Our trees might be rejected as centerfolds for Southern Living, but they take center stage in our hearts because they are chock full of memories.
Don’t get us wrong. We love the balanced, color-coordinated perfection of department store trees. We praise our friends and family who are able to miraculously pull off similar feats without an ounce of snark in our hearts. In fact, Ellen has a second tree in her dining room that is pretty darn coordinated and themed . . .
And THIS is Erin’s version of a themed tree. Yeah, that is Yoda up there reigning over a tree full of Star Wars and Star Trek ornaments. May the force be with you.
But these aren’t the trees that our celebrations center around. Our main family trees are more than just decorations, they tell the stories of our lives. Each baby, marriage, vacation, and milestone is represented. Our lives are messy jumbles of events and joys and our trees have evolved into reflections of that.
We are behind on our photo albums, and there are more than a few children between us without completed any baby books, but dammit, decorating our Christmas trees is like the best walk down memory lane each and every year.
Erin
1. Caorach—That’s Gaelic for sheep if you were curious. When Steve and I were traveling through Ireland on our honeymoon, I was impressed by the beautiful countryside, the friendly people, and the sheep. Lots of sheep. This little fella has been part of our flock for 16 years now and I love seeing his simple unfinished wood wrapped in Irish wool every Christmas. It always takes me back to that special time when we were just starting out.
2. Whatever, Martha! Oh, sisters are the absolute best, and I have been particularly blessed to have a great one. But in addition to being a long distance swimmer and full-time university professor, my sister is crafty. I did not get this gene, but it doesn’t usually smack me in the face until Christmas arrives. This is when we receive my sister’s beautiful gifts handmade with love. They contrast nicely with my gifts which usually look like my seven year old wrapped them. I love everything she has made us, but these are particularly cute. She made these for everyone (and I have a big family!) customized with hair color, eye color, glasses, and colors of their favorite sports team. Aren’t they adorable?? Don’t you all want to hate her just a little bit?
3. Angelface — When I was a little girl, my dad went to a Christmas party and one of his friends gave him 2 angels to give to me and my sister on Christmas day. My sister’s had blond hair and hung side by side with my angel at the top of our tree under our star until I married Steve and took my angel with me. This humble little angel is probably one of my oldest possessions and I love seeing her on our tree every year and remembering all of her Christmases past.
4. Sisters Are Special—The Series— Remember what I said about sisters?? This is just one of a series of ornaments we gave each other. They are all pretty cute and extol the virtues of sisterhood, but this is the only photo one.
5. Family — Steve and I moved away from Maryland to mid-coast Maine a month after we were married. When we moved back home to Maryland, we had two kids and I was 8 months pregnant with the 3rd. We moved into a small apartment right before Christmas, and I couldn’t get to any of our Christmas decorations. I shoved a small artificial tree that someone was throwing away into a Nordstrom box, and bought a strand of lights (the tree was so small it only needed one). Then I took the box of extra photos (you know, the ones you didn’t use for albums or gifts before everything went digital) and started making ornaments. I showed you one of Ace as a baby here, but we still hang all of those crappy ornaments from our first Christmas in Maryland on our tree. It makes me happy to see how young we were and remember myself as a young mom determined to have a tree no matter what.
Ellen
6. Bermuda Moon Gate — My husband, Frank, and I got this on our honeymoon in–wait for it–Bermuda. Its complete circle symbolizes unity, peace, and happiness. The idea was brought to Bermuda in the 1800s by a sea captain who had visited Asia, but the island quickly adopted it as their own. Newlyweds who pass through a moon gate hand-in-hand are said to have everlasting happiness and good fortune. We were married twenty-one years ago, so I guess they were onto something.
7. You Can Find A Gift Shop Anywhere — After I graduated from medical school, Frank and I went to Italy. Not surprisingly, one of the most breathtaking sights was St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the views of Rome from the roof and the cupola were equally spectacular. Imagine our surprise when we turned from the panoramic vistas to find a gift shop on the roof (I hear they also have a coffee bar now, too). We purchased this mosaic cross and it has had a place of honor at the top of tree ever since.
8. Sharing Family History — My grandparents and their families were from Chincoteague Island, Virginia. While growing up, I spent every summer visiting down there. This ornament commemorates taking my first born daughter there when she was one year old. She never got to meet my grandparents, but she did get to meet my Great-Aunt Ruth and enjoyed herself immensely on her first beach trip.
9. Talking Easter on Christmas — In 2007, we were lucky enough to go to the White House Easter Egg Roll. And yes, it was fabulous. Thank you Aunt Allaire for the tickets. There were children’s authors, the Easter Bunny, Hannah Montana, and the Jonas Brothers. This was when the wrecking ball was just a gleam in Miley’s eye. It really was like a festive old timey country fair . . . well, except for the aforementioned Disney-fest.
10. New York Whirlwind — This ornament commemorates the awesome two day New York City vacation I took with my daughters in 2011. In just over 48 hours, we visited my sorority sister in Princeton, NJ, caught the train to Penn Station, rode a taxi to our swanky Times Square hotel ,The Sanctuary, took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry, rode the (free!) ferry round-trip to see the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, lunched at Mars 2021, rode the Ferris wheel at Toys R Us, dropped a fortune at the M&M store, got swept up into The Transformers: Dark of the Moon premier, ate at the Shake Shack with Aunt Donna, got caught up in a Year of the Rabbit party in our hotel lobby, ate breakfast at a diner, went to the Top of the Rock, took a carriage ride through Central Park, sat five rows back at Wicked, dined at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, took the subway to Penn Station, and got our fannies home. I can DO tourist.
Bonus
My 14-year-old wanted me to include her favorite ornament. It makes her happy year after year because it never loses its bubble bath scent. And because she makes my heart happy, I’m including it. Plus maybe this will make her like the blog better. She’s not a huge fan.
Is your tree a Pinterest dream or a hodgepodge?
Tell us about YOUR favorite ornament!
From The Sisterhood to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas filled with love and happiness.
Ellen and Erin
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I love this. We have so many special ornaments and they all tell a story–like a reading a favorite book every Christmas when you decorate 🙂 And my husband is going to die over the Star Wars tree 😉
Meredith recently posted..The Christmas Win
When I go to someone’s house over the holidays, I would love to stand with them in front of their tree while they tell me the stories of their ornaments. Such wonderful memories inside taxi cabs, Easter eggs, and sheep. And a mouse in a teacup bubble bath. Thanks for sharing some of your stories, Erin and Ellen.
Loved this. Thanks for sharing. My favorite ornament on my tree are skeleton keychains that my son and I got at Jekyl and Hydes during a NYC Christmas trip. Each year he looks for them on the free…he’s 28 now.
Jennifer recently posted..Create a Portable Vision Board
Love it! As a single person in an apartment who doesn’t really entertain, I don’t do a tree, but I do have a few ornaments that I just put out on shelves. My favorite one is a little wooden train set from Emgee Ornaments in Hawaii – they’re out of business now but were very popular when I was a kid growing up in Hawaii; I think I got myself one car with reindeer in it and then over the next few years my folks got me the engine, the caboose, and a number of other cars. Love unpacking it and putting it out every year.
The fact that the awesome dog I had back then personalized the reindeer car by chewing off a couple of antlers during her puppyhood just makes it even more special.