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Trim-A-Tree

MyTurn:  Our Christmas tree is like a big scrapbook.  Since we’ve made a habit of buying ornaments that represent things, our tree and the process of trimming it are very sentimental!  We have “sections” on our tree: vacations, grad school, each kid has a section, Star Wars, It’s a Wonderful Life, etc.  We try to add new ornaments at this time of year to represent the big events of the past months, and pick up new ones during the year when we visit new places.

This fabulous lady is celebrating her eigth year with us, and she’s one of my favorites.  We got her the Christmas that we got married, which also happened to be the Christmas when the world was bracing itself for the dreaded Y2K event.  We’ve loved her from the start, and every year at least once either Brooke or I has to say “Happy New Millennium”  in the breathy Marilyn Monroe voice we imagine that she has.  She’s been at three different residences with us:  or funny little shag-carpeted townhouse apartment in grad school, the cute little one-bedroom house we rented when we moved here, and the cute little house that we own now.  No matter where she’s been, she’s added a touch of elegance to the holidays. She’s big, befitting the “big” New Year she celebrated.  I love it that she still looks great today, reminding us that the “shine” of this new Millennium hasn’t even begun to wear off.

YourTurn:  Do you have any special items of holiday decor that you treasure? 

December 1, 2007 - Posted by Bob | MyTurn/YourTurn | | 4 Comments

4 Comments »

  1. Cool concept: tree as scrapbook. We probably won’t be putting up a tree, this year, because we can’t figure out where it would fit.

    Just a bit of perspective (at least it was for me): When you and Brooke were getting married, I was living in Henderson House and drinking a LOT of Mickey’s. There’s a chance that we actually crossed paths on campus. There’s also a chance that I wouldn’t remember it if that had occurred. (See the bit about the Mickey’s.)

    Comment by sam | December 1, 2007

  2. Ten years ago, for our first Christmas as a married couple, I sewed homemade stockings with cross-stitched names on them. I’m not much of a seamstress and I had no pattern, so they’re not perfect, but I love to hang them year after year.

    I also purchased some paper-craft garland and some crinkled rafia-like garland from Ten Thousand Villages. Every year I remember again how much I love these items: they are unique, they complete my tree nicely, and they’re a good reminder of how blessed we are to live in such a rich country… sets the mood well for appreciating the giving spirit of Christmas (Ten Thousand Villages purchases fair-trade handmade crafts to support workers in third-world and developing countries.)

    Comment by hands-free heart | December 2, 2007

  3. You keep doing these fabulous questions and you’ll NEVER get rid of me! Here’s MyTurn for Trim-a-Tree.
    –Jennifer

    Comment by Jennifer Saltmarsh Manullang | December 3, 2007

  4. Oops, I meant to say that our tree sounds a lot like yours, except that our “sections” are like this:

    BREAKABLE – up high where only Mom or Dad can reach
    HEAVY – sometimes high up, otherwise dominating the strongest of branches
    EDIBLE (i.e., gingerbread) – high enough so the dogs don’t even try to reach them
    KIDS’ – in a ring around the bottom third of the tree, even though they get moved around all season
    NOISY – share space with “BREAKABLE” :)

    Comment by Jennifer Saltmarsh Manullang | December 3, 2007


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