Today was Tacky Christmas Sweater Day at school and since Sarah wasn’t able to get her hands on a sweater, she wore tacky Christmas earrings instead.
Pretty tacky, huh?
Sarah’s tacky earrings got me to thinking about tacky ornaments and tacky ornaments got me to thinking that we have some semi, quasi tacky ornaments on our tree and that got me to thinking that I should have a Smithellaneous Ornament Quiz this morning!
So your mission (if you choose to accept it), is to look at a few of the ornaments on our tree and try to discern whether the ornaments in Group A or the ornaments in Group B were selected by The Smith Men.
Are you ready? This is going to be a tough one!
Here is Group A.
And here is Group B:
Did you guess correctly? (I think we can all agree that the Smith family is definitely a case study in Tacky vs. Classy!)
In addition to the aforementioned selection of ornaments, we also have those ornaments which fit into the lovingly but not always skillfully homemade by children category. These ornaments include the perpetually surprised reindeer who happens to be missing a nose and a mouth. (Maybe that’s why he’s perpetually surprised; he doesn’t know where his nose and mouth went!)
This lovely homemade ornament is just slightly offended that it has been made to share tree space with Sponge Bob. (Or Sponge Blob, as our family likes to call him. Or if I did a blog about Sponge Bob, I could call it Sponge Blog!”)
I’m done now.
Our last ornament category is those that have some sort of special meaning.
A friend made us this ornament the Christmas after Sarah relapsed and it always makes me thankful to look at it.
This ornament arrived just a couple of days ago from our friends, Jim and Ann Martin. A Baby’s First Christmas spoon–how sweet is that?
Whenever we travel, we try to get an ornament from our destinations. This particular ornament is from Cancun, where we went the year Sarah relapsed. (The trip was a gift to our family from a generous friend with a heart for cancer kids.)
We got this last year at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
This one came from Cirque Du Soleil when we attended it in Orlando last fall with Nathan and Meagan.
When Nathan went to Israel in 2009, he kept the family tradition going and brought an ornament home for us.
When there’s enough space, we try to add a little info to each new ornament. (And since this is Nathan’s actual hand writing, I treasure the ornament all the more.)
With such a disparate tree, I try to console myself with the fact that if we put up enough large, red ornaments hither and yon, it will pull it all together.
It works out pretty well.
At the end of the day, though, the most important thing is not necessarily whether our ornaments are tacky or whether they are classy. The most important thing is that the ornaments we hang either bring us a smile a memory.
Because ornaments tell stories. And each year when they are retrieved from their boxes and hung in the midst of branches and boughs, the stories are seen, heard, touched, and remembered all over again.
So whether it’s a plastic Sponge Bob, a perpetually surprised reindeer or a stained glass creation from the National Cathedral, each ornament on our tree has earned a right to be there; it has brought with it a story, a memory, a smile. And that’s the most important thing.
What kinds of ornaments are on your tree? Do you have a favorite one? An ornament that carries a great story with it?
‘Tis the season for ornament stories!
So, my mom was given an ornament at a gift exchange many years ago. When I got married, she gave it to me to put on the tree. Long story short-she(and me) are Jewish, but my husband is Catholic. So, she never got to hang it on a tree. It was personalized with her name on it. When my daughter was 3(she will be 17 next month), she was fascinated with the ornament. My husband always hung it high up so she could not get to it. It was really special to me by now because my mom had passed away.
I was at work and my husband was in the kitchen, and he hears a big crash. She had taken the step stool when my husband was not looking so she could reach the ornament.
My husband had my daughter call me at work to tell me what happened. Then he had her go to her piggy bank and take some money to go with him to find a replacement.
They had it inscribed exactly like the one that broke.
Fast forward to Hurricane Sandy. It got ruined when my basement flooded so there is a sad, empty space on our tree now.
I have the memories though.
That is the story of my special ornament!!
