A very long time ago. Christmas 1974 to be exact…Trica was little…just two years and eight months old. (This was BJ…Before Jennifer) We lived in what Trica called “The Bricksidewall” poor kid didn’t quite know where home was…we had lived in Colorado and then Florida and finally Minnesota. When we would say “Let’s go home.” She would ask…”Which home…the bricksidewall?” Probably because she didn’t want to spend hours upon hours in a vehicle. (The apartment building was made of brick hence the bricksidewall.)
That December Far Guy was working from 4 PM to 1 AM sometimes later at Steiger Tractor. I tried to keep Trica awake late into the night so she would sleep in the morning.
We didn’t have very many ornaments on our tree, so I bought some wooden cutouts and painted them in the evenings. Of course Trica was not allowed paints…but she did get ahold of some color crayons.
Trica’s artwork on the Santa 1974
Somehow two other ornaments painted that year make it onto the tree every year.
The Angel always makes it near the top of the tree.
And this puppy in a stocking…looked nothing like the Black Scottie Mix Mutt named Snuffer that we had at the time. Years later we would have two litters of Sheltie puppies that looked just like the one in the stocking…out of eight puppies we only kept one ( I gifted it to my husband) and I gifted another to my parents…but their dog came back to live with us after a year or two.
The other wood ornaments in this set just never seem to make it on the tree…there is a snowman, a bell, some holly, a king, a toy soldier and a deer among others…but they are at the bottom of the ornament box. Seems like by the time I get to the bottom of the box the tree is full.
I haven’t started decorating yet. No decorations have been unearthed, just old memories.
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Please share what your favorite ornament is in a comment on this blog to be entered in this years Christmas Ornament Giveaway. I have at least two hand carved painted ornaments to send out. What they are will be revealed in time. If you are shy and don’t want to leave a comment you can send me an email which is found in my profile. Remember to tell me about your favorite ornament! I will pick the winners on Friday night December 4 at 9 PM my time.
Your post has me thinking real hard this early morning, about memories of older tree decorations. I have loved sewing since I was about 5 years old, making doll dresses by hand. One Christmas, when the children were very young, I made a set of soft, padded Christmas ornaments from a Vogue pattern. Eventually, I passed them on to my oldest daughter. They are still being used, almost 35 years later.
ReplyDeleteI also have a set of those wood ornaments that I painted. Another year I used those beads to make "stained glass" ornaments. I don't have any one favorite, there are so many. I guess my favorites would have to be the plaster ornaments my boys painted - the star, trees, elephant, Santa and a puppy in a stocking.
ReplyDeleteReally hard question. There are so many favorite ornaments. I have a fox with a bushy tail which reminds me of my Mom (we used to tease her about being a "foxy lady"). A homemade beaded spider with a story also. And all the bulbs and ornaments from my mother-in-law who gives a new ornament/bulb every year...we've been married 40 years now, lots of memories!
ReplyDeletePS I'm from MN and I love your blog.
I think my favorite is the construction paper face of a Santa that my son made in nursery school. It helps me remember the little boy that was the beginning of my 6'5" 42-year-old.
ReplyDeleteOh, boy, how to pick one favorite! Plus I'm going from memory as my ornaments are in Minnesota and I'm in South Carolina. Okay, I'll pick a star made from two foil milk bottle caps made by my great aunt when ornaments were scarce to buy during World War II. The star shape is pressed into each bottle cap and the two sides crimped together and painted to form a 3-dimensional ornament.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornaments are the ones my 2 boys made while they were grade school age. One in particular is made with glass pieces to resemble stain glass but it keeps falling apart and I keep mending it.
ReplyDeleteThose wood painted ornaments have a place on my tree too. Just a couple left from what we originally made but was a fun thing to do with the kids.
The women of my family (sister, sister-in-laws, nieces etc) have got together each year for now about 35 years and we exchange ornaments. Most are homemade. We do it the first Sat in December every year and everyone looks forward to the party.
My favorite ornament (not counting the hand carved one from you that I won last year) is a poinsettia flower my dear mother made for me out of construction paper and lace years ago.
ReplyDeleteOh memory has it here um my favorite ornament was the Rudolph my dad made hand carved and painted . Now a days here Papa scroll saws the odd ornament when he gets time . Thanks for sharing your lovely memories with us and getting our memories out there to ! Have a good day ! oh it is 10C eh? here warm for this time of year for us and to be raining to .
ReplyDeleteI think my favourite is a real silver tinsel circle - now very tarnished and a rather battered - with a red foil flower inside the circle. It's very simple and has hung on my family tree and now my tree every year since before we went to live in Germany which was January 1965. I don't remember much further back than that!
ReplyDeleteWe have a tree building party each year to put up my tree, my many sets of fairy lights and my hundreds of ornaments. You can view it now if you happen to be in North London.
My favorite ornament is a couple kissing under some mistletoe made out of cheap metal I bought when we first got married 47 years ago. I would not part with it for nothing. Plus the ornaments our boys made when they were little that are now hang on their trees.
ReplyDeletea. I'm not sure I have one favorite ornament and b. if I did, I couldn't say/type it out loud and possibly hurt another ornament's feelings... It's complicated ;-).
