Our Christmas Memory Tree

I love looking at beautifully decorated Christmas trees. You know, those elegant trees that are perfectly coordinated in complementary colors. That is not my tree.

When I was born, my mother decided she wanted to create a special family holiday tradition. She took me to a small town, local shop and asked me to "pick an ornament that describes my year." Now, at that age I wouldn't have been able to comprehend the question. So, she picked for me.

Thus, our family tradition was born. Each year we would pick out an ornament that helps to describe the twelve months we recently experienced. 

As a child, I definitely made some interesting choices and am unsure of the meaning. For example, look at this little gem here:

Care to guess my yearly story for that ornament? Yeah, I don't know either. I guess it's fair to say, some yearly ornament choices just make for a good laugh.

The best part about this yearly collection is that when you leave your parents home and begin to build your own nest, your collection of ornaments goes with you! Your Christmas tree will be decorated with pieces of your childhood attached.

In more recent years, I have collected some ornaments that really,truly represent memories that have been made. Memories time stamped for my own children to see. My pictures on the side include the following events: buying our first home, one of our two dogs joining the family (the other dog has his own ornament as well), and our first cruise. Each year as I put my tree up, my husband and I discuss the ornaments and what they mean to each of us.

Little did I know how meaningful my trip to the store with my mother would be. Now, I am preparing to make my first tip with my daughter to pick out an ornament to start her collection. Her first Christmas!

What traditions does your family do that is meaningful?