Christmas Traditions - Ornamentally Speaking



Family Christmas Photos 2011



My favorite thing about Christmas is building excitement. One way our family does so is with sweet little traditions.  These small holiday activities are like our own secret society.  We shop and we bake and we craft and... we just do things that make our family unique.  While we have many, our first family tradition was started before we were an official family.  It is

The Ornament.

It all started when Hubbs and I were dating. He came home from his weekend job as a counselor at the local Boys and Girls club with this little fella (Christmas 2002):

Yep, a half-painted, 2-color rodent ornament with yellow curling ribbon. WHAT?! You don't see how absolutely beautiful it is? Well, we were in college and I thought it was so cute that he took his time to paint  that little ornament for me.  This also came at a time when he'd leave poems in random locations and sing made-up songs to me(my personal favorite, "I'll Kiss You with Dorito Breath")... LOL.

It was no surprise that we were engaged on Thanksgiving 2003.  While shopping (as a couple... for Christmas gifts from "US"), I fell in love with this little engagement ornament:

We were married in August 2004 and here's our first ornament as a married couple:

Yes, I shaved my head in October 2004 and this is all the hair I had Christmas Eve 2004.  Imagine, it's like 7PM Christmas Eve and we're out searching for the perfect 1st Christmas ornament - SMH.  None of them were right... Too frilly, too grandma, too cheesy... We went to every store and nothing was right.  I was quickly defeated but, luckily, Hubbs was DETERMINED.  When he saw this little booth where photos were made into keepsakes, he said, "the only thing perfect in here is you... So let's just take a pic of perfection." 

Did someone queue the crowd for the AWW?? I mean, SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, it doesn't GET any cuter! 

Hubbs saved CHRISTMAS (and he said I was perfect, in case you missed that part).  For this reason alone, I love that little ornament... In all of its plastic snowflake glory.

2005: Here's what happens when you're too sick to leave the house and have to send Hubby to Hallmark for an ornament like 2 days before Christmas:

"Brian, what were you thinking? Is that how I LOOK to you?! UGH. GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

My, my, my what a difference a year makes, huh? LOL.  Oddly enough, I was pregnant (just didn't know it) and FELT like an ogre.  I just didn't want HIM to say it with an ornament... Needless to say, this one spent its first Christmas on the BACK of my tree.  Until life happened on January 5th, 2005 when our dog (represented by the Donkey on the ornament) was put down.  I cried my eyes out packing up this very ornament. "O DONKEY, I'll miss you!" Again, the pregnancy hormones made me a MESS but now, I think of him and I'm happy to display this ornament on the tree every year.  Ogre. Hmph. I got yo' ogre. 

The next Christmas (2006) was extra special as it was Munchface's FIRST... The mandatory Baby's First everything (stocking, pj's, socks, bib, AND ornament) was well represented... Here's the Winnie the Pooh ornament:

The rest has been history:

2007

2008

2009

2010

Looking at these ornaments really tells a story of our lives and choosing our ornament every year is a VERY special family tradition for us. I remember when Brian was so excited to be frogs (2008) and my mom laughed SO hard at the little skinny legs and how the little frog family REALLY looks like us...

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OK so... MAYBE we do have chicken legs but still - LOL.  This year, we got our family ornament while on vacation at Disney.  Munchface's reaction when she saw it come out of the box sums up the purpose of our ornament tradition:

"That's from when my DREAMS came true, MOMMY!"

Yep. It sure is, baby girl.

What are your family traditions?

How are you building excitement for the most wonderful time of the year?