Christmas Ornaments

I grew up in a family that always had an artificial tree and Craig grew up in a family that always had a real tree. The very first year we were married Craig insisted on a real tree. He said it wouldn't be Christmas without a real tree. I wasn't crazy about the idea but I went along with it because it was important to him. And I have to say that after all these years it has grown on me and now it wouldn't be Christmas to me without a real tree.

And just as the real tree had to grow on me, the way I decorated our tree had to grow on Craig. Craig's family tree was mostly large shinny glass ornaments and lots of glitzy Christmas colors. My way of decorating the tree more reflected my personality of who I am and who we are as a family. There is no consistency to my ornaments. All my ornaments are different. And they all have meaning to us. I love putting up the tree each year. It really isn't a chore at all. I love to hang each ornament on the tree and think about where that ornament came from. Here are some examples........ Each year I purchase one of these clay personalized ornaments with all our names on it. This one is from 10 years ago. I am not into cat ornaments but this one is special. My brother gave this to me for Christmas back when we were in high school....some 25 years ago. In all reality I'm sure that my mother purchased it and put his name on the package but it doesn't matter. I still think of him every year when I hang it on the tree. And who has an Andy Griffith ornament on their tree? I do! Mom bought this for me because she knows I love the Andy Griffith show.And likewise I'm sure not many people have a Santa Rooster on the tree either. My kitchen is decorated in chickens and roosters so it's only natural that I would have one on my tree too.

I would love to go out and spend a fortune on ornaments each year. I have to control myself but I do splurge on one or two of these Lenox ornaments. They are so beautiful. Each year my Lenox collection grows a little bigger.

This type is my favorite. I love nativity ornaments!! My goal is to someday have enough nativity ornaments to have an all nativity tree separate from my main tree. One of the nurses that I work with gave me this ornament last year. It had a tag on it that said it was made from the wood of an olive tree in Bethlehem. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not but I like to think it is true.
Homemade ornaments are the best. This is one that we made with the girl scouts one year.
These need no explanation. You know why I like these....

This doesn't even look like a Christmas ornament but it always goes on the tree. Jordan made this in first grade. It's a picture of her in her Halloween costume.