We put up our Christmas tree last weekend, while listening to the traditional Christmas music: the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, Elvis’ Blue Christmas, and some a cappella carols by the Robert Shaw Chorale – my husband’s choice. (They take him back to his high school days, singing carols with his show choir while wearing a Dickensian suit and top hat.)
I always love unwrapping our funky, mismatched ornaments and reminiscing about their origins: This ruby slipper came from the Smithsonian gift shop in D.C. Jana gave me this bell when I helped assemble her kids’ teacher gifts one year. These glass balls came from my parents’ first Christmas tree.
Every year, I share a few photos of beloved ornaments and their stories. For the sixth (!) year, here they are:
Last December, when J and I met Shanna for a pre-Christmas lunch in Abilene, she handed us this lovely bird ornament – “because you guys are my songbird friends,” she said. I miss singing with Shanna at church (she used to live here in Boston, but lives in Atlanta now), but the songbird makes me smile.
I ordered a set of three stuffed gingerbread houses from Etsy a few years ago. I gave two of them to my friends Abi and Bethany, and kept this one for myself. We all lived in Abilene at the time; now Bethany is in Nashville and Abi and I are in Boston. I like thinking of these ornaments on each of our trees every year.
A dozen or so of my ornaments came from It’s About Time, a lovely shop in Abilene filled with antiques and housewares and all kinds of beautiful things, run by my friend Pam. This sparkly snowflake-esque one might be my favorite.
For our first Christmas as a married couple, my mom gave us a gift card to buy our Christmas tree and a few dozen ornaments from Hobby Lobby. These silver bells are from that shopping trip, and of course they evoke the Bing Crosby song.
My aunt Charlene – my mother’s best friend, who lives in Ohio – used to send us Christmas ornaments every year. This little tree is one of them – and as the hubs pointed out, it’s so meta. A tree on a tree.
If you celebrate, do you have a color-coordinated tree, or one with assorted ornaments, like mine? (If you have ornament stories, I’d love to hear them.)
cakes, tea and dreams 
Oh I love these! Our ornaments are all different as well – I don’t think it ever occurred to us to have a “theme” … !
I love these pictures and stories. Our ornaments are all full of memories too and I can’t wait to open them!
I don’t like color-coordinated trees! They look like they should be in department stores, not homes. I love your ornaments and their stories!
All the ornaments on our tree have stories. This will be our 35th Christmas so there are many, many stories on the tree. Thanks for sharing yours!
I love this post! I think I might have to write my own this year. What a great idea!
aww..Katie,..I had forgotten that tree. It is very special to me that you kept it. Love you much
[…] week once I had finished decorating my Christmas tree, I read this sort of post over at Cakes, Teas, and Dreams and immediately thought I should do something similar. (After wishing I had been doing this all […]
I love this post! I immediately started thinking of my own ornament spotlights & blogged a “work edition” today. I’ve always loved the bits & pieces that make up an assorted tree. I’ve often thought that I would only do a themed tree if I ever live in space for a 2nd tree. Until then, bring on the “mish-mash” of memories.
Loved your post, Amy!