This year we started what I hope will be a new Christmas tradition for our family. On the first Sunday in December, we invited our immediate family around for brunch and to help us decorate our Christmas tree.
Now, I am all for beautifully decorated, colour co-ordinated trees but I realised that once children are involved it becomes more about sharing a special tradition which fully includes them rather than how the finished tree looks. After all, Christmas as a celebration is extra special in so many ways once children are involved – their excitement, wonder and joy are truly infectious!
So we decorated our tree with lots of silver and red baubles and then came my favourite part of dressing the tree – adding a special collection of individual ornaments which Dad 101 and I have collected over the years. Each of these ornaments has a special association, a little story to tell – of a place we have visited, an event to remember, or a person we know. I thought I would share just a few…
This silver disco ball is from the night I first met Dad 101. There were hundreds of them hanging in the venue where we welcomed in the new millennium. We met not long before midnight struck.
This decoration I made at my grandparent’s house when I was a child. It is made from a cotton reel, ribbon, ric rac and a bell. My grandma kept it for many years before passing it on to me for my own Christmas tree.
This is the first of quite a few that we purchased on our trip to the states in November/December 2002. It is a beautiful wooden ornament which we bought at Macy’s in San Fransisco. They had the most amazing Christmas tree decorating ideas, all themed and representing everything from ‘under the sea’ to ‘fairy fantasy.’
From the multi-storey M&Ms store in Vegas.
A handmade ceramic bauble from Mexico which we managed to carry around for five weeks of travelling without breaking!
From New York, small Statue of Liberty figurine which I made into an ornament.
From my trip to the UK in 2005 with a very dear friend.
From Devonport in Tasmania, where we spent Immy’s first Christmas celebrating with her Dad’s family.
This one Immy chose on our recent visit to Singapore.
And this one I bought this year to add to a collection for Immy, for when she leaves home one day and starts her own Christmas traditions. I love the number 9 (which is meant to represent 9 Ladies Dancing from the 12 Days of Christmas song) as it is perfect to remind me that it is the one we bought for her collection in 2009!
Do you have special ornaments which you hang each year on your tree? What do they represent to you and your family?
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
It's so special that your Grandma passed on the beautiful ornament you made when you were a child. Your mexican ornament is almost like a lucky charm - that's amazing that it survived the trip in one piece.
We also have ornaments that we have bought each year that remind us of a significant event from that particular year. Now that Savvy has started making ornamets and decorations I think the look of our tree is going to change significantly over the next few years and I can't wait to have her decorations (as well as Blakie's and Tic Tac's) gracing our tree.
Our Christmas tree is here - There was no way I was keeping two babes out of the tree, so we went very kiddie friendly!
I also love the ornaments that we made together, they are special to look back on!