Christmas Ornaments for the Holiday Season
Christmas ornaments and how to start a family tradition collecting them.
Christmas ornaments are very much an integral part of any Christmas celebration and through the years we have all enjoyed gathering around the tree and decorating it with these small memories of the years past.
Christmas ornament collection
Some families collect hand-blown Christmas globes to hang on their tree each year; others collect toys. Collecting Christmas ornaments is as individual as the person and there is no right or wrong style or type out there.
First Christmas ornaments
The holidays are the perfect catalyst for starting family traditions and one of the best traditions – especially for a young family starting out – is starting a Christmas ornament collection of their own. Many young couples will celebrate their first year together and purchase a Christmas ornament that states something to the effect of ‘Our First Christmas’ complete with a year. They will probably also receive ornaments from friends and family that first year to help build upon the ornaments they probably brought from their own homes. This is a great foundation for starting their own Christmas ornament collection and the wonderful memories that go with them.
Themed Christmas ornaments
Some couples enjoy collecting themed Christmas ornaments. For example, if they are fans of a popular movie series such as Star Wars, they may decide to build their Christmas ornament collection with ornaments based around this franchise. Or if they are fans of a professional sports team, they could collect ornaments showing their team support. Each ornament collected has a special meaning to the couple that may not make sense to anyone else until it is explained. And then they find that the gifts of Christmas ornaments from friends and family usually become ones that go with their collection.
DIY Christmas ornaments
Another alternative to building a memorable family Christmas ornament collection is to make each ornament that goes on the tree. This is a great family time activity that can be shared with children of all ages. Just thinking about sitting at the dining room table with the craft items out and Christmas music playing in the background gives you a warm feeling and it is this feeling you want to hold onto and cherish all of your life.
Of course, sometimes the children will want to do other things as they get older, but if you instill the meaning of Christmas, the time together, and the significance of making the ornaments as a family at an early age, then hopefully this will become an activity that is looked forward to year after year.
Christmas ornament memories
As you build your collection of Christmas ornaments to cherish over the years, consider purchasing a fine tipped Sharpie permanent marker and putting the year the ornament was purchased in a small, inconspicuous place on the ornament. Then when you decorate your tree at Christmas time, relate to your family, friends, and children any enjoyable stories – happy, sad, funny, they all matter – that relate to the ornament as you hang it on the tree. This will not only pass down pieces of your memories, it will help build and solidify a family tradition.