Over the weekend, I spent some time with Chase around our Christmas tree (a daily occurrence ever since it went up in our house after Thanksgiving) and had fun explaining some of my favorite ornaments to him even though he probably didn’t understand most of what I was saying. He did, however, pick up on the words, “pig” and “dog” a few times which held his interest and inspired lots of animal noises.
Since Sunday’s little Christmas tree activity with Chase was a little too entertaining for me, I thought it might also make a fun blog post to share in this space during this festive week! I’ve included pictures of a few of my favorite ornaments below with brief stories about why each of them mean something to me and make me smile every time I see them hanging on our tree!
The Story Behind the Ornament
- Wedding Cake Ornament
My grandmother gave this ornament to me and Ryan the year we got married and I love thinking back on such a fun and exciting time in our relationship. I’ve also always loved my grandmother’s gorgeous handwriting and seeing Mimi’s beautiful cursive on this ornament on our Christmas tree every year always makes me smile and miss my grandmother a little more.
- Puffy Paint Ornament
Oh my gosh, this one is kind of embarrassing, but I made this ornament for Ryan when we were dating in college with puffy paint and a whole lot o’ love! It’s pretty horrific looking and would make any Pinterest-perfect person shake their head in shame, but I love this little reminder of the early years of our relationship. The college daysss!
- Watermelon Ornament
This ornament makes me laugh and takes me back to my incredibly sweaty summer pregnancy. I could not stop sweating and I also could not stop eating watermelon. Never in my life have I loved a food more than I loved watermelon when I was pregnant and it was 98 degrees outside. My mom surprised me with a watermelon ornament the year Chase was born and I love this silly reminder of such an exciting (and H-O-T) time in my life.
- Chase’s Hand Print Ornament
It is kind of hard to see the baby hand print in the above photo but my mom helped me wrangle a very fussy 4-month-old baby to make this hand print ornament for Ryan for Christmas last year. When I unwrapped it to hang on the tree this year, I could not believe how small Chase’s hand looked to me! It’s crazy to see how fast my baby boy has grown into a full-blown toddler and I love this reminder of his tiny baby days.
- Great Grandma Ornament
If you happened to read PBF when I announced I was pregnant, you may remember the story of how we told my grandma I was expecting a baby boy. I wrapped up an ornament that said “Great Grandma” on it and Mimi initially thought I was giving her an ornament telling her she was a wonderful grandma. A few seconds later it clicked and I will never, ever forget the way her hands shot up in the air and the shriek that came out of her mouth. It may be my favorite memory of Mimi ever and when my Aunt Laurie gave me Mimi’s ornament back after she passed away last year, I was emotional but now look at the ornament as a wonderful keepsake to such an exciting moment with my grandmother.
- Sadie Ornament
Isn’t this ornament amazing!? My Aunt Laurie sent it to me and Ryan as a Christmas present last year and it absolutely blew us away. The painting of Sadie on the ornament is so well-done and now that Chase is obsessed with all ornaments (he calls them “balls”) and dogs, this ornament is, without a doubt, his current favorite on our tree. Every time we pick him up to look at it, he enthusiastically points at it and says, “Ball! Dah! Woof, woof!” over and over again and it just melts my heart.
- Pig Ornament
When we brought Sadie home to our apartment for the first time when she was just 8 weeks old, we had a fluffy stuffed pig toy waiting for her that quickly became her favorite thing ever. We named it “Pig Pig” (our originality is astounding, I know) and there have since been no less than 10 alternate Pig Pigs in Sadie’s life through her almost nine years with us. Pigs became a silly thing that reminds me and Ryan of our favorite furry lady, so the addition of a couple of pig ornaments on our tree over the past few years is one way we like to represent our little pup on our Christmas tree!
- Garfield Ornament
You guys probably don’t know this, but I was a serious Garfield comic book nerd when I was a little girl. I loved reading Garfield comics and remember flipping through Garfield comic books all the time as a child. Every year for Christmas for a few years, Santa would leave a new Garfield ornament for me in my stocking. Once Ryan and I had our own tree, I selected my favorite from my old collection to display for nostalgia’s sake!
Question of the Day
- What is one of your favorite ornaments on your Christmas tree?
- What ornament means the most to you on your tree?
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I really enjoyed this post! Reminds me of the old days of PBF 🙂 I said to my boyfriend the other day that my favorite part of Christmas trees is seeing how everyone else decorates and what all their ornaments are. Ornaments have stories behind them and that makes them special!
