Saturday, December 11, 2010

Come in and visit our tree



Our tree has always been a family tree, ornaments the kids made when they were growing up, ornaments I've made, ornaments from friends and family. It is so full of ornaments that we have to make sure it doesn't tip over - and some years it has, and with no help from our cats either. We are better at balancing the ornaments all around now so rarely do we get the dangerous swaying.

One year, when we still had real trees, the trunk of the tree was so crooked that the stand was about a foot away from the center of the tree, but we even got that one balanced. Come - enjoy our ornaments - and there are lots to enjoy.

We'll start with the lights - bubble lights.  Don is in charge of lights on the tree and he puts on hundreds of tiny colored lights, then bell lights and big round colored snowball lights and finally bubble lights.  We've almost always had bubble lights and some years you can find them in stores, and some years not.  More recently the ones in stores have clear bases and are too bright to even look at - they look like searchlights on the tree.  So if we need to replace any we'll have to look for vintage ones.

Some cute "candy" ornaments.  They do look like candy, but are only plastic - and cute . . . this reindeer is a lollipop . . .

Birds are always a favorite on our tree - this was a gift from Jamie . . .

Two little Eskimos from a famour artist in Alaska - although I grew up in S.E. Alaska, where we didn't wear parkas and have a lot of snow and cold, these are a cute reminder of Alaska. . .

One of my favorite geese . . .

A Hawaiian Nene Goose ornament, brought back by Rusty and Jamie from their honeymoon . . .


A goose painted on a flat round of wood . . .


And some of Don's bells. He loves bell ornaments and has quite a collection over them, gathered over the years.  Some vintage, some new and some that are now vintage but were new when we bought them.
Humpty Dumpty made of felt, the year our first child was born.  He's held up pretty well . . .

Our grandson Jahn-Zyel made these paper gingerbread ornaments for each family member one year . . .

Picture frame ornaments with Jahn and Ben

Linus and Sally - special ornaments that Don and I put on the tree together each year . . .

Lori made this ornament in early grade school - one of our sentimental favorites . . .

A moose from Maine - do you see his lobster?  Thanks Lili!!  He's always right out front on the tree.  .  . I wonder if he rode in their skiff the Chowda Bowl before he came here?

Another felt ornament that I made - the year our youngest daughter was born . . .

Shiny vintage ornaments . . .

A very heavy glass pear.  This one often is near the back of the tree to help balance the tree and keep it from tipping forward - I told you it was heavy . . .

I hand painted this christmas pie, it is cut from very thin wood . . .

Shiny, white, glittery glass pinecone . . .

And what tree is complete until you have a slice of pumpkin pie?  An ornament from the annual ornament swap our family has.

More glitter, more shine.  I love the glass beads . . .

Fancy lace snowflakes made by my friend Franni . . .


This little guy is about 3/4 " tall total - but looks like he can get into plenty of mischief . . .

Made from ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption 30 years ago in Washington . . .

I adore vintage ornaments - these little girls add such cheer to the tree . . .



 

And Christmas trees always need angels.  These two were given to me by my father when I was 5.

They have stiff angel hair wings and soft clouds of angel hair to sit on. . .

And a lacy angel that I made.  Her body is made of thin painted wood and a tulle and lace skirt with lots of ribbons.

I hope you enjoyed a little tour of our tree.  What are your favorite ornaments?

21 comments:

Pat said...

I loved seeing your ornaments. Is it possible you can post a photo of the whole tree, too? I'd enjoy seeing it. My tree is mostly sentimental, too. My favorite is pretty beaten up now but was on our family tree when I was a little girl growing up and it is the ONLY thing I have from my family as I had an evil sister (not an evil step-sister, but just an evil sister) who took everything when my parents died. That makes this ornament all the more special to me. It's Santa on his sleigh being pulled by 6 reindeer...not sure if 2 of the reindeer were lost before I got the ornament, but I treasure it anyway!

Balisha said...

