My First Decade of Ornaments

Years and years ago I wrote about my family's tradition of gifting ornaments each year. I have the details of a few sporadic ornaments hanging about in the archives of this blog somewhere. But this is the year I'm just going to get them all up on here and call it good! Don't believe me (I mean, I've made a million promises to start blogging again and again)? Well, today I give you 1982 - 1991.

1982

I'm fairly confident my mom and dad would say this ornament, bought just a handful of weeks after I was born, has turned out to be oh so true! Matthew, Jonathan and I each had ball ornaments for our baby's first Christmas, and I always thought they were just the fanciest of fancy ornaments! 

1983

"An angel because you are our little angel!" Now that I've had four of my own 1-year-olds, I'm not so sure about this ;) ha! I always thought she was such a pretty angel. The stars fell out of her bucket somehow, and that glue isn't holding them together (just altering their color), darn it! I may just have to toss her soon, which is part of my motivation for snapping a photo of all of these! 

1984

This has to be one of my favorite write ups: "Tole Painted Gingerbread boy made especially for you by mom, and given to you because we were too poor to purchase anything this year (you actually got it a couple years later when we realized we hadn't purchased anything for you that year)." It's that parenthetical part that really cracks me up. I'm so curious, did she paint them this same year? Did my older brothers receive them this same year? I know we all have one, and I definitely remember them hanging on our own Christmas tree each year.

Also, I still can't believe my mother painted these, as I have no memories of her crafting when I was a child (I do remember her coloring about the time I hit double digits and I know she crochets and cross-stitches now, but ...). Even as a child, I could not wrap my head around my mom hand making so many of the Christmas decorations in our home, with the exception of our stockings. For some reason, I always trusted and believed she had made those. 

1985

I chose this creche all on my own as a newly minted 3-year-old. That's kind of hard for me to believe, but that's always been my favorite part of this simple and gorgeous nativity ornament. I thought I'd lost it at some point and my mom scoured Ebay for one, but sure enough mine turned up just as the backup she purchased arrived. Now it's returned to her full circle! My own memory always told me this was the year my dad had written they were too poor to purchase ornaments, thus letting us each choose our own from their tree. 

1986

Earlier that summer my position as the only daughter was solidified. I can tell my childhood is back in style, because this little stocking girl is adorable to me right now. 

1987

However, as a kid I know it was the details on this little crayola box and those (once thought adorable) mice that I was fascinated by (once thought adorable is in parenthesis because I cannot stand mice anymore -- even fake ones like these -- UCK!) Anyway, my dad wrote "Crayola because you love to color."

1988

"School house because you LOVE school!" I still remember so carefully taking this one out of it's box each year so I could hold it in my hands, just for a bit, before we had to put them all away again. I remember how well that flag fit into the box, shaped just for the school house. And now it's barely hanging on by a string (of glue). 

1989

I broke this one before I ever even got to put it on my own tree (honestly, I probably broke it just a year or two after I got it). It was such an adorable little toy to me! But let's take a minute and discuss the fact that I was given this telephone ornament because "You and Haley love to talk on the phone." Seriously?!?!? I know we did, but that habit started in first grade, after we'd just turned 7! That's crazy to me. 

1990

The details from this year read: "Lights and motion with the banister because you needed a light in motion one and we liked this one best." It was always so fun to see that little brother and sister pair sliding down the banister when I plugged it in each year. The lights Ben and I have on our tree now aren't compatible with this, darn it. 

1991

"Bear on Chest" is Pa wrote for this one. I suppose the writing on the ornament itself "Merry Christmas to a Fine Daughter" speaks for itself. This is another one that struck me as super adorable when I pulled it out this year. 

There's my first 10 Christmases. Come back tomorrow for the next 10!