I have so many favorites, it changes year to year. I’d say right now though my favorites are my grandmothers vintage ornaments that are now on my tree. Also this cheap ugly plastic ornament that came on a box of candy… I had it off to the side one year and my grandmother insisted on putting it on my tree. I took it off but every time I left the room, she’d hang it up again! So we saved that ornament and I now hang it on the tree. She’s very sick right now, so reading your mimi memories made me super emotional but it just reminded me that all these special moments we have with them are further proof that they lived full lives.
I love the story about the plastic ornament — so sweet. <3 Thank you so much for sharing it with me and I am thinking of you and your grandmother <3 <3
The pig is so cute! Our ornaments are keepsakes from times in our lives as well. We have a few from our travels, our childhood and other great memories. My favorite is Mitch’s hand print (much like Chase’s). There’s nothing like those sweet, small handprints captured in time.
My mom still puts up all of our homemade ornaments that we made in elementary school. Those are some of my favorite to look at every year.
When my husband and I got married we decided that all the ornaments on our tree would either be event specific or places we traveled. So each ornament has a story to it. My favorite is the one that he used to propose to me, and it hangs at the top of our tree.
My favorite ornaments are the ones with my son’s picture on them. Every year I buy an ornament that allows you to put a picture inside it. He is 13 now and I love looking back at how much he has grown! Much to his dismay, I will continue to do this until he is 18! Make sure to write the year on the back!
such a cute idea for this post! I might have to steal it some day (with credit of course ha ha) we try and remember to get an ornament every place we travel so we have a reminder!
Very cute – I enjoyed reading this post! My husband and I just got married in July and don’t have any kids, but it was fun to read about Chase’s excitement about the ornaments (well, maybe just the dog ones). We got married in Aruba and we received an ornament for Christmas this year filled with sand and starfish with our wedding date on it, and I know that will be a favorite for years to come! We also typically collect an ornament from each place we travel so we can reminisce about each one.
I love this post!
When my sister and I were kids my aunt would send us an ornament each Christmas and stitch “xo” somewhere on the ornament. When my husband and I got married, my mom packed up all of my ornaments from my aunt and gave them to me for our first married Christmas tree. It was one of my favorite gifts ever.
Oh my gosh, Julie, this post made me tear up. Christmas is always a super hard time for me and my family. We lost my brother nine years ago, so the holidays are always tough because someone is missing. He lived in Florida (we’re in Michigan) and he flew home on Christmas Day and that was the last time we saw him. So it’s a tough day. I remember loving to decorate the tree with him, and we have tons of hand painted ornaments that people made for us when we were little. Thank you for reminding me that there’s still joy to be found in the memories and not just sadness. <3
What a great post! Growing up, my brother and I would get an ornament from my mom each Christmas. A lot of them were homemade because my mom does beautiful embroidery. Her thought was that when we left the house eventually we would have a collection of ornaments to decorate our own tree with. When I moved into my own apartment a few years ago I took my box of ornaments with me, and now I love thinking of the story behind each ornament when I decorate my own tree.
Oh I love these stories, Julie!! It’s so great to decorate the tree knowing the meanings behind each little bauble and to look up at it and think about those great memories. 🙂
So many cute memories wrapped in one Christmas tree! I have an ornament from December 2012 which is a hand painted Gingerbread and on the back it says 12 days until “I do” because we got married January 5 2013. It’s a fun reminder of the excitement of that Christmas with our wedding just a few short weeks after!
Oh I enjoyed this post so much!
I love this post Julie! My mom started the tradition when me and my brother were young to buy a new Hallmark ornament, so now that I have my own family, i carry on that tradition. I always buy one that reflects the year and what my boys are into , such as soccer or Phinneas & Ferb. The boys love them and putting them on the tree each year. I also have a separate tree that I call my “memory tree” since it has all homemade ornaments from the kids or the ones that my mom made years ago. It’s like walking down memory lane each year I decorate. I cherish all of them!
I love the stories behind your ornaments. For a while when I was a kid, I was allowed to buy an ornament or two every year to add to my family’s collection, so we have a crazy number of ballerinas and Barbies on our tree. One year, when we opened up our ornament boxes to start decorating, one of the more delicate ballerinas was broken – her head had snapped off her body. I was sad, but my dad just turned it into a laughing matter. He made it so her body could hang on its own and found branches on the tree the right distance apart for her head to float just above her body. It’s weird and maybe kinda morbid, but now the headless ballerinas is our favorite Christmas ornament.
