Every Black Friday for as long as I can remember, I have decorated a Christmas tree. As a child, my mom would pull out the huge bins of decorations and I would beg her to tell me the story behind each ornament. At one point she had 7 Christmas trees {a lot, I know}, but my favorite has always been her “family” tree. Each ornament on the family tree had a meaning, so putting it together each year was like taking a walk through a photo album.
Now, I have my own “family” tree – and decorating it something the boys and I enjoy doing together each year. (Aren’t Santa and his elf – below – too cute?)
As we put the ornaments on the tree, we talk about the special meaning of each one. Here we have an ornament from my first Christmas (way too long ago), an ornament a student gave me when I was teaching, an ornament from Key West because we like to visit the Keys as often as possible, a Disney World ornament that we got when we made an overnight stop on our honeymoon, and a Where the Wild Things Are ornament to represent the book that was the theme for Buddy’s first birthday party. Can you spy our elf, Frank?
On this branch, note the the Picasso-inspired ornament that Buddy created as a 2 year old, a stuffed bunny from my mom’s tree, an ornament from my Alma Mater – go Terps!, and a copy of the Grinch Stole Christmas – an essential ornament for any literacy professor for the holidays.
What are your family traditions for decorating your tree? What types of ornaments do you hang? Are they the same every year?
I LOVE this post! Decorating our tree is near and dear to my heart as well, especially as the kids get older. This year C was able to remember ornaments she had gotten in the past and cherish them. I just love that these memories are beginning. We always get our tree on Thanksgiving weekend and decorate it as a family that night. It is a beautiful night!
Would love to see your tree if you post it – I love seeing what other people do to make their tree special!