December 11, 2010 7:04 AM
Christmas ornaments - family tradition
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 we started this tradition, I told the kids, "When you get married, you can take all your ornaments with you for your own Christmas tree." So far four have left with their boxes.
I never thought any further. So a few years ago, I was surprised and delighted when one of my grandsons suddenly noticed, "Grandma! Our mommy has this angel too! And this teddy bear! And this one with Jesus!"
"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. "
"Our mommy gives us a special decoration for when we get married, too," my grandsons informed me solemnly. I couldn't help but smile.
This is one of those years when I'm short on time and looking for (now) 8 ornaments for the kids. Here are some at Amazon - all of my kids got the candy cane one year - it comes with a booklet on the Christian symbolism of the candy cane:
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Comments
Years ago I was concerned that the young cousins in our family didn't see each other very often. To try to build a sense that they shared something, I began every year to send each one of them an indentical ornament. I didn't make a difference between the boys and girls because I wanted them to feel a part of one group.
It was hard some years to find the money and the time to buy, box, and mail the ornaments, but I "kept tryst" with the task I had given myself.
Now, they are grown and married and scattered all over. I keep sending the ornaments. It was to gratifying to have one, now a married woman, email me to say how much she appreciated the tradition.
When they have little ones, I will expand the tradition. After all, first-cousins-once-removed need to feel like family, too.
Posted by: Reader | December 11, 2010 10:52 AM
Thanks, Barbara. I just ordered some. It's a nice tradition to start and they also make wonderful Godparent gifts.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | December 11, 2010 11:52 AM
We do this too Barbara! And even though none of mine have officially left home, my oldest will be 20 tomorrow! It's such a great idea and I found some really cute ornaments at lego.com this year that the younger kids will love to put together!
Blessings, Becca
Posted by: becca jacobsen | December 11, 2010 2:17 PM
We do this, too, but if I can't find a meaningful ornament, I'll skip a year. I try to find something that makes sense for each child. For example, when my daughter was 2, she was enthralled with Frosty the Snowman, so I found a snowman ornament for her. Another year, she really "got" that Christmas was about Jesus and asked for a baby Jesus ornament. This year, she started ballet, so I got a little ballerina. For storage, I write a little note for each ornament, explaining why I purchased it for the child, and stick it in a Ziplock bag along with the ornament.
Posted by: Kristina | December 11, 2010 2:34 PM
I like this tradition. My mom did a similar thing, and I am doing it too with my children. Just remember that not everyone is called to the vocation of marriage! People starting this tradition may want to explain it differently.
Posted by: Samantha | December 12, 2010 10:02 AM