Great idea for a post (I may just have to steal it)! I’m rather fond of my ornaments as well – particularly a pair of ballerina shoes that my mom purchased for me when I went to see the Nutcracker ballet for the first time. Oh the memories : )
I lost my precious father this year to cancer, and honestly, it was difficult putting our tree up (but I’m glad we did). My favorite ornament is a fish, which is currently en route to our house. I hope it arrives in time for Christmas. Dad loved to go fishing, and it was one of the last activities we did together (and where we took our last photo) while he was still feeling decent. He was too weak to do much casting, but he sat quietly on the shore watching his daughters and pets. I’ll never forget the genuine smile on his face that day.
Displaying ornaments is a wonderful way to keep what’s meaningful at the forefront of our minds during the holiday season. I love this post. <3
This is such a sweet post! My sister and I looooved Garfield – especially the Garfield Christmas movie! It was our tradition to watch it every Christmas Eve and I still have it memorized! We also loved Garfield’s Nine Lives – Diana’s Piano = all the tears!
It’s always fun to hear the stories people have about their family’s Christmas traditions.
We have some ornaments on our tree that my dad had on his Christmas trees as a kid. They’re probably 60ish years old now. Some are painted glass ornaments and others are plastic angels.
I love hearing all the stories behind all your ornaments. Can you find out from your aunt where she got the ornament of sadie? I would love to do that with my dog!!!!
I LOVE this post! Thank you for sharing such special things with us!!
Wonderful post Julie! I started a tradition for each of our children to get an ornament each year for Christmas for them to use on their own trees someday. They are now 18 and 23 and are on their way to have a full tree of them someday! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Chase, Ryan and Sadie!
What a great post! This made me think about the ornaments on our tree. My husband’s family is always big on giving an ornament each year, so we’ve started doing that for each other. We also have started to get an ornament on each vacation, so it’s fun to reminisce each year as we put our tree up.
What a sweet post. My grandma made my baby girl her first ornament last year. She made me an ornament every year growing up, so it’s really special to me that she continued on the tradition with my baby. <3
I love this so much. How thoughtful!! <3
Hi Julie: I loved this post. Every ornament on our tree has sentimental value to my family. Each year at Christmas I gave my children who are now 30 and 26 a “special” ornament. I also wanted you to know that I made Mimi’s sugar cookies this weekend. They were delicious. Her spirit continues to live even with strangers 🙂 Happy Holidays!
Julie, I loved this post! All of the ornaments on my tree have sentimental value to me. A lot are from growing up and remind me of our precious family tradition of decorating the tree on Christmas Eve. I was also lucky enough to inherit some ornaments that I remember hanging on my grandmothers’ trees when we’d visit on Christmas. Those ones from my grandmoms are my favorites. I love that you have sentimental ornaments, too. Thanks for sharing the stories behind your ornaments! ?
My husband and I just got married this October and my mom had a piece of my bouquet preserved and then encased in a clear glass ball ornament! It is beautiful!!!
How thoughtful! I love this!!
Oh, that is such a wonderful idea!! I’m getting married in less than a month, I will totally try to do that for Christmas next year 🙂
Julie – I love reading about the different ornaments, it’s always so nice when people use special decorations, not just generic baubles. We have our tree decorated with ornaments we’ve picked up while travelling, as well as all the ones I’ve received over the years from my grandparents over the years and it’s so special to look at it (even though it also makes me realise that I’m old haha)
I love looking at friend’s Christmas trees and hearing about their ornaments My favourite ornament is a pottery bird with colourful stones along its wings. My mom bought it for me many years ago at a Christmas craft fair. I still love it so much Thanks for sharing your stories. I remember reading your blog when your grandmother found out about Chase. Still think that is a priceless photo. Merry Christmas
Julie, these are great! I didn’t get a chance to put up our tree with keepsake ornaments this year because the time just got away from me but I love how ornaments keep such great memories.
Christmas ornaments are definitely precious in my family, and I love that you have one of your Mimi’s on your tree! I have one of my great-grandmother’s too and they’re so special. Currently, my favorite ornament on my tree right now is a Christmas pickle that I gifted my boyfriend last year that started out as a joke. He didn’t believe it was a German tradition to hang a pickle on the tree!
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My whole family hangs pickles on our trees, too!
Do you guys still do the pickle present?! I always thought that was so fun!
Yes!!! My sister won last year so I need to step up my game this year!
Old ornaments are the best ornaments! I still have an ornament that I made in pre-school (35 years ago!). I can’t believe it hasn’t fallen apart to be honest.
And, to this day, Garfield is the only comic strip I read in the Sunday paper.
Julie, I loved hearing about all your sentimental ornaments. My favorite ornaments is 1 star that I made out of beads when I was in Girl Scouts at about 9 years old and also I have a Disney ornament that my mother in law gave us when we got married 2 years ago and it’s Minnie with bridal ears. My husband has a love of Disney and we went there for our honeymoon and it was my first time and so Disney will always be special to us!
