This post was modified from the original post entitled Merry Christmas From Our House to Yours, published on December 23, 2008.
One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is to decorate the tree. I absolutely love placing each ornament on the tree, reserving the best places for the ornaments that hold a special meaning. Two of those ornaments are the ones pictured below. The heart is symbolic of love - love that we have of God, for each other, and for our family and friends. Christmas is not Christmas without love. The other ornament is a tiny bell, decorated with shamrocks, a Belleek treasure that came from Ireland some years ago. The bell's tiny tinkle reminds me of the Bell Choir in the church where my children grew up that performs such beautiful music before Midnight Mass each year.
The twin angels with bugles is an ornament given to me by my children when they were still young. They always knew the gifts that would pull my heartstrings, and this ornament will always have a special place in my heart and on the Christmas tree. The red ornament here is a cardinal, one of my favorite birds. But what makes it memorable is that it is the only Christmas ornament that I ever made, a product of an unsuccessful ceramic class, like many of us took during the 70's. With no chips and with its color still unfaded, the cardinal appears to be in flight and occupies a place near the top of the tree.
The picture of this beaded Christmas Nativity star does not do it justice. Just like the stars that shone over the manger in Bethlehem that Christmas so very long ago, it seems to twinkle each evening during Christmas. Our ornament collection would not be complete without the moose. This fun and unique Christmas moose, made of delicate mercury glass, was given to us by one of our daughters. Needless to say, she has a slightly wicked sense of humor, and it shows in her selection of this ornament! The ornament hangs in such a way that we have had somewhat of a problem with keeping the moose's rear end from facing outward into the room.
The gingerbread man here is an original work of art made by our youngest daughter when she was about ten years old. That year for her was the year of crewel work, counted cross-stitch, and needlework of any type. It started with a Christmas gift of a "beginner's kit," and by the next Christmas, we had all been gifted with at least one hand-made treasure, including this one. I was so proud of her!
One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is to decorate the tree. I absolutely love placing each ornament on the tree, reserving the best places for the ornaments that hold a special meaning. Two of those ornaments are the ones pictured below. The heart is symbolic of love - love that we have of God, for each other, and for our family and friends. Christmas is not Christmas without love. The other ornament is a tiny bell, decorated with shamrocks, a Belleek treasure that came from Ireland some years ago. The bell's tiny tinkle reminds me of the Bell Choir in the church where my children grew up that performs such beautiful music before Midnight Mass each year.
The twin angels with bugles is an ornament given to me by my children when they were still young. They always knew the gifts that would pull my heartstrings, and this ornament will always have a special place in my heart and on the Christmas tree. The red ornament here is a cardinal, one of my favorite birds. But what makes it memorable is that it is the only Christmas ornament that I ever made, a product of an unsuccessful ceramic class, like many of us took during the 70's. With no chips and with its color still unfaded, the cardinal appears to be in flight and occupies a place near the top of the tree. The picture of this beaded Christmas Nativity star does not do it justice. Just like the stars that shone over the manger in Bethlehem that Christmas so very long ago, it seems to twinkle each evening during Christmas. Our ornament collection would not be complete without the moose. This fun and unique Christmas moose, made of delicate mercury glass, was given to us by one of our daughters. Needless to say, she has a slightly wicked sense of humor, and it shows in her selection of this ornament! The ornament hangs in such a way that we have had somewhat of a problem with keeping the moose's rear end from facing outward into the room.
The gingerbread man here is an original work of art made by our youngest daughter when she was about ten years old. That year for her was the year of crewel work, counted cross-stitch, and needlework of any type. It started with a Christmas gift of a "beginner's kit," and by the next Christmas, we had all been gifted with at least one hand-made treasure, including this one. I was so proud of her!
Without a doubt, the ornaments that are the most sentimental for me are those made by my children, and two of them are pictured here. Each ornament is a reindeer made of old-fashioned clothespins, a tuft of cotton for a tail, and a red dot for a nose. The result of a family project during Christmas of 1982, each ornament bears the name of the child who made it. There is even one made by someone named "Mama."
No tree in our household would be complete without the Christmas angel gracing its top.
This particular angel holds a candle in each hand and lights the way, hopefully, for many more Christmases to be celebrated, many more ornaments to be hung, and many, many more memories to be made!
Lovely! The Christmas tree is also one of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas. And I can also give you the history of just about any of our many ornaments - I love the stories you tell about yours. But especially the "rear-end" problem - we have the same problem with all of our heavier reindeer ornaments.
ReplyDeleteLove your moose ornament! My husband collects moose (mooses?) of all sorts, and we have quite a few on our tree. We also have a "mooning moose" who only wants to show us his fanny. Must be some sort of moose humor or something. :-)
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