Our Christmas tree is up – is yours? We always go get a tree on Thanksgiving weekend so I can spend as much time with it as humanly possible {five weeks minimum!}. There is something so magical to me about having a giant tree loaded with twinkling lights INSIDE our house.
But it’s more than that. The tree is also so special to me because of the memories it holds. Decorating it is like traveling through time; each ornament is stored in a Ziploc baggie with a Post-It note I’ve written to remind me of the ornament’s significance. Like this horse-themed weather vane given to me as a reminder of my cowgirl-themed birthday party months earlier. Memories came flooding back as I hung the ornament on our tree: the horse-drawn hay ride with all my friends around me, the cowgirl handkerchief around my neck, the lodge where we ate cake and opened presents, the innocence of 10.
My parents {okay, let’s be honest – my mom!} did this every year for my brother and me; one of our Christmas gifts was always a special ornament. And now I do the same for my kids. There’s a little drummer boy from the year Ryder got his first drum set. There’s one with Captain Hook to remind him of our family trip to Disney World. There’s a sweet lamb from Truman’s first Christmas.
Someday, when the boys are all grown up, I’ll give them each their box of ornaments, with notes from their mama attached and the hope that they bring back sweet memories of childhood and add magic to their families’ trees. It’s such a sweet and simple way to capture and commemorate those little moments that really do matter.