The big question is this……..do the lights pass the Squint Test as set forth in the Steve Smith tree-trimming manual? (The squint test has now become part of Hawley Family tradition since our Smith Son has started helping. LOL)
Sheri,
That made me smile; I had forgotten to mention the Official Squint Test. I’m so glad that Nathan has brought that grand tradition to the Smith Home! Steve was telling me a few minutes ago (when I mentioned your comment) that he remembers his dad doing it when Steve was just 10 years old. Glad to know that Nathan will pass it on to Noah. 🙂
We are Disney freaks and fortunate to visit Disney World often. We buy an ornament each trip and now have over 40 of them on our tree so they dominate the homemade ornaments and bulbs that make up the rest of it. Most of the Disney ornaments are not character based. I have ornaments depicting many of the attractions and resorts we’ve stayed in. I love our Disney tree!
Jen,
A Disney tree; that a great idea! And with over 40 Disney ornaments, it has definitely earned its name. So much fun!
Oh, my…. I have several “sets” of ornaments and several trees, but one set includes the glass ornaments that hung on our trees when I was a child. These include several paper thin, almost transparent hand blown glass ornaments that my mother had from long before my parents were married (in 1946). There are only about 6 of these special ornaments left. One year as a Christmas gift to my mother i was able to get her reproductions of her originals. These include an owl, a trumpet, a bird, a santa holding a small Christmas tree, a fish, a pine cons, a clip on bird with long tail feathers, a cardinal and a few others. Although not all the originals have survived, both sets are lovingly unwrapped andhung on the tree each year along with the glass balls of various sizes and colors that my parents bought for their first Christmas as a married couple and,of course the angel that was always on the top of the tree. Both of my parents are gone now, if they were still here Dad would be 100 and Mom 96!! Lots of memories in those fragile old ornaments!
Linda,
What treasures your tree has been blessed with, especially to have ornaments from the early 1900’s. How lovely to know that your tree gives you such sweet memories every year. Love it.
We have 2 trees. One is traditional and the other is small and covered with picture ornaments. Michael’s or Hobby Lobby sells unpainted wooden ornaments with a circle in the center for inserting a picture. We started the custom in 2009. Each person from the youngest to the oldest selects an ornament and then paints it with permanent paint pens. Then, their picture is taken and placed in the center. It’s fascinating to see the changes that take place from year to year.
It won’t be long before your Florida kiddoes will be here. Wishing you a very blessed Christmas.
Judy,
I love the idea of a picture ornament every year. It’s not just the children who change from year to year and it would be fun, every year, to unpack the ornaments and let everyone see photos of their younger selves!
Indeed! One of my most precious ornaments is a very simple, blue-crayon star made by my mom in grade one some fifty-one years ago. Others include nearly-one-hundred-year-old ornaments passed along through the family by great-great-grandparents etc, ones made during the depression. Some given to me over the years at christmas time. I smiled at the Marvin the Martian one. If we did have a Bugs Bunny/Tweety ornament, that would be the one, as that was my mom’s favourite character!
Music Girl,
I am just so entranced by the thought that my readers have ornaments that are so old! I love history and stories from the past and I can only imagine the joy you get each year when you unpack those antique ornaments yet again. So lovely.
My favorite on your tree is the precious Nativity, and it is especially appealing with Sponge Bob flying in with a gift for, I imagine, the Christ child.
I love ornaments that children make. I had my Preschoolers make an ornament or two every day during December. The favorite ornaments on my tree are the ones that my students gave me, and the ones from my family’s tree when I was a kid. In 1964 I was a substitute first grade teacher for two weeks in December. I gave each child (and myself) a glass ornament with his/her/my name on it and the date, using nail polish and then covering it with glitter. I still have mine….the glitter isn’t too glittery,but I can still read the info.
Mrs. Pam,
You made me smile with the Sponge Bob comment. 🙂
I love that you still have the ornament you made in 1964 when you were a substitute teacher. What a great activity to give the kids to do; I wouldn’t be surprised that if year after year, many of them are still unpacking the ornaments they made with you. Great story!
Mine has a mixture just like yours. A lot made by my 3 daughters.some that represent different times in my life. I have bought each child an ornament every year since they were born and at ages 26, 23, and 19… That is a lot of ornaments. Plus I have one for each of the years I have been married. So our trendy look chaotic to some but I wouldn’t have it any other way
Michele,
What a wonderful idea to buy each child an ornament every year. Now when they go to start their own lives and families, they already have a built in collection of memories! Such a great gift and a great heritage to give to your children.
