I like to be surrounded by things that have meaning. I think that's why I've never been very interested in buying new stuff. I've always preferred things from the past, that have some kind of story, or, even more, things that I've made or that someone else gave to me.
This is why I could never have a "decorator" Christmas tree. Going out and buying a bunch of themed ornaments at Wal-Mart, or color-coordinating a tree I'm sure would be fun to put together, but it wouldn't be the same as our Christmas tree with all of it's personal ornaments that we've collected over the years.
I love to look at our Christmas tree and see ornaments that were made years ago, or that a friend or family member gave us. We've also collected a lot of ornaments from our travels. Since we don't need a lot of stuff anymore, we usually try to find an ornament on our annual vacation and make that our souvenir.
On that note, I thought I'd share a few sentimental favorites and a pic from the trip where we found them:
Here is one of our oldest ornaments, a streetcar that we bought in San Francisco.
And here we are in front of the Golden Gate bridge.
We went to California on our honeymoon; 25 years ago!
I bought this one in 1995, before I'd ever even bought a tree.
It's an olive wood angel I bought at a shop in Jerusalem, when I was studying there.
Appropriately, it says, "Peace."
If only!
This picture is from Qumran, in one of the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered.
Here's another one I bought in college.
It's a handpainted paper mache ornament from Taos, New Mexico.
I love the artwork!
New Mexico!
I spent a semester studying in Colorado; my family came out for my spring break and we went to New Mexico for a few days.
This sweet little donkey is made out of bread!
I was part of a mission trip to Ecuador in 2000. While there we visited a village with interesting little shops, this particular one sold lots of Christmas decorations made from bread.
I have a little bread nativity too!
Look at me! I'm straddling the equator!
This is at Mitad del Mundo, the "Middle of the World."
My little hula dancer from Hawaii 💗
This two-week cruise with my parents was a trip I will never forget!
And finally:
I love the look of this key ornament from Biltmore.
Here are my son and I at Biltmore last November.It rained in the morning, but was still just a perfect day.
The house was decorated for Christmas, and so was the green house, which was an unexpected treat for a plant lover to find!
There are so many more...but those are a few of the memories that come to mind when I look at my Christmas tree.
I like to be surrounded by happy memories. It's a reminder that life is good, even on a day when it seems like maybe it's not.
Our Christmas tree is a reminder of life's blessings. It's a week past Christmas, and I've got to take it down. I hate to do it! It's like packing, putting it together is way more fun when you have something exciting to anticipate. Taking a tree down, like unpacking, mean's the party's over.
Time to get back to reality. Onward and upward!