ReplyDeleteYour ornaments are lovely.
ReplyDeleteAnother beautiful header! I do love your headers and you change them so often! All are so artistic.
ReplyDeleteShirley H.
My ornament collection includes only a few "traditional" ornaments. I like to find items while traveling that will serve as an ornament and a reminder. I have a tin peacock from the Philippines, a New Year's ball from Japan, and a wishbone from a Thanksgiving looong ago.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornament isn't actually "Christmas-y". It is a set of 6 oriental love lamps I got from a young woman while I was in Japan a long long time ago. They are about 1 1/2 inch square - and hang from the tree every year.
ReplyDeletehttps://img1.etsystatic.com/054/0/5590561/il_570xN.712437715_cssz.jpg
It is hard to pick just one favorite but I would say one of the top ones is a colorful shiny brite that my husband brought into our marriage (of 31 years). With multi-colored glitter is says "Clyde 1966". It always has a prominent spot near the top of our tree!
ReplyDeleteI have three favorites, all made by my son when he was in grade school many years ago.
ReplyDeleteI loved hearing about your favorite ornaments. I too love to unpack the ornaments and reminisce about the ones my children have made over the years. My favorite ones are two handpainted wooden ornaments that my mother gave each of my children on their first Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI have two favorites. They are 1. my only ornament from my childhood and I treasure it. It's a red heavy glass rather scratched small ball. It always has a place at the top of the tree .. the last put on and the first taken off. 2. When my son was in kindergarten 40+ years ago, his teacher had the children make bird nests out of I have no idea what, a jelly bean was nestled in the next and sprayed gold then glued to a spring clothes pin a message was in the clothes pin saying a Danish (translated) proverb. The saying has long faded but it was about finding a birds nest at Christmas. A treasure to me.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH! We had and painted that very same set. Not sure if I have any of them left but oh my what a sweet memory!
ReplyDeleteI have a small German Santa ornament that my parents always cherished on their tree. I put it in a high spot on our tree every year.
ReplyDeleteGotta love my pickle ornament!
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the ones hand made by my Mom and Dad who are now in heaven. Mom made several from yarn and plastic mesh, but my favorite is a small wooden sled that Dad made with popsicle sticks, and Mom painted and decorated it. They are all on my tree every year. Sandy B.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are ones my two kids made when they were each in 1st grade (23 and 26 years ago!). They have their picture in the middle on a piece of laminated construction paper with a fancy border around them. Precious pictures including missing teeth.
ReplyDeleteMel W.
(Trying hard to put a pic in here but not succeeding) I have a rather cute witch who stands ion for the fairy at the top of my tree!
ReplyDelete[url=https://flic.kr/p/7pZRV1][img]https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4030/4209709310_d612cb5ca1.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/7pZRV1]Well what did you expect...[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/historyanorak/]The Anorak[/url], on Flickr
I give in!
DeleteClick here I hope.
Yes that worked! She is a witch all right! :)
DeleteThis guy doesn't have a favorite ornament , but I do remember the first lights my Dad bought. They were candles and were called bubble lights as bubbles went up the different colored candlesticks. do you have bubble lights or have you ever seen them? I don't think they were produced for very long.
ReplyDeleteYes we have one strand of bubble lights left. I will get them out some day and take a photo, they are fun to watch:)
DeleteI have several, but I think my favorite is the hand crocheted ones, that an older lady made me. They were my very first ornaments for my husband and I to put on our first tree together. That was 30 years ago, and I still have everyone that she made. Even the ones that have started to fall apart.
ReplyDeleteMy mother had a LOT of ornaments and one of the favorites was an Egyptian glass (purple with gold) ornament. John and I are too old and stiff and tired to decorate, so I won't join your giveaway but someone will be very fortunate to win! You guys have a good night.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornaments are the ones made by my kids when they were in elementary school. Thankfully they have dates on them and each Christmas they take me back to those years and the sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteWe decorated our tree today. I'll be posting about it during the week. A favorite ornament? that's so hard to say. Perhaps it is one my son made. I'll think about it and mention it when I post about the tree.
ReplyDeleteLots of favorite ornaments and each one has a specific place on the tree. The best one is one my mom made for me. We call them pixies. She bent white pipe cleaners into a body, cut out and sewed a felt tunic, sash, shoes and a pointy hat. A styrofoam ball for the head with two black paper circles for the eyes and a smiling red paper mouth. The hands could be bent to curl around the tree. Everyone loved them and we ended up making many of them in all colors of the rainbow for friends and teachers. Several years ago we made some new ones in christmas colors. We linked three of them together by their hands but the one in the middle is wearing a frown instead of a smile. We said that was my brother and he was frowning because he's always getting pulled in different directions by us. I can't wait to see what your ornaments are this year. Maybe one of these years I'll guess correctly, but it sure is fun trying to figure them out from your mystery photos.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornament is a German glass blown church. I have collected many of these ornaments over the years and love to sit and look at them and try to remember where I got them.
ReplyDeleteI have many favorite ornaments. My step-daughter has given me a Hallmark ornament every year since Gary & I were married, so I have 21 of them now. Each one is so very special.
