25 Days of Christmas - Day 3: Ornaments of Old

Day Three: Ornaments of Old

Isn't is amazing how many ornaments you accumulate over the years? Each December as you unpack and hang them on the tree, you get to take multiple, mini-trips down Memory Lane (Nostalgia?  Here she goes again.).  This is why I have to designate an entire night just to decorating the tree.  You thought choosing wrapping paper took me a while, you should see me unwrap and hang ornaments.  

MB and I aren't really big on ornaments without meaning, and Wednesday, we'll show you a tree over thirty years in the making, but today on Day Three, it is all about the ornaments.  Not just any ornaments though- the "Ornaments of Old" (I'm a sucker for alliteration.).

Ornaments of Old...the very best kind of ornaments.  These are the ones you made in second grade out of old Christmas cards and chicken pot pie tins...the ones you could hardly wait to surprise your mom with after school...the ones you'd hide behind your back and then present like a trophy...the ones that would make her face light up with joy...and the ones that made your chest swell with pride as you'd watch her hang it in the best location on the tree proving that it was the most beautiful ornament she'd ever received.

One of the many "Ornaments of Old" that MB displays each Christmas
Edit: This was actually made in Kindergarten!  28 years ago!

And now... they are the ones that still make your chest swell when you see them, because though it has been 25 years, your mom still displays them with joy.

Just writing this I get a knot in my throat, because that's how my mom (MB) rolls.  And you know what?  That's how her mom rolls too.  I come from a long line of women who think the world of what their children create, who constantly have fridges full of stick figure art work, who don't mind making a bit of a mess to do a craft, and who just can't throw away that box of old art projects and research papers.  It is inherent.  It is who I am, and it is who I hope my girls will one day be.

So, I encourage you to dig out those Ornaments of Old that you have packed away, find the prime spot on your tree, and hang them proudly.

Note: Don't worry if those sentimental, old ornaments don't work with your tree's theme or colors...we've got an idea for that tomorrow!