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Good morning, y'all! Happy Wednesday. December is here! We're in the second week of Advent and Christmas will be here before we know it. It truly doesn't seem possible!
Welcome to another edition of Twenty-Six Lists hosted by "A Fresh Cup of Coffe."
Today's topic is Holiday Ornaments and Memories.
Holiday Ornaments and Memories~
I love this topic. Christmas and all the other holidays are so special. Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year. It's my favorite holiday and season. We decorate our homes with beautiful items from our childhood and children's childhood. For years now, I have been blessed to have my daughter help me decorate the tree and the house. When both kids were little, they both would help, but as my son got older he didn't find it as fun as it once was. He did decorate his "apartment" last year. He has a family room and a bedroom in our basement. It was nice to see him decorate it, but he doesn't help decorate much upstairs.
My daughter on the other hand helps with everything! The trees, the decorations that go in all the rooms, and even the bathrooms get decorated. She helps with the outdoor lights and the decorations that get put out there. We even decorate the chicken coop. You can say we go all out for Christmas. We start around Thanksgiving and all the Christmas love stays up until February 2nd, which is the Presentation of the Lord.
Over the years, we changed and added a few items to our Christmas collection. No matter what I do, I'm definitely a traditional Christmas girl. No sad beige, no weird colors, no Grinch Christmas.
Quite a few years ago, my dad passed down the Nativty that was his mother's. I love placing it out every year. It reminds me of my grandmother and all the special memories of visiting her house at Christmas. She was a small, feisty Italian lady. She always had some delicious cookies to share and a warm cozy hug. We added a new piece to it this year, a vintage angel my husband found on eBay. I'd like to continue that tradition going forward. I know my kids already cherish it.
My grandfather on my mom's side was a huge train collector. When we were little, he had a whole train village set up in the attic at his home. He would use the ceramic Christmas houses to create the village. When passed, my son inherited a few trains and we got all the ceramic houses, stores, churches, etc. I now use them to decorate the top of my china hutch, Yes, I do have China. Rarely use it, but it looks pretty in my hutch.
I also use the houses to decorate the top of our built-in coat rack and my 3 tiered tray that sits on our breakfast nook. It makes me feel like he's still here. When I was little and after my parent's divorce, we lived with my mother's parents for a few years. Having pieces of their stuff up reminds me of them and all the love they gave us.
I even added a Victorian-inspired house warmer to the counter a few years ago. I can fun holiday scents and really bring the Christmas feeling to life.
Our tree is a combination of Hallmark Ornaments, gifts, and handmade ornaments from the years. I even have a few glass ornaments from a classmate from middle school. For a while, I had vintage glass balls my mom gave me when I first started out on my own. Sadly, I have 3 left. They had some help getting broken when a certain kitty climbed the tree and toppled it.
I have one Hallmark ornament that I collect that I absolutely love. It's the Nostalgic Houses and Shops. My mom got me the very first one back in 1983. I've added the collection most years and a few years ago, I started searching eBay for the few I didn't have. I now have only 2 from years past that I need, a Gazebo and a library. I will admit when they tried to do a few houses and shops in the 50s style, I was not happy. I don't think a lot of people were because they changed the style back. I love the Victorian, classic Christmas style.
I also collect Mary's Angels and the Puppy collection. Those 2 series, I buy if I think they are cute.
My wooden angel from Germany
Do you have a special ornament or decoration? I'd love to hear about it!
Merry Christmas!