Day 338
Similar to refrigerator adornments, the ornaments that decorate our trees also remind me of special times throughout our lives. Every year, the kids take over more of the tree decorating. They absolutely love putting up ornaments on the family tree and their own miniature version. Every year, going through the ornaments is akin to providing family history, full of rich memories, funny anecdotes, and recollections of holidays gone by.
The evolution of ornaments is also interesting to enjoy. I remember ornaments being fragile and breakable as a child. Whether it was the glass balls or small wooden figurines, making sure the little metal clasps found their way onto a sturdy limb was essential. Now, many ornaments have ribbon or thread loops instead of the clasps and are made of much more forgivable plastic.
The evolution also includes what kinds of ornaments are placed on the tree. My wife and I inherited a number of ornaments from our own childhoods. Now, we are intertwining some of our childhood ornaments with newer ones connected to our kids.
Many new ornaments celebrate our kids and our growing family. From our wedding anniversary to the birth of each child, ornaments commemorating our family’s celebrations are on the tree. Kids have also created different ornaments that have made it to the tree. Even though these newer ornaments are special in their own way, there’s something about older ornaments that is extra special.
My wife has a few crochet-style ornaments made by her grandmother that hold Hershey’s kisses. My candy-related ornaments are M & M characters that came off of plastic candy canes that were once filled with the sweet treat, a staple of my childhood. I also have a few special character ornaments I look forward to adding each year. Being a huge comic strip fan, I had a Ziggy and Charlie Brown porcelain ornament that I cherish. I also have a few sports ornaments as well that have traveled with me from house to house.
As our family experiences continue to grow,I am sure that new ornaments will make their way to the tree. However, regardless of what’s added, our decorated tree will unite the past, present, and future.
