When I got married mor
e than twenty years ago my mother began giving me decorative ornaments. When I began to have children they too received ornaments. At first, I didn’t really know how to display them since there were so few. However, time flies when you’re having fun and suddenly this year I have a problem (according to my youngest child). I have run out of space. As I reflect on our topic this month, I couldn’t help but think about the ornaments. They may look like trinkets to most but to us they tell a story. A story of vacations, new babies, new homes, popular movies and even eventful mishaps in our lives. The ornaments have become a tradition. A giving ritual. At one point my mom asked if we still wanted to continue or if the ornaments were becoming a hassle. I confess to throwing a mini-tantrum at the though of not receiving my ornament. I have come to love looking at them and remembering with my family what the ornaments symbolize for us. I look forward to them each year and expect to continue the tradition as well.
What trinkets create traditions in your family?
A fun holiday tradition we have in our family is hiding the “glass pickle” in the Christmas tree the evening we set up the tree. Then we take turns finding it. The youngest person in the family is the first to hide the pickle. Everyone else has to go to another room as she hides the pickle. She calls out to everyone when the pickle is hidden. Then we come look for the pickle in the tree. Whoever finds the pickle is the next one to hide it. My kids love it! as do the parents:)This tradition is one all the kids look forward to, and shows their creativity as they try to find a place in the tree to hide the pickle where it is hard to find, and creates a lot of laughter.
Little traditions like this have been simple for us to do, only cost the cost of the pickle, don’t take much time, but has created memories for us that make us smile and remember the fun we have had together.
Kim
Our family has ornaments similar to your family, but as I reflected on your question I was reminded of something that happened with one of my college daughters over Thanksgiving. I have a habit of cutting out cartoons from our local paper that reflect the craziness associated with a house full of kids – adolescents especially. I hang them on the frig, and as my daughter reached into the frig for something to drink she was drawn into the most recent cartoons. She shared that she had recently talked to a friend about the cartoons and how much fun it is to see what Mom has clipped out when she returns home periodically. I never thought that such a small (and free) gesture on my part had come to mean so much to my children who are beginning to leave the nest. Definitely started a tradition without knowing it!
craziness associated with a house full of kids – adolescents especially. I hang them on the frig, and as my daughter reached into the frig for something to drink she was drawn into the most recent cartoons. She shared that she had recently talked to a friend about the cartoons and how much fun it is to see what Mom has clipped out when she returns home periodically. I never thought that such a small (and free) gesture on my part had come to mean so much to my children who are beginning to leave the nest. Definitely started a tradition without knowing it!