighbor that lived across the street when I was in late elementary school.

From the 1970s, there are handmade felt birds. I made two of each kind. In recent years they have decorated banisters rather than the tree.

From the 1980s, the collection includes angels left behind by the previous owner of the house we bought in Virginia,

Some heritage glass ornaments from the Smithsonian,

Dough bears made by my sister just before we got pregnant with our daughters (her first, my only), and

Ornaments that my mother-in-law bought during her first Christmas with us.

In the 1990s, my daughter chose a white artificial tree (the cat is from the 2000s and is not a Christmas ornament) and

Homemade ornaments (my favorite is the purple eggshell).

By the 2000s, the tree was already full. One of the few additions were copper coated leaves that my daughter bought as a gift to us while she was away at college. I like them so much I put them in the window as sun catchers.

In the2010s, I added an owl cut from light wood that I bought on our trek down the east coast to Florida in fall 2013 for the Maven launch.

I’ve also wrapped the small boxes (empty) we’ve accumulated over the years to put in a sleigh beside the tree - they are my latest ‘decoration’!