My Christmas tree is 20 years old. It still looks brand new. Stephen and I bought it the first year we were dating. In those 20 years, I have collected numerous ornaments that tell a story. I am not one of those “my tree has to be all matching” kind of people. I like diversity. That is just how I roll.
Some of my favorite ornaments and the story behind them.
The oldest ornament on the tree. Stephen made this when he was five years old. It has survived all these years and always adorns the top of the Christmas tree. It is the first ornament that is hung each year and the last one to be taken down.
This ornament was given to me by my husband to remind us of the year we became parents. Robert was born around Christmas time and I have always loved Ernie–so Stephen bought us this so that we could remember that first Christmas.
I have every single homemade ornament the kids have ever made–in school and during our homeschool years. These are some of my favorite ornaments.
This was given to us by some very special friends. I love this because it is a reminder of the Baby who was born to save my soul. We got this the year we gave our lives to Christ. I love seeing this one every year.
I have tons of these ornaments. My mom and I made them together. These remind me of the season where she and I finally was able to communicate all the hurt and anger we had toward one another. These are reminders of the truce we made. It also serves as the reminder of when I truly felt free of any guilt and condemnation. God used this time to heal me and these serve as a reminder of that.
This ornament reminds me of the year I finally decided to homeschool. It was at this moment the decision was made that when I finished my year of being a teacher’s assistant, that I would indeed homeschool our children.
My dog’s favorite ornament–seriously. He guards this ornament every single year when we put it out. His name is “Jingle, Jangle, Jingle”. If you say those words or jingle that ornament–you are in serious trouble.
This ornament is a reminder of when I was introduced to playing Dirty Santa. If you have never played–find a group and join and play. It is SO fun! He is a sparkly little dude!
My favorite ornament of all is this one. It is a reminder that when God became the center of our family, we fell in love with each other. We are all the best of friends and I cannot thank God enough each day for that reminder.
What are some of your favorite Christmas ornaments?
14 Responses to My 20 Year Old Christmas Tree
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Hi! I am Jen--a wife to the most amazing man ever and a homeschool mom to one teenager. I just graduated my oldest.
I have been blogging since 2007. I love to watch movies, spend time in the kitchen, crochet, dance, drink coffee, and lay on the beach. Between recipes, reviews, and hilarious life story moments you'll find many helpful posts on this blog. Welcome, pull up a chair and stay for a while!
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Very pretty and warm tree~I too like diversity!
Thanks for sharing! HUGS!
Your tree is fabulous! We have the same type of tree as well – all of our ornaments on it have special meaning. When we were first married, all of our friends started an ornament exchange. We had all received so much in wedding presents, but our poor trees were so bereft! So we gave each other ornaments as presents. We did this until we all had children, and I have loads of wonderful ornaments with so many memories. I also have all of the ornaments that my children made, and each Christmas, we all buy each other a special ornament.
When my parents passed away, I inherited all of their ornaments, and many that were handmade by me when young. When we decorate the tree, we always have an order that things go on it as well.
I have played ‘dirty santa’ before but we don’t call it that. I’m not sure what we call it though! LOL
PS – it looks like you and I have the same colour paint on our walls!
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Thanks for sharing your favorite ornaments, I really like your snowman family.
Enjoyed seeing your ornaments. That’s funny about your dog and the ornament.
Oh, I love this! Thank you for sharing the stories behind your favorites. My tree is usually like yours – chock full of special, sentimental ornaments. This year, we have a kitten who climbs the tree. I had to make an emergency run out to the store for shatterproof ornaments and wire to secure them to the branches. I hope that next year she is content to sleep underneath, and bat at the lower branches like our other cat does.
You have such a beautiful tree! Our family had the same type of tree and every year we bought the kids an ornament for the tree. The plan was, as each child left the house to start homes of their own, we would give them their ornaments for their first tree.
All was well until we got a new puppy..a lovely Chocolate Lab who was about 10 months old her first Christmas. I came home from work one night to find all the ornaments that she could reach, which were most of them, in pieces on the floor. Some she had chewed and others she had devoured because we only found bits and pieces of those! Thankfully she did not get sick but it was a hard lesson to learn about life with a puppy!
I love ornaments! Thanks for sharing yours! I’ve been blogging about Christmas traditions this week & tomorrow I’m blogging about the tree too.
It is fun to look through the ornaments each year and remember. One of my favorites is one my Grandmother made.
One of our oldest ornaments is one my husband made in grade school. I have one that I made in K
Of course, I have baby’s first Christmas for each of my kids….even if they weren’t newborn when we got them. Mrs. Claus brings each of the kids a new ornament every year. Typically representing something exciting that happened that year….like playing soccer; got their driver’s license; turned 21; each of the kids have a large popcorn tin that they put their special ornaments in. It is fun to watch them gently handle each of their ornaments each year when they hang them up and “remember”. After 9 kids, our tree is pretty full. I also have a baby’s first Christmas for each of the 9 grandkids that go up as well. Thanks for sharing you special ornaments with us.
What a beautiful tree. When I was young I had a favorite Christmas ornament made of beaded glass.It was special because my grams made it for me. I love the wonderful memories around your tree.
LOVE hearing the story behind them ~ especially the one that your friends gave you!!! We have a special ornament for each of our kids too that we start hanging when they ask Jesus in their heart and put the date on it.
Thanks for joining up with the Christmas Ornament Show and Tell.
Thank you for sharing your tree with us and the special meaning behind each ornament. I loved the ornament shaped like a heart with the hand print. Beautiful.
I love the baby handprint one. That is a wonderful idea!!