As a young adult, I wanted to have a beautifully decorated tree with perfectly coordinating ornaments. It would be nothing like the “shabby’ sort of tree I had grown up with, covered with a hodge podge collection of stuff that over burdened each of the branches. MY tree would be different…and it was for a year or two.
But as children came, along with their handmade gifts, my tree came to look more and more like my mother’s tree. You can’t tell a six year old that you can’t hang their ornament up because it doesn’t match!
Then, when my parents were gone, I inherited many of the ornaments that had graced the tree of my childhood. By this time my perspective had changed greatly. I was thrilled to have my Grandmother’s wax dipped Styrofoam balls that had been collaged with old Christmas card images and then painted. And the crocheted snowflakes my husband’s mother made, and the barrage of quirky and random ornaments that have been making a yearly appearance on family trees for the last 50 years.
So now, my beautiful tree is hung with memories, so many that its branches begin to droop.
There is the cabbage patch Happy Meal toy angel, next to a crudely shaped wire star, and just barely down in the corner you can see one of the lovely mauve bows left over from my coordinated tree.
What hangs on your Christmas tree?
Tammy Churchill
I have that exact same Mrs. Claus ornament! Do you have the matching Santa Claus one also? After my kids grew up and left home I finally got my ‘coordinated and lovely’ Christmas tree and I really enjoy it each year. I saved all of the McDonald’s, M&M, Sesame Street, 4H and handmade ornaments for the days of grandchildren to come and I look at them each year. Today, my tree is full of tiny white lights, red and gold balls, a large collection of vintage dog decorated ornaments (red), and other, various, coordinated red, white and gold things. Have a Blessed Christmas, I love your blog and posts, thanks so very much!
victoryrd
Thank you! It’s fun to hear about your tree! I am moving straight into grandchildren, so I think my handmade tree is here to stay!
PA Pict
The evolution of your tree is familiar to me. My once beautifully co-ordinated tree is now chock-full of random kid-crafted items. The control freak in me tweaks over it but the sentimental mother in me delights in it.
victoryrd
Just keep on delighting, those kids grow up far too fast!
Kathy Hunter
I totally agree. Funny though, when my children left home and I gave them the ornaments that had been given to them each year so that they could continue to have a familiar tree, my tree decorations completely changed to one I no longer recognized. I much prefer the random sentimentally decorated trees over the orchestrated color themed ones. Merry Christmas.