I'm often asked why I use so many old ornaments and decorations in my holiday decor. I prefer the term vintage as opposed to old, but hey, I'm not the one doing the asking.
Shiny Brite ornaments, kitschy plastic deer, raggedy little putz houses. They all have a special place in my home. And in my heart.
I think I like them so much for the tradition aspect of them. The tying together of generations with a strand of tinsel. A strand of tinsel that's knotted and tangled and maybe a bit discolored, but still amazingly strong and in one piece.
You see, most of my vintage ornaments hung on my grandmother's tree when my mother was just a child. She would chew on the celluloid Santa's boots. And, just like any toddler, stand in front of the tree mesmerized by the lights bouncing off the shiny ornaments.
When my mom grew up and got married, the ornaments were passed on to her and hung on the trees of my childhood. No chewing on ornaments for me though. I preferred candy canes.
Fast forward many many years and the ornaments have come home to my house where they now hang on my own tree for my son to see.
And hands down, my very most favorite part of the holiday season is the trimming of the tree with those old ornaments. It brings back memories of my mom trimming the tree when I was little.
The pulling out of the boxes. The unwrapping of the delicate ornaments. The oohing and aahing over each ornament. The ever important placement of each ornament in exactly the right spot.
My mom did it back then and I do it now. I treasure those memories and I try to decorate my tree with the same excitement, reflection, and tradition.
I hope I'm doing as good of a job of instilling a sense of holiday tradition in my son as my mom did with me.
BTW, I do find a lot of vintage ornaments at thrift stores and yard sales, but those are always packed away in separate boxes from my cherished family ornaments. Don't want to be mixing up my childhood memories with Maggie Sullivan's childhood memories!
bfox74
Or family tradition is to celebrate the holidays in January. Everyone has so many places to go that this just makes sense...we get our out of towners here just about every year because they have time!
tiffany.hoyt
We get a bunch of lottery tickets in our stockings. So far we haven't won much though. 🙂
slehan
https://twitter.com/slehan/status/550453994800181248
slehan at juno dot com
slehan
Going to Christmas Eve service, coming home to hot chocolate and opening one present.
Thanks for the contest.
slehan at juno dot com
sarah
our favorite holiday tradition is having a big family dinner
stigay at comcast.net
Candie L
We started a new tradition this year and went to the zoo ice skating in the evening. thank you
candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com
kathy pease
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kathy pease
We love to do a lot of baking for the hilday..Mostly sweets and stuff 🙂
Cathy Truman
We like to get names from the Angel Tree and purchased clothes and toys for the names of the
angels we take
Whitney
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wlbellows at gmail dot com
Whitney
Eating chinese food and decorating the tree
wlbellows at gmail dot com
HilLesha O'Nan
Our tradition is decorating the tree. Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
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clc408
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clc408
We like to watch holiday movies and get together for festive dinners.
Thomas Murphy
tweeted
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rounder9834 @yahoo.com
Thomas Murphy
We love to bake Christmas cookies every year.
rounder9834 @yahoo.com