Tannenbaum Treasures

My Christmas tree is covered in ornaments, the most of which I associate with a certain person or memory.  I used to have a collection of glass balls and bells and such, but they've been replaced with a wonderful mosiac of pieces, each with a certain image of a person or event. Many of them are collected for my daughters, I started a number of years ago putting an ornament into each girl's stocking, marked with their name and the year given. Then when they have their own homes they can display it on their tree. I reminded my oldest of this last year (she was 18 then) and her response was 'Why? I don't know if I want those.' Hmmm. Hopefully she'll rethink that when she actually has her own tree. There are also many ornaments they made at school or church, plus plastic toys and little stuffed animals we began using on the tree when the 2nd daughter discovered how fun it was to pluck the glass ornaments like fruit and smash them together to see them shatter.

See the little wooden sled in the top left of this photo?  My mother sent that to me in a Christmas box probably 27 years ago. I believe she may have sent a few others, and I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what has since become of them, but this one is treasured. The white dress was one of 3 I picked up for maybe a quarter on clearance when my girls were very small and into Barbie dolls. I was going to make them into dresses for the Barbies. Instead I put one each in their stockings, one in mine, and the tradition of the ornament a year was started.

Precious pictures of the girl's visit to Santa (Liz's is elsewhere.)  This is the year Jen threw a tantrum on Santa's lap, she did not appreciate being handed over to a red robed stranger.

Jen made the adorable manger scene at Church while at a happy birthday to Jesus sleepover event. She was maybe 7 at the time and did a wonderful job. The drummer was a special ornament my hubby bought for a gift, and Lucy is one of two Lucille Ball ornaments I received at a gift exchange from my work.

 

I had won $150 this year to a local museum's gift shop and purchased this hand-blown glass ornament.

This Cracker Barrel ornament was sent by my sister from Tennessee.  We don't have Cracker Barrels in California. I look forward to eventually eating at one, and visiting their famous gift shop.

More precious picture ornaments, the bottom one made with macaroni, cardboard and a school photo, circa 2nd grade.

There are 4-5 of these which the girls made from a kit at home. Glitter and glue on felt at the kitchen table, and it gets more valuable with every year that passes.

I know this picture is overexposed, so you can't see it very well, but the white box is the 2nd daughter's 1st Christmas baby ornament. Every year she fawns over it, and every year I have to explain to my firstborn why she doesn't have a 1st Christmas baby ornament. 'We just didn't think about it at the time, I'm so sorry.'  The cigar box was given to my husband by one of the girls in reference to a cigar-smoking stage he went through and has since dropped, the Lucy from Charlie Brown ornament is from a local amusement park, and the Santa is one of several I fell in love with and passed out to my friends at work.

This train is a Hallmark production, the date is of the maybe 2nd year my husband and I were together as a couple, before we married in 1989.

So many pictures of so many ornaments, everyone a story connected. So many pieces of little moments of my life during the holidays past. Is it any wonder we all are so nostalgic during Christmas?

Hope everyone is having warm and wonderful memories of thier own holidays past and present.  I'm linking up with Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.
I am also linking up with Cielo at The House in the Roses for Show off your Christmas Tree Monday.

Every Day Enjoyed

This was the second to last weekend before Christmas. Things I did NOT do:

1. Go to the mall and shop for items for my daughters, as intended.

2. Start addressing Christmas cards.

3. Even purchase those Christmas cards.

4. Get a head start on the cranberry sauce for Tuesday's luncheon.

5. Make up the cookies for Wednesday's cookie exchange.

6. Do any cleaning of house or organizing of decorations.

7. Catch up on those blogging parties I was hoping to participate in.

Things I DID do this weekend.

1. Spent several hours Saturday pulling out a sewing machine I haven't used in many years to help my daughter with a sewing project for her fasion design class.

2. Went out Saturday evening for a hot dog outside Costco with the family and some window shopping with them later (research).

3. Spent most of the day Sunday out with my husband, beginning with a local museum gift shop I had a certificate for.

4. The intended trip to the mall turned into a hike at a local bird sanctuary in honor of the warmer than usual weather.

5. Lunch with husband and running errands with him.

6. Bought one silver reindeer at a local pharmacy while picking up meds.

7. Counting my blessings on this blog.

Hope everyone is enjoying every minute of the Holiday Season.

Angel on High

I have discovered that one of the few surface areas I have readily available to be decorated and left undisturbed is my curio cabinet. Fair enough, it does call for something be there, it's one of my favorite, possible my very favorite, piece of furniture. I can put whole displays up there without worrying that they'll be shoved aside so the space can be used for something more practical. It sits just out of the cats' reach, so there is no danger my pretties will be dumped off by furry beauties attending to their bathing rituals. And because it's out of the general traffic pattern, my husband won't bother it. (Can you believe that man removed my Christmas tablecloth and placemats? He said it was to wash them, but he replaced it with the fall linens I had just removed this past weekend, and the Christmas ones were clean and folded.)

I got a little carried away with decorating there this year.  The focal point is the angel, which was a Christmas present from my younger daughter a couple years ago. I love her white robes and wispy feathery touches. She presides next to a favorite gold gilden star-shaped box. I've filled in white poinsettias and snowmen and candles. The cake plate has been transformed into a cloche with doves nestled on my grandmother's ruffled doily and beaded garland.

If I'm going to show off the top of my curio cabinet, you may as well see how I finshed off the front. This gold stocking gets added impact from another white poinsettia and a glass Santa ornament. A lovely Christmas card peeks out of the stocking top, my aunt carried through the angel theme on her card to me.

As I posted this, it occured to me that someone may want to see what the entire curio cabinet looks like. This picture is from last Christmas, so you can see I have some of the same elements, just less in the space. Hopefully I've not gone over-the-top in my toppers this year.

I'm joining up with Marty for Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life. She has a lovely curio cabinet to top as well.