Due to a hectic schedule this holiday season, we have just finished decorating our Christmas tree. Last year, we decluttered our unreasonably large collection of Christmas tree decorations, keeping only those decorations that we truly loved. We packed up the others for donation to the Holiday Bureau. There were so many donations that we had to have our daughter get in the car and we packed around her!
This year, rather than spending half the day bringing down boxes from the attic, my husband only had to bring down the tree, the lights, the single container of tree ornaments, and a container of home decorations. He remarked multiple times that he couldn’t believe how much stuff we had donated last year. Now, rather than digging through multiple containers for the few ornaments that we really want to put on the tree, everything is in one box, easy to find. When I open that box, I see only the ornaments that I love.
So this year, amongst our other favorite tree ornaments are …
A little yellow-and-pink “Baby’s 1st Christmas” giraffe with a pacifier. Look how sweet!
A bell-shaped cookie ornament from my first Christmas with my dearly-departed kitty Bingo. She loved Christmas, and spent most of the holidays curled up under the tree.
The ornament my daughter made in kindergarten. Look at the little face! Sniff, sniff.
An hand-made ornament from the Cherry Blossom festival in Washington, DC.
A little fluffy white kitty sleeping on an oven mitt.
A kitten playing with a hamster ball. I love the hamster – he looks genuinely a little panicked!
A Christmas pirate ship from Tybee Island.
And of course on the lowest limb, a stuffed mousie for the kitties. We hang it every year in the hopes that Bridget will not try to climb the tree, but I guess she likes a challenge. You can see that it has been well-loved though.
There are also plenty of traditional glittery Christmas ornaments. And nothing says Christmas like Wonder Woman!
The ornaments on our tree are not the most exotic or expensive or beautiful, but every one of them has a wonderful memory attached to it. Our Christmas tree is more than just a holiday decoration. It’s a catalog of the many beautiful and joyful moments in our lives.