It’s here! It’s finally here! Yes – it’s time to decorate the house, start making peppermint fudge, put up the tree and reminisce about the ornaments we are hanging this year. Do you find yourself doing that, too? Unpacking the ornaments after a year in storage and finding yourself smiling as you recollect the memory of what each ornament means to you? I do it every year – even find myself tearing up a little, too, now that the boys are getting older. So, in the spirit of all that is Christmas, I thought it would be fun and creative to share with you a few shorter posts showcasing some of the sentimental ornaments our family places on our Christmas tree each year.  Maybe it will give you a reason to sit in front of your tree and remember some fond memories of your own. Â
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Twenty-Five Days of Ornament Memories
So, it’s Day One of this 24-25 day event. I thought taking us all the way to the beginning would be a great way to start. Don’t you? No – no…not MY beginning. That’s just too far back (we don’t have that kind of time!). No, I’m talking the beginning of our nuclear family celebrating Christmas together.
So, Let’s Travel Back In Time..
Hubby and I got married in November just a tad bit over 23 years ago. Since then, we’ve been collecting ornaments from the various adventures we’ve taken around the country ~ pre and post children. Since the original adventure began in 1996, I thought it would be fitting to share an ornament that has been with us since the day we said, “I do.”
This beautiful heart-shaped, turtle dove ornament was given to us as a wedding gift. Sadly, I have to confess that I can’t remember exactly who the the gift-giver was. It’s gorgeous just the same, though, and I appreciate the fact that this person thought to give us an ornament we can cherish every year. Since we married so close to Christmas, we actually received quite a few holiday-related gifts ~ from blankets to nativity scenes. This one was sweet because every year we unwrap it and remember the feeling of adding it to the very first Christmas tree we ever decorated together.
Oh, and does THAT bring back memories!!!Â
We lived in a bottom-floor apartment sectioned off in an old, giant white house. It had one bedroom, a tiny kitchen and a large livingroom where we entertained several guests in the seven or eight months we lived there. My favorite feature was the screened-in porch. Our cat would perch herself in the window between the kitchen and the porch and just take it all in.Â
Well, now that I’ve set the scene, let’s get back to our first Christmas there. The reason I can remember decorating our first tree together so vividly is because that tree died very quickly. We thought it would be fun to have a real pine that year. However, that wasn’t in the cards. Instead, the tree dried out and we had to pick up a small artificial one. This one would get us through the next few years. It was tiny, but we only had a few ornaments to hang anyway. In fact, this one was a little too heavy for it and I can remember it pulling the branch down. Â
What this Christmas ornament means to me
I love the heart-shape and the turtle doves found in the center. Turtle doves are said to be a symbol of love, friendship and devotion.  They stay together for a lifetime and are considered a sign of faithful and bonded love. What a great gift to give a newly married couple!
I love that they thought to have our name and wedding year placed right in the center. That way, when we look at it, we are immediately brought back to that beautiful day!! Oh, my goodness – we got married up in “way-upstate” New York, so we were just glad we didn’t get snowed in!
Do you have a Christmas ornament that brings you “back to the beginning”?
Is there an ornament that you hang on your Christmas tree every year that brings you back to the beginning of an adventure, journey, story or relationship?  I’d love to hear any of these stories, so feel free to share below!
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.
I love this idea and thank you for helping me to remember the beautiful memories my treasured ornaments hold.
As I look at my tree the one that stands out most today is one from my first trip to the Outer Banks about 12 years ago.
Awww – I love that this inspired you! Have you been going to the Outer Banks regularly since that time twelve years ago?
Just an FYI, the ornament did not display when I opened this story.
Hmm – thanks for letting me know. It did when I opened it up on my desktop, but I’ll go check the mobile version and then adjust accordingly. Appreciate the heads up!
I remember that ornament Margot made for you and I remember you hung it up every year.
She made us two at the beginning of our marriage and we still have both of them – still in mint condition.
This is so neat. I love ornaments. I buy the kids a new on each year so that when they move out, they’ll have enough to start their own tree.
That was a part of our intent when we started, but life got in the way. Of course, there is no rule that says we can’t start again, right? LOL. Do you have the ornament engraved or is it just something that represents a piece of who they are?