December 12, 2012

Oh, Christmas Tree-dition


This may be the most clever title I have ever come up with. I totally credit my creativity to my overflowing Christmas spirit. This time of year is magical y'all! The number of Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies I have watched this past week is a little embarrassing but I just cannot soak up this time of year enough. On top of it all, the weather here is actually cold. Our morning walk with Jane registered a chilly 28 degrees. I have a happy heart.

Ever since I was a little girl my mom has bought me a new ornament for the tree plus new jammies to wear on Christmas Eve. My favorite ornaments were always the ballerina's. I would twist the string on the tops of their heads and watch them spin making a pirouette look easy. In the last year, she gave me all the ornaments to put on my own tree. The fact that my mom started this tradition never amazed me at a young age and why would it? Now I cannot believe that I have Christmas ornaments that are 25 years old. It makes me excited for Christmas each year.

My mom can tell you the story behind each ornament, which is something that I can tell my children one day. Christmas traditions, in my opinion, make life a little sweeter this time of year. A few days ago I read Danielle Pasternak's blog post here on stress during the holidays. It seems this time of year we are rushing around trying to buy presents or plan the perfect dinner party. While these things are exciting and mostly fun, all the hustle and bustle leads to stress and a longer to-do list. We get so caught up in what needs to be done or how our house is decorated or what gifts are under the tree.

We easily lose sight of what is important. We lose sight of the things that make our souls happy. It is about family and friends. It is about giving. It is about your faith. It is about down time. It is about a new year. It is about living these moments of our lives out fully. It is about the new ornament on my tree from mom. It is about tradition.

What is your favorite tradition for the holidays? Big or little, let me know!

8 comments:

  1. Love this post! My future MIL has probably 35 years of Christmas ornaments, each with a special meaning to her. She says it's bittersweet putting up the tree each year, because she has ornaments of loved ones who have passed, from when her kids were born and all along her marriage. I'm going to start collecting ornaments this year for our tree, hopefully my kids can have this one day too :) Xo

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    1. I love that idea and I just imagine how the ornaments make her smile. Thank you for sharing :)

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  2. I think we talked about this last week but I never feel stress during the holidays. I refuse. I will only accept joy and cheer during this time. it works for me.

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    1. I will call you in a few days so you can repeat this mantra to me! Ha!

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  3. What a great post! I love Christmas time too. Over the past few years we've opted to make this time less about buying presents and more about just spending the time together. I also have a bunch of family given ornaments...my favorite is a glass dancer to represent my grandmother who was a dancer. She passed away many years ago. But she was a beautiful person inside and out and I will cherish that ornament forever!

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    1. That is so special Stephanie! Sometimes I wish I could leave these ornaments up more often than just Christmas!

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  4. What a great post! And a good reminder because I'm one of those people that can get really stressed during this time of year.

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    1. Anytime! Wishing you no stress and extra eggnog!

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I would love to hear from you! Let's encourage one another.