Trim the Tree

The other night I decorated the tree. This year is not a big tree year so I just put up a pre-lit 3 foot tree. I choose to do a southwest tree, and put up the tin ornaments and yarn ornaments my Mom bought in Mexico once upon a time, and added a string of red chili lights, and some white clay stars and donkeys the boys had made. I also did a smaller kid tree in the dining room. When I say kid tree I mean decorated with pictures of my kids, and their lladro ‘baby’s first Christmas ornaments’. I do not mean one that they decorated. Paul is pretty mellow about the whole tree thing either way so I am not sure I could get him to decorate a tree for me, and Matthew loves his silver tinsel tree, which his mother does not. Since she already had to suffer through the southwest tree, I thought I would spare her the tinsel tree this year. The disco fiber optic tree I will put in the boys room when they get it cleaned.

What struck me as I put away all the ornaments I did not use was how many we have. Before you call me a holiday hoarder I want you to keep in mind that Kat and I had been married 10 years and had decorations aplenty before my mom passed and I brought home all of hers. Plus, as a bonus, I have ornaments that Fred-Dick had sent to her from his childhood. Dozens of handmade wood ornaments from the 40’s. His intent was that she use them for the kids at her school, but she thought it more appropriate that Jenni or I get them as that way they were staying with our family.

I have one tiny tarnished and tinseled pink shiny brite Christmas ball that belonged to my Granny Horton. I won’t hang that on a tree, but last year I had it sitting out on a glass domed cupcake stand. I have ornaments Jenni and I made when we were kids, many many from the ornament making day at the UU church. I tried to give Jenni hers when she had children of her own, but she is a good mom and does not want to traumatize her children with ornaments that are that scary looking.
There are boxes and boxes of lace angels that Kathleen made. She learned to make them first year we were married, and it was an annual tradition for a while. We have fans and lace wreathes as well. Some years our tree is very Victorian looking. I have a tiny box with ornaments that Kat and I made with Jodi Thomas-Thompson for the play My Three Angels in Christmas 1991. The big ornament with the three angels that was a plot point stayed with Shawnee Little Theater or went back to wherever it came from, but the other ornaments came home with us.

But perhaps one of my favorite treasured ornaments are the Snoopy ornaments that say Merry Christmas 1977. What I treasure most about these ornaments is that my Mom bought them in 1984 at Pic ‘n’ Save for a quarter apiece. What happens to ornaments with the year on them after the year is over? Apparently they go to Pic ‘n’ Save. We hung those on the tree every year, and told people we bought them in 84 for a quarter. You can keep your Christopher Radko collectable ornaments; this random collection is priceless to me.