Christmas Ornaments That Evoke Memories and Emotions

What is it about Christmas ornaments that evoke such memories and emotions? The Christmas ornament pictured above is just a simple little pillow that my Aunt Joy gave us 37 years ago to celebrate our first Christmas together. I mentioned it to her recently, and she doesn’t even remember giving it to us. It is just a simple little ornament that we pull out each year, but it is worth more to me than a solid gold one.

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When we first started our family, we bought several boxes of the red glass ornaments, lots of small teddy bears, and of course a variety of other ornaments. There was no theme or certain color scheme. I like to call it eclectic, because it sounds so much better than a mix-matched conglomeration.

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The little Nativity scene ornament is so cheaply made; it is barely thicker than a piece of foil. This is the one both of the kids nearly had a fit over when we thought we needed to trash it. As you notice, it is still on the tree. There is, a lot of sentiment there.

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These ornaments are filled with memories! The first two are my kids’ 1st Christmas ornaments. Isn’t it funny how you can remember exactly where you were when you bought these types of things? With Shea’s, we were living in the Austin area and found it at a Hallmark store. When Jacob came around, money was a little tight. I had to settle for the little wooden rocking horse from a crafters’ mall in Greenville, TX. At least I was able to have writing put on it.

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The last one was bought during a ski trip in Crested Butte, Colorado. It always makes me think of good times with our family.

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These next three are all about animals and adventure. The first ones are reminders of Shea’s St. Bernard, Blizzard and my Airedale Terrier, Gracie. What sweet babies! I made footprint ornaments out of flour, salt, and water years ago for several of our furbabies. However, our spirited little Ally ate one off of the tree last year. Now I am not willing to chance it.

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Jacob purchased the next ones, because he loved hunting and fishing. If you look at the back, there is a black lab which was bought to represent his Daisy.

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The last one was a gift from my sweet granddaughter, Chloe. She bought this canoe for us when she was on vacation.

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These last three are memorial ornaments. The first year these went onto the tree was a little rough emotionally. I have come to embrace them and love putting them out now. A friend of mine gave me the pink ornaments from her tree about a year before she passed away. They always make me think about her.

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The next two are officially “memorial ornaments.” The one in the middle is for my father-in-law and the last is for our son. It is nice to see these each year, not that we need a reminder to remember, but it is nice to have a visual.

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There are many more on the tree, each with their own set of memories! Some are from mission trips, vacations, friends, and many are from students. Yes, I still have all of the ornaments that students have given me over the years. Many of them have names and dates on the bottom to help me remember. Each of them have special memories and hold special places in my heart.

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Some of you have shared some of your sentimental ornaments with me on social media. I love the posts from all of you. Some of the ornaments are so precious. Please share any others in the comments below. I enjoy seeing what means so much to each person!

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I also encourage you to give special ornaments as gifts. Just like the ornament my aunt gave us so long ago – you may not give it another thought, but one day your Christmas ornament may evoke memories and emotions for someone else. It may just mean the world to them!

Have a Grace & Joy-filled day!

Susan

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I found this post very interesting. Masterpieces of My Life posted Christmas tree traditions, sharing her family’s ornament traditions. They have collected ornaments over the years but in the same color scheme. It is so interesting that we can all have the same traditions but with individualized spins on them. Click here to see her post.

I am trying to stay focused more this year on the true meaning of Christmas. If you haven’t read my posts regarding lessons from different aspects of the Nativity, you can find the most recent one here – Lessons From the Christmas Shepherds.

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“When I am filled with cares, Your comfort brings me joy.” Psalms 94:19