December 4, 2005 11:08 AM
Christmas Traditions: Ornaments
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care
And fit us for heaven to live with thee there
from the Christmas carol “Away in a Mangerâ€
Every year I give each of my children a special Christmas ornament. Each child also has a special box to hold his ornament collection for eleven months between Christmas trees.
Some years I look far and wide to come up with individual ornaments. Some years I get a certain ornament for the boys and a certain ornament for the girls. But with 12 children, over the years I’ve sometimes been too busy to do much more than get nine translucent pearly angels, or seven porcelain teddy bears with legs that move, or six carousel horses, or four teeny tiny nativity scenes (numbers vary because, after all, I didn’t always have 12 kids!)
When I started this tradition, I told the kids, “When you get married, you can take your box with you for your own Christmas tree.†And lo and behold, first one, then a second daughter did just what I’d promised.
I never thought any farther. So I was surprised and delighted this year when my grandsons suddenly noticed, “Grandma! Our mommy has this angel too! And this teddy bear! And this one with Jesus!â€
“Yes, I gave those to your mommy when she still lived here with your aunts and uncles. She took hers with her when she married your daddy. â€
“Our mommy gives us a special decoration for when we get married, too,†my grandsons informed me solemnly. I couldn’t help but smile.
Traditions are treasure that grow more lustrous with the passage of time.
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
With my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations. Psalm 89:1
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Comments
Wow! Another one of those beautiful, inspiring, encouraging pictures of what may await many of us many years down the road. Thank you for thoughtfully parenting your children and sharing with us how to do likewise.
Posted by: Carrie | December 4, 2005 1:08 PM
Another post of yours that brought a tear to my eye. *grin* Precious.
Posted by: Carol | December 4, 2005 2:56 PM
What a great tradition - especially to see it play itself out in your children's families.
My mom didn't let us take anything with us from our childhood - pictures, ornaments, baby books, nothing. She has it all stored in a trunk she won't let us into. (I think she thinks we might "steal" it!) :)
So, I've started the same tradition you just wrote about in this post, this year with my daughter who turns 1 a week after Christmas. She will also get to take her baby book and photo albums with her. (I'm making two of each so I can keep one too!) Thanks for sharing such a great idea - I didn't think about putting them in a special box for her...
Posted by: Laura | December 5, 2005 1:17 PM
I wanted to do something like this for my children and then as I looked at all the ornaments I could not decide which ones to get. Light Bulb moment! I am now on a mission to take each child individually and let them pick out their own special ornament. I hope to be able to put the year on the ornament. I think this will be a great way to watch them change over the years. Im so excited.
Julie
Posted by: Julie | December 6, 2005 9:32 AM