Well, I have to admit that I don’t put up a tree. I don’t stay in Florida for Christmas, go back to Missouri to visit family. And since I take my parents’ tree down for them, the last thing I want to do when I get back to Florida is take my tree down. So, I’ll tell you about some of the ornaments on my parents’ tree. First there’s the 18 pickups of my dad’s – they’re a Hallmark series that I’ve been giving my dad for many years. After Christmas, there will be 19. My mom has lots of Precious Moments ornaments. There are grandparent ornaments with pictures of my nephew and two nieces. My mom’s most prized ornaments though are the two birds that were on her tree when she was a child – she’s 82 now so these are old ornaments. They clip on branches, have a delicate glass ornament type body and a tail made out of something else. Every year since I can remember these ornaments have been on their tree. And like you, I try to get my mom an ornament on trips I take – this year she got one from Hawaii and from the World of Coke in Atlanta.
Phyllis,
I’d never heard of pick up truck ornaments so I Googled them and the pictures made me smile. What an absolutely great tradition to collect all of those delightful trucks! LOVED them!
And the bird ornaments sounds absolutely exquisite; what treasures!
We have LOTS of kid-made ornaments on our tree… and it keeps on growing… pre-school ornaments, Sunday School ornaments, school ornaments… and so forth! We also have ones that we have brought back from places we have visited and some that friends have given us, as well as some that we just bought because they were so pretty!! It is all discombobulated, but it works, and we love it! I love when friends come over, and they check out the ornaments, and we get to tell the stories behind those ornaments…and this year, we bought the really big lights that remind me of Christmas Eve at my great grandmas, where we would go out in the woods with my grandpa, he would chop a cedar tree down, and bring it back for us to decorate. I loved those big lights then, and still do now… there is just something about Christmas tree lights! I find that as I get older, I love the traditions of my childhood even more, and want to create that for my children… They enjoy moving all their ornaments each day, and redecorate my tree every day! Our very favorite ornaments though, we place right in the center of the tree, are handblown glass ornaments-1 of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and 2- the 3 wise men. Looking at those helps remind us of what the season is truly about!
Merry Christmas to you all! Your tree is beautiful… and eclectic… just like ours!!
(I used all the big words I could think of for you in this post! 🙂
Tiffany,
May I just say you did a great job of pulling out Your Big Words! As soon as I saw “discombobulated,” I smiled! 🙂
I love your memories of going with your grandpa to chop down a cedar tree. I can only imagine how lovely the house must have smelled. Lovely, lovely memories!
I have one especially special ornament on our tree. At the age of 16 I met a boy. He and I dated through the rest of high school and most of college. Our relationship ended as he felt the need to travel the world and ‘find himself’. He had very overbearing parents and needed to get away. I was heartbroken but accepted it and moved forward with my life. But I always carried him with me. Fast forward a few years, we each married and had children, he moved with his young family out to the west coast. Life went on, but I thought of him always.
When he was 35, he died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Right at that time, I learned that I was surprisingly pregnant. I knew that he, up there in the world above us, had a hand in this wonderful, unexpected gift of a new child…. she was a gift from him to me. (Interestingly, this child’s biological father has never felt any connnection to her whatsoever and still remains distant in her life). Sarah was born 9 months later, I named her after him: Sarah Scott.
A year or so later I received a package in the mail. It was from Scott’s mother, and was a Christmas ornament I had given Scott in high school. Apparently, he had taken it with him to the west coast and had hung it on his family’s Christmas tree every year. Now it was mine to hang. And I do. In memory of a boy, who gave me a girl. And a very special girl at that. He did good.
I know he is still with us.
Lesley,
Well, I think your post wins the award for the most interesting ornament story!
It was so kind of Scott’s mother to send that ornament on to you after his death; I know you treasure it greatly. Isn’t it amazing how the people we met in our earlier years never stop being a part of who we are today? Hugs to you and sweet Sarah.
My favorite is still the one I made in the third grade. It is a teddy bear made of wood and each person in the class signed it.
Amy,
What a great idea to have classmates sign an ornament! Such a perfect way to take those people with you as the years and the Christmases pass.
