Morganic Musings: Heirlooms

Heirlooms. We all have them. Sometimes they are jewelry or fine furniture. Maybe a handmade wooden box or a delicate piece of linen.

This time I'm talking about the Christmas ornaments.

Not everyones shares my sentiment that any ornament that evokes memories is beautiful, but I'm here to tell the tale. Trimming the tree each Christmas is such a meaningful activity for me. I love thinking about Christmas traditions and the people of whom I'm reminded when I hang a particular ornament on the tree. Sometimes it's because the ornament is a gift from a special person, and sometimes it belonged to that person. We have our share of homemade ornaments, too. Russell and I have tried to purchase an ornament from most places we've traveled.

My memories of decorating trees as a kid are mostly focused on the hunt. I remember trudging through tree farms with my parents to find the perfect tree to chop down. Molly and I also used to scour the woods behind our house for a Charlie Brown tree to put in our playroom. We always had the large-bulb colored lights, and rarely tinsel. Every other year my parents traded turns selecting a different type of tree...one that reminded them of growing up. We had a huge living room, so the tree was always big. My grandmother had a tiny artificial tree on a table, but I recall it being as beautiful as any other.

Russell and I have had a few different tree toppers. When we first married, I tried to make a homemade angel. It was so bad it was good. Then we bought a light-up Moravian star. Very classy, but caught on fire last year, so we decided it might be a good move to replace it. Fire, trees, hmmm...they just don't mix. This year, we forgot completely that we had no tree topper, so we are going with a last minute replacement. I think Charlotte's preschool creation will do just fine. She might need a longer skirt, no?

Speaking of homemade ornaments, here are some favorites. Believe me, they are MANY, MANY more.

I actually made this lovely one when I was a kid. It's pretty pathetic, but it's all I have left.

Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Lee Sullivan was our neighbor. He made this in school and then wrote Anson's name on the back and gave it to us a few years ago. Somehow it made it front and center on the tree this year.

Emma's sparkly shell shimmers in the lights!

I love to see Charlotte's sweet baby face.

Most of the following ornaments belonged either to my grandmother or were ones my parents bought before I was born, or when I was very young. I love that the kids did not seem to notice that the ornaments were old-fashioned, and enjoy them just the way they are.