ReplyDeleteI suppose my favorite would be the bird ornament that Poppy and I bought for our first tree. We both love nature and decided to put the bird at the top of the tree instead of an angel. We've used that little bird for thirty years. Now it has turned into kind of a joke...like, we better find that bird for the tree or something bad might happen. Like our marriage might fall apart.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornament is a one my Mother had on the tree as I grew up. It's a tiny horn that can really be blown.
ReplyDeleteLinda
My favorite ornament is no longer. When Dagan's first Christmas came (he was born November 2nd) he was very little and I fell in love with a scrawny, Charlie Brown tree for our apartment. I got the tree I wanted from the lot but heard a lot of grumbling about it from Dagan's dad. Went to string some lights on it and discovered tucked back by the trunk was a little bird's nest! I was delighted that scraggly tree had great value and had been home to a bird family. After the holidays I wrapped the nest in tin foil and for many years we tucked the nest inside our Christmas trees and Dagan heard the story of his first Christmas tree. When it started to fall apart we didn't put it on the tree anymore but opened the fragile nest for a view and the memories. Finally it was nothing but a flat assortment of loose twigs and a few feathers. Dagan was in his 30s, had had his own tree for years, and insisted that I finally put the nest to rest. It may not be with me any longer but I still think of it every year. :)
ReplyDeleteI posted photos of my tree today. there you will see a photo of my favorite ornament, a stop sign. Yep, a stop sign. Our son Jake made it when he was quire young, writing was a new skill, and 'STOP" was one word he knew. I guess he thought a red stop sign was as good a decoration as anything. the paper is faded, and never was red, but then Jacob, as he was known then, always did things his won way. On the back side is his name Jacob, witten in crayon with a different color for each letter, and proper lower case letters, of course. It is my favorite ornament.
ReplyDeleteI do miss the Minnesots loons! Love your ornaments. You did z really nice job of painting them.
ReplyDeleteI've been visiting your blog for a few years. Your ornaments always are exquisite. Thank you for doing a give away. I do not have any old ornaments- they've flown the coop. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornaments to make were chickadees which I made out of flour-salt dough, baked and then painted. The chickadees used to come in bunches to a shed roof beneath the kitchen window to feast on peanut butter sandwiches and orange halves, so I had lots of chances to see them, close-up.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite ornaments are birds- I have lots of them on my tree. Every year I try to find a new one. When I was a kid, we had one of those ornaments that have a recessed part, and in there was a nativity scene. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy whole tree is full of memories: ornaments given to me by students over the years, ornaments made by my sons and grandchildren, the handed down glass ornaments used every year now for forty-three years,crocheted angels and snowflakes, exquisite Hmong ornaments,and more. I don't have a favorite. I love them all.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a loon! Regardless though - all that get them are blessed!
ReplyDeleteI would love, love, love to get one of your loons.
ReplyDeleteI think your loons are lovely. We always look and listen for them whenever we are lucky enough to be in an area where they are. I would be honored to be lucky enough to win one of yours.
ReplyDeleteWow look at all the responses. I tried to log on last night but it wouldn't publish my response. I still like the indents as my favorite ornament. I can still see them hanging on that old cedar tree in our old house out on the farm. I saw new ones at the pie place a couple of days ago and thought that would be a new thing I could start ot hoard. Addicted I am. I have already seen your ornament and it is a grand looking one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have a favourite ornament, but I do think of you and the milkweed pod santa I won, every time I see them growing in the Okanagan. We don't have them around here. Maybe I'll get lucky twice!;-)
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! I came over just in time! My fav has to be the loon. I love their call and I was just listening to Prairie Home Companion audio tape which had a loon in the background. I have to catch up again but sure glad I came over and saw this drawing! You did a beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteOur favorite ornaments were made by our children and now grand children.
ReplyDeleteBonnie Larson
I thought I posted here but I did it wrong anyway. I thought you wanted us to tell you which of YOUR ornaments were our favorite (the loon is mine). I see that we were supposed to tell you ours. Well, I don't remember any except maybe some plastic silver reindeer and I may have one of those. My folks were not big on Christmas and therefore I went NUTS for my kids! LOL! Now I'm just tired and with Miss Peeps this year I'm not sure I'm brave enough to even put up any decorations! LOL! Ho, Ho Ho!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe painting really makes this bird stand out. Before you painted the loon , I like the way the grain showed.
ReplyDeleteThe ceramic ones my dad made when we were growing up. I have now passed them down to my kids
ReplyDeleteCheryl-Oklahoma
Oh, I hope I'm not too late for the drawing! Your loons are lovely and I love loons!
ReplyDeleteI love your loons! They are lovely and your family members are so fortunate to receive them as gifts! They will be a perfect touch of Minnesota lake country!
ReplyDeleteThe loons are beautiful! I also hope I am not too late!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what time zone you are in but no matter. Your loons are lovely!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting in just under the wire. I enjoy reading about and seeing your carvings and still love my pod Santa!
ReplyDeleteThanks all for entering! I am going to do the drawing now!!!! Stay tuned! :)
ReplyDeleteThis drawing is now closed.