We actually have 2 trees as my husband and I each had one before we were married. We fill his tree with the more ornate, decorative, classy, and nativity type ornaments. My tree is whimsical with kid made, kid given (I was a teacher) and one for each of our first 4 Christmases together. I also buy ornaments on trips we take. I also write the persons name who gave or made the ornament. So as I decorate the tree I see ornaments and remember so many of my students over the years. Your tree looks beautiful.
For some reason I have difficulty putting my name or email with my comments and they come thru as above, anonymous. If I reply to my own comment-then it lets me put my name in? Odd.
Patti,
That IS odd that your name only shows up when you comment on your own post. I wish I could tell you what to do to fix it but I have no clue except to say that you might just need to put your name at the end of your post, since you know it’s not going to show up in the “title area” of the comment.
Having two trees sounds like fun, especially since they are both in two distinct decorating styles. I’ve always thought that teachers must struggle with remembering so many students from past years–what fun to have student-made ornaments to remind you of some of those kids from years gone by.. So sweet!
Good idea to just add my name at the bottom. I think it was my slow computer as it is working now. I have actually send photos of the ornaments on the tree to former students on facebook.
your tree is beautiful. I would say group A is from the guys but the most treasured at my house are the ones the children have made – I have them from about age 2 up and my oldest son is 42 – wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in the world. I also have my father’s first Christmas ornament – although I no longer put it on the tree – I keep in behind glass cabinet door as it is 80+ years old and very fragile. Like you, every ornament has a memory behind it. Have a blessed day. Becky
Becky,
“Every ornament has a memory behind it.” How very true that is!
And to have your father’s FIRST Christmas ornament? I can’t even imagine the memories that are contained inside it. What a treasure that you still have it!
One of my favorites is a Precious Moments chapel with a cross on the top of it. Mu aunt gave it to us when my daughter was baptized. There is a hole in the bottom and when a small light from the tree is inserted in the hole, the light shines through the window and the whole ornament has a soft glow to it. So pretty!! (I know that since it was HER baptism that I probably should give it to her to put on their own tree, but am just not ready to give it up!!)
Lee Anne,
I don’t blame you; I’d keep that ornament, too! 🙂 I love the design of the chapel ornament where a light can be put inside. Sounds perfectly, completely lovely!!
most of my decorations on my tree are ones that mean something to me. I made a lot of them and change out from year to year. some of plastic canvas some of beads and ribbon, ect. I have some my aunt made me more that 25 yrs ago. some my daughter in law made me, one my youngest son did when he was in kindergarten I think …I have SMALL TREE so now can put only a few on at a time. I like the trees best that have memories on them, not the fancy decorated ones
I like yours and all the interesting items on it
Sharon,
That’s a wonderful idea to have trade ornaments out from year to year. That way you don’t have to get rid of the special ones and still get to enjoy them every couple of years. Sounds like your tree is full of good memories!
I agree with your tree decorating principles. it’s nicer to have decorations that mean something. I have decorations that my parents had including 2 china bells (1 glued together) from their first Christmas. Even through I try to get new ones when to go somewhere I haven’t been as successful as you. Some decorations do now stay in the box or go on the back of the tree but they still get a mention when we are decorating
I wouldn’t mind borrowing a few of yours as we have a bigger tree this year with a few gaps.
Have a lovely Christmas and best wishes for the New Year to you all.
Anonymous,
I think ornaments that have been glued together are the most precious of all them. They’ve taken some hard knocks but are still shining–like so many people!
Merry Christmas to you, too!
You could have been taking pictures of our tree, Becky! Ours would never win any decorating awards but that isn’t the point. I love that our tree is covered in memories and gifts. We do the same thing with ornaments from our travels. Sometimes, a key chain has to suffice. I think our oldest ornaments are a pair of fabric dolls made in Germany that were given to me when I was five. That makes them almost 65 years old!
Your tree is lovely – make no apologies!
The best of Christmases to the Smith family.
Liz,
I love the thought of having the same ornaments since you were five. And the fact that they were made in Germany just makes them all the more wonderful. You’re so right–a tree covered in memories is the best.