Any Idea where your aunt hadn’t that Sadie ornament made? We are dog people ourselves and tat would be a great gift!
We buy ornaments every time we take a trip somewhere – and I love seeing those on our tree. Our black also somehow ends up with a black lab ornament every year so our tree has like a million black labs all over it, ha! This year I made one out of the sand I brought home from Adeline’s first beach trip. I need to share it soon, but it’s so cute!
We do the same at our house, and with a beagle and a black lab (and a great big mutt), our tree has more dog ornaments than anything else 🙂
I LOVED this post!!! I think it’s so cool when people have ornaments w/ sentimental value. Just wait – you will have a bunch of hand-made ones from Chase in a few years. Absolutely love that you ended up w/ the Great Grandma one back – what a wonderful memory associated w/ it! <3
My mother-in-law started giving my husband and I a crystal star ornament (Swarovski has a different one each year) each Christmas, starting the first Christmas after we were married. I didn’t think that much of it at the time, but now we have 17 of these gorgeous ornaments (and still counting!). Since she died last year, they are also a pretty reminder of her and her thoughtfulness. My father-in-law took over the ornament-gifting duties, which was somewhat hilarious because I suspect he has a hard time telling one glass ornament from another and had a horrible time figuring out the “right” one to get us. It was a really nice tradition for her to start for us.
My boyfriend and I started buying an ornament for each place we visited…we moved in together in March so it was fun decorating the tree and seeing them!
Great post. Every time we take a trip, we make a point of buying an ornament to commemorate it. I love looking at our tree and reminiscing about all of our vacations. Also, thanks for the handprint ornament idea! This is our first Christmas with our 4-month old daughter and I’m going to attempt to create something similar with her. Merry Christmas!
I loved this post because I have the same excitement every year unpacking my ornaments! I buy a new ornament (or two or three…) each year to add. This year’s are Wrigley Field- cubs world champs- because I live in Chicago, and a donut, because, well, I didn’t have a donut ornament yet! Merry Christmas!
I love all of the handmade ornaments that have taken over our tree. My 3 older kids are 14,11 and 8- so I have all of the elementary school ornaments hanging and they are my favorites!
This was a great post Julie!!
Every year my mom gives my children a special ornament -they are now 14 and 13. One thing I wish I would have done is taken a picture of my mom with each child and the ornament – then I would know the year and also have the memory of her and our children captured on film. Just a suggestion for any of you who have little ones that might want to have a photo documentary that you will always have once your children are grown and take their ornaments with for their own tree.
This is a really cute idea!
Where did your aunt get that ornament?! So cool! I love all the other ones too!
I will ask and get back to you ASAP!
My favorite ornament is a wooden one with all of the Outer Banks, NC lighthouses on it. We have been visiting there every year since I was little. It was my dad’s absolute favorite place in the world! He passed a few years back, but the ornament brings back so many memories with him!
love this — sounds like a wonderful way to remember him <3
I love this post! I love hearing stories behind Christmas ornaments. So many special memories, so much tradition, so much love!
My favorite ornaments are the Chrismons that my grandmother makes and gives us every year. They are gorgeous and so special because of all the time it takes her to make their intricate designs!
So cute! We have all of my husband and I’s childhood ornaments and we also have some from when we were dating, first married and now some for our son. It’s fun- we get a new one for each other every year and I’m doing the same for my son- so we’re about to have even more!
We’re twins! All season long I’ve been taking my family’s ornaments and photographing them in bunches, for memories sake. After my mom passed away, all the family ornaments went to me (because I have two older brothers who aren’t very precious about saving keepsakes.) It’s such a fun idea, and I LOVE reading all your stories! Also, I was a HUGE Garfield fan when I was a kid too! I used to draw him over and over and over again, and I have old notebooks with my copies of Garfield everywhere. lol
I love your blog over the holidays – so Christmasy and happy, and it helps extend my holiday love! Thanks!
This is such a cool post! I love that you have the Great Grandma ornament. That’s so sweet <3
Your “Great Grandma” story makes me tear up every time! And that photo of her holding the ornament with her arms in the air!
My mom is constantly pushing ornaments from her tree on me to put on mine. Drives me crazy! I love the memories being on THAT tree in THAT house. I’ll make my own memories.. and I’m sure my husband doesn’t want to stare at 12 years worth of homemade “treasures” from my youth 🙂
Safe travels, Julie! Happy Holidays!
I loved this post! So sweet. My husband and I try to get an ornament every place we travel. We have one from our Mexico honeymoon, trips to New York, Washington D.C., the Alamo and everywhere we have lived! Our tree is getting full!