The Memory Tree

Every year there is a lot of emphasis put on decorating the Christmas tree. Some people even have multiple trees because one simply isn’t enough. Colour schemes are selected, decorations chosen with care…Everything must match. It needs to be perfect.

And while that’s all nice, it certainly isn’t me. The decorations on my tree might seem a little simplistic to some but, for me, they create a tree full of memories every year.

I always loved the ornaments the kids made at school and how proud they were to hang them on the tree. Here are a few that seem to make it onto the tree every year.

I saw this blue jay one Christmas and picked it up for my next-door neighbour because she loved blue jays. When you squeeze it it sounds just like one. After she passed, at the age of 100, her daughter gave it back to me as a remembrance of her. This ornament reminds me of the time I spent with her and the Christmases I helped decorate her tree.

This Christmas tree owl my daughter made the year Miss Charlotte was born. It came with a poem—a story about a little night owl named Charlotte who didn’t like sleeping at night. I’m happy to report that she did outgrow that night owl stage.

I posted this one on Facebook a few days ago. It was made from Miss Charlotte’s hand print the year she was two.

This is a painted bulb of our house more than ten years ago. Some subtle changes dates this one for me.

Aunt Elsie made a few ornaments that adorn our tree every year. This one she made my daughter and it doubled as a tag on her gift that year. That has to have been nearly 30 years and dear Aunt Elsie is no longer with us.

Here’s a silly one my daughter made last year. It brought plenty of laughter on Christmas day. I posted this one on Facebook, too. Cracks me up!

My son’s Baby’s First Christmas ornament. This year he has two babies celebrating their first Christmas. Exciting times!

I have a few of these birds that I always put on my tree. We had the same kind on our tree when I was a kid and I loved them. I bought these in 1979 the year we got married.

Over the years a few friends have tole painted ornaments for me. Can’t help but think of them, the fun we’ve had over the years, as I hang them on the tree.

So there are a few memories from my Christmas tree. While my tree is not fancy and will never make the cover of a magazine it warms my heart every year. I couldn’t imagine not finding a spot to hang these ornaments among the branches. And really, isn’t that what Christmas is all about, the memories, the love and laughter?

Wishing you all a Christmas filled with much love and warm memories, and may 2016 surpass your expectations and dreams.