When I was a kid I dreamed of having an 8 foot Christmas tree, donned with ribbon, lights, and hand strung popcorn and cranberry garland. A tree so large that I'd need a ladder to reach the top for the angel. When I moved into my first apartment, the Boston brownstone, we had 10 foot ceilings, but no floor space. In Florida, I had tons of floor space, but normal ceilings. Back in Massachusetts, we had little children who would inevitably pull down the tree and break every ornament on it, and then try and eat the pieces.
Needless to say, I've had every tree, live and fake, in every size, shape, and color imaginable.
I've even had a felt wall hanging of a tree, with Velcro garland, and felt ornaments that the kids could stick on and off as many times as they'd like.
Last year, I settled on this tree...
It's not so much short, as it is skinny.
It fits perfectly in the corner by the mantle and the TV. It doesn't block the heating vents, I don't have to water it, and even better, the cat doesn't climb it.
Every year we bust out the decorations, and every year I am too lazy to make the popcorn and cranberry garland. Some years, we put the angel on top. Some years we've opted for the standard
"Eat At Joe's" blinking star. This year, we opted for a ribbon bow and streamers. The actual setting up of the tree in years past was quite simply,
that. Setting up the tree for the kids, secretly counting the days when it would come down and I could regain my precious floor space once again.
But this year it was different.
Youngest and I picked through the ornaments, a collection of photos of Christmas's gone by and places we've been, and discovered the stories behind each one.
Like the one I bought in a vintage store my first year away in college. It's porcelain, and I'm amazed it's survived the past 19 years, 14 moves, 1200 miles away and back again.
Or, the one my mom bought me when I bought my first house. It plugs in and lights up through the windows.
Youngest at two days old. He was so small I could fit him in an Easter basket.
Then there was the year I had the brilliant idea to get professional photos done of Oldest. This is the only one that came out. It was free because the girl forgot to set up the camera properly for the session and NONE of the pictures came out. The entire two hours spent was wasted, except fro the fact that
this is still one of my favorite pictures of him.
The ornaments from our travels all seem to mix together on the tree. The ball is from the Bureau of Imprinting in Washington DC. It has actual shredded money in it. The gnome is from the Spy museum, the sand dollar from Martha's Vineyard, and somewhere hidden is a NYC cabbie and Santa on the Empire State building. The only trip we have no memento from is Disney, and try as I might on EBay, I just can't find that perfect set of Mickey ears ornament from 2007.
This is one of the only pictures I have of the boys on Santa's lap. Normally they wanted no part of it, EVER. Can you blame them?
Come here little boy, sit on my lap and whisper in my ear... really the whole thing's just creepy. Just behind them is a hand painted snow baby. My grandmother made me a set of 12 before she died. I have many hand made ornaments on the tree. Many have fallen apart or met an untimely demise via the cat. Others have been deemed too flammable and get set aside for the refrigerator or windows. But these guys....
Are still some of my favorites. The boys made them a few years back at their grandmother's house. Some have long necks, some short. Some have no neck at all. But they are all adorable.
So many memories, one at a time put in just the right spot according to Youngest and his stellar decorating techniques. Tony added his touches so there would be some ornaments on the top as well. As I sat back and looked at it, I realized that all these years I thought my kids had missed out on something. My working all the time, our limited finances, my excessive tiredness, I felt as though I hadn't given them enough memories.
But in fact, that just what I had done.
And I have the tree to prove it.
Aww that was sweet. Our tree, after 30 years of marriage, is pretty eclectic. We have a bunch of M&M guys, hand-made ornaments, things the kids made over the years (they are 26 and 23 now) and some stuff we bought because they were pretty or cool. This year I am going through the ornaments and other decorations and donating a bunch to Goodwill. I've made a few new things this year.
ReplyDeleteALL of the special ornaments are staying put of course including the cute (or weird) things my kids made years ago.
This was the first year I decorated the tree by myself. As I pulled out ornaments my daughter had made or that we had bought for her I had to fight the tears.
ReplyDeleteThose are the ones that you cherish forever and what makes a tree special and yours.
So beautiful Julianna. I used to buy an ornament at every interesting place we visited on holiday. I had a wooly lamb from the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont. Harper tore it apart. If I put up my tree, I no longer put on decorations that resemble doggie toys. Harper also beheaded a teddy bear in a Christmas basket. : (
ReplyDeleteLove,
Lola
yay!! I love tree posts, cause it's always so fun to see other people's trees! That cork reindeer is adorable. Now I need to find someplace that sells corks so we can make some!
ReplyDeleteAbby - I think you can buy them as a kit at Michaels. Try the craft store. They are just corks and toothpicks.
ReplyDeleteLola - And this is also why we have no ornaments with feathers. Drives the cat crazy.
Portia - sometimes you have to just clean house. Or put up another tree. :)
Tracy - So sorry your tree trimming was sad. I would have come, we could have had cocoa and you could have told me your stories.
It's beginning to look alot like Chrsitmas...everywhere I go ;0)
ReplyDeleteI am the exact same way with my ornaments. I've been collecting various ones for years. I should own stock in Hallmark for all I've spent on them in there alone.
ReplyDeleteI tear up every year when I start hanging all those memories on the tree...
I love the look at your ornaments and your tree. For me that was my favorite part of the holidays was unpacking all our homemade ornaments, the ones we got on vacation, the baby's first, etc and retelling the stories. It is moments like that, memories like those, that I will cherish forever as a part of my Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWe had the Aluminum Tree with the rotating color wheel when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteWe've done a few real trees. We did a cedar once cut from the woods that would rival Charlie Brown's.
My mom gave us several glass balls that have been hanging on our trees since I was a kid.
I remember setting up the Cardboard Fireplace because we didnt have a real one and hanging our stockings on it.
Christmas memories are always special.
This is definitely a warm fuzzy story! Julianna style! Sweet!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful ornaments and memories! What a special post. Now I want to get a Christmas tree :0)
ReplyDeleteIf you like the tree, what anyone else thinks doesn't matter. And that's a great tree you have there.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! And the best part for us moms is that all those good memories are what the kids remember--not the stuff we always beat ourselves up about. Thanks for reminding me!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about our tree. It's such a hodge podge of ornaments and memories ...Love it. Makes me so happy.
ReplyDeleteI love your tree and all the ornaments that symbolize so much. Each one has a story. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteYou know, that is lovely. All of it. The photos, the story, the feelings behind it all.
ReplyDelete:)
Oh, I just loved this! There's nothing more special than Christmas trees and the ornaments you add over the years. It's amazing how each one can hold a special story or memory. We have a Santa that sits atop the tree every year and he symbolizes my papaw--it's like he's there for Christmas with us somehow.
ReplyDeleteReally can't put into words how much I loved this!
I love it. I feel the same way~have I done enough? Will they have things to talk about when they gather together at our house with their wives, husbands and children, about their lives together here in our home? I'm glad to see that it's possible I'm like you and have done more than I think. Beautiful decorations.
ReplyDelete