I loved looking at all your special ornaments. When I married Joe, after my first husband passed away, I gave a box of ornaments to my youngest son. He has 4 children and they love to decorate a big tree. My tree today is a tree full of ornaments that Joe and I have collected. The other tree in our breakfast nook has my Mom and Dad's ornaments on it. I enjoy seeing my old ornaments when I go to my son's house and see them enjoying them.
Thanks for visiting and leaving very sweet comments. Balisha

Sharyn Mallow Woerz said...

your photos came out great!

Browndirtcottage said...

Ohhhh...aahhhh...lovely lovely ornaments Jo....loved the 'twinkle' parade and hearing the history of each one!!

Barb said...

Thanks for showing your tree...I just loved it!!!

Lynda (Granny K) said...

I enjoyed reading about your tree and seeing the pictures of your treasured ornaments.
We too have ones that come out each year. Not so many glass ones left now, they got broken over the years (mostly by the dogs' tails!) and we tend not to put the few precious remaining ones out because of the grandkids. We use all unbreakable ones now. I still buy at least one each Christmas to add to the collection!

Lynda (Granny K) said...

Thats decorations - not grandkids! :o)

Purple Pam said...

Such a lovely tree. I love the ornaments. When we have a tree, we decorate with family ornaments also. Thanks for sharing your tree with us.

Lili said...

Oh Jo I had all but forgotten about that moose ornament! I hope he's never the one to tip the tree over! The angels that your father gave you at such a young age are just so precious to still have. I love vintage ornaments and you have such a beautiful collection. ~Lili

Crispy said...

WOW you have some beautiful and whimsical ornaments!! I too would love to see the whole tree :0)

Crispy

Peggy said...

What lovely ornaments and memories - one of the best parts of decorating the tree and house is remembering the occasions when decorations were made or received as gifts!

Julie said...

Beautiful Jo! What great memories with each ornament. My favorite ornaments are ones that celebrate milestones in my family. I offered to let Amy take hers for her tree since she married this year but she said then she wouldn't feel like part of our family! Her ornaments are on the tree!

Yolanda said...

Such a beautiful tree.

Karen said...

Hi Jo.
Your tree must look wonderful with all the lights and decorations. I have enjoyed seeing all the ornaments and love hearing the stories behind them. They are real treasures!

Bonnie said...

My favorite kind of tree - full of memories. That's the way mine is. I find theme based trees to be very boring, I like a tree that tells a story. Yours is beautiful. Mine is currently sitting on our front porch as it was just cut yesterday.

Deb Shucka said...

What a fun tour this was. I love the variety of ornaments you have. The moose was definitely my favorite.

I collect Santa and Mrs. Claus and one of these years might have enough to do an entire tree with just them.

Sharon T in Napa said...

Just great Jo, thanks so much for sharing! It inspires me to do some photos of some of my faves...let me just add that to my list.....

JoyceAnn said...

Love this post about your favorite ornaments , they're all beautiful and special. May post a few of my favs , if I ever get the tree up (LOL).


~ Be Blessed ~

Sunny said...

Wow and Wow! What a collection of ornaments! Some look very familiar, like the bells, and the bulbs with an indent in the middle, and the bubble lights.... all remind me on my mom and dad's Christmas trees. Thanks for sharing. I am just getting my tree decorated....

Julie in the Barn said...

What a great collection of ornaments you have. We, too, have a tree filled with sentimental ornaments. My regret is that I didn't keep any of the cheap blue balls purchased at Woolworths to decorate my first tree as a bride in 1968. They would be vintage collectibles now.

Unknown said...

I loved the photos. I think a crooked tree is a tree full of love! We have a friend who always used to buy this kind of a tree and it was always special.
I'm not doing a tree this year as my hip is recouping and my sweetie is 3 weeks from knee surgery...We have lots of red plants all over the house to make it cheery though.
My daughter has so many lovely decorations on her tree. Memories in the making.

Jo...post the whole tree! Please!