We’ve reached Day Three of our journey through some of our family’s favorite Christmas tree ornaments! Today, I’m sharing one that was supposed to become a tradition, but ended up being a short-lived one. It was still fun while it lasted and the journey it was supposed to commemorate is still ongoing. By that I mean that we’re still parents with at least two still living under our roof. So, let’s take a quick look at the story behind our baby’s first ornament.
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Twenty-Five Days of Ornament Memories
Day Three – Baby’s First Ornament
Welcome to Day Three of this holiday series. I’ll try to make this one shorter, since I have other posts to write, as well. Today, I’m sharing an ornament that brings me back to our very first Christmas as parents. Well, sort of. It was the very first Christmas where we had a child physically outside the womb. Let me explain.  Â
A Little Background First
Our first of the three boys was due around December 13th ~ and trust me, I was ready for him to pop out way before then. However, the stinker decided that he wanted to “cook” a little longer and keep us guessing through the holidays. So, we waited…and waited…and waited. We bought a brand new Christmas tree (which we still have to this day) and had plenty of gifts under it for him because we fully expected and anticipated that he would arrive before the 25th.
Nope! In fact, the stinker came December 31st ~ and it was 1999!!! To make things even MORE exciting, he was the last baby born in our hospital in the 1900s!! Remember Y2K? Yeah – I still have the flashlight they gave us ~ just…in…case. Â
First Christmas as a family
So, since our first son was born so close to, but after, Christmas of 1999, we didn’t purchase his first ornament until the following year. We wanted it to be something special…something we could replicate year after year. We wanted him to remember the holidays fondly and have something tangible to take with him when he was old enough to celebrate Christmas on his own. Â
At that point in time, Things Remembered was having a sale on pewter ornaments. I gave them a look and fell in love with the idea immediately! At that point in our marriage, it wasn’t too difficult to convince Hubby that it was a great idea either (lol). I absolutely loved the fact that these ornaments could be engraved, too. So, we decided that this would start the tradition – an engraved pewter ornament each year so that we could hand them over at some special point in life for them to cherish on their own tree.
Traditions Change
As we see in a variety of movies these days (such as the Disney+ holiday movie, Noelle), traditions don’t always last for a long period of time. We were able to keep the annual routine for a few years past our third son’s birth. Each year, we would have one engraved that captured an element of their personality or something they loved. Â
However, too many moves around Christmas kind of hindered the process. Not to mention, Things Remembered stopped selling the pewter ornaments we loved. It was a whole combination of things that halted the tradition.Â
Nonetheless…
We still have a good handful of these pewter ornaments on the tree – each bearing the name of one of our boys and the year in which the gift was given. They at least all have one commemorating their first Christmas. At some point in life, I’ll hand them over to the respective owners. It’s just not time yet. I still have a few more years to enjoy these decorations before having to cross that sentimental bridge. Â
Do you still have your “baby’s first ornament”?
Was this a tradition you held with your children? Did you purchase any or all of them an ornament for their very first Christmas as part of the family? I’d love to hear that story and if there is any other special meaning behind that particular ornament. Feel free to share below. Â
Check out these pewter ornaments on Amazon!! Simply click on them for more information!
     
     
     
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Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or just the idea of being with family and friends this time of the year, we all have traditions. We all have those things that bring us back to holidays from times past. My hope is that these posts bring you back to a place in your life where you smiled, felt joy and experienced happiness.
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Did you miss the first few days of this Holiday Series? No worries – you can catch it here:
- The Story Behind The Ornaments – Day One, the Beginning
- The Story Behind The Christmas Ornaments ~ Day Two, Handmade with Love
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