Just Make a Moment

Oh, it has been a cold day in Oklahoma City, but a perfect afternoon to put up the Christmas tree.  You probably know by now that I am a sentimental slob.  Since the kids have left the house, the decorating is something that the hubby and I do together.  Hubby takes the ornaments out of the box and we spend a little time reminiscing as I put them on the tree.  Since 1977 we have picked a special dated ornament together, some have special meaning to our family and some are just pretty.  We now have 34 of these special ornaments; special to hubby and me!  

1985, cash was short so that year year we bought a small Santa ornament and wrote the year on it ourselves.  I remember distinctly where we found it in a speciality store in Crossroads.  We managed to find dated ornaments that fit our taste even in those years when we were financially strapped; the years when Santa had to wait till the last pay check before Christmas.  You may have had a few of those yourself.  Aw, memories, still they were good ones.

The year we bought our son a train set, we also bought a train ornament.  The heavy glass painted "Three Wise Men" came from Penney's in Crossroads Mall (oh I miss that mall).  Several ornaments depict the birth of Christ in one way or another. 

The first two years we started collecting, we bought Disney character ornaments because our children were toddlers and Disney was our life...OK, some would say it still is.  I have never denied that we are just a little old fashion and nieve.  We have many ornaments that depict little children waiting for Santa which are some of my favorites. 

We have the ornament we bought at Silver Dollar City the first year we ever went to see the Christmas lights there; a Charles Dickens' scene that we just had to have after seeing Silver Dollar City's production of "A Christmas Carol".  That play was first rate and very, very professional with the ghost of Jacob Marley with his chains flying over our heads. 

The year we bought B. a Jack in the Box for Christmas, we also found a Jack in the Box tree ornament.  Last year's ornament was a scene from the movie "A Christmas Story", another movie favorite, and this year we couldn't pass up the musical ice skating scene from Charlie Brown.  "Charlie Brown Christmas Special" was a special part of our children's Christmas season, as well as our grandchildren so even now, after all these years that little cartoon will be on in my house.

Many, many years ago I noticed an ad in the Parade magazine that comes with the Sunday Oklahoman for plastic icicles so I sent after them.  OK, they are just cheap plastic, but once on the tree and they reflect the lights and glow.  They are magical!  We have lost a few over the years and thought about ordering more - yes, they are on Ebay, isn't everything.  After discussing it we decided not to order them.  You see, sometimes more of something doesn't make it better.  And really, buying them now would not be the same as it was for me when I was in my early 30s.

And as sentimentality would have it, we top the tree with a paper angel our daughter made in first grade.  Talk about special attention to packing away each year............  And can you believe that?  This angel was made in a public school.  Oh, I miss those days and feel our children are really missing out.  At my grandson's school, there can be no reference to Christmas at all, not even a Santa.  They can have winter themes such as snowmen, but no reference to Christmas....such a shame and a disgrace!

I have some small inexpensive glass bulbs which I remember hanging on our tree when I was a child and even though they mean the world to me now, I really have no clue as to why mom bought them.  Was she just trying to fill the tree with something?  Did my parents pick these out together?  Were they cash strapped when they purchased them?  We picked out these ornaments for the moment, for our moment, the here and now.  Regardless of why we picked a particular ornament, it is really about the moment; the moment of picking it out, the moment of deciding whether the perfect ornament is worth the cost, the moment of taking it out of the box, the moment of pulling the string to hear the music, the moment of hanging it on the tree, and the moment of showing it to the grandkids.  There is also the moment of carefully putting it away for another year.  Some of my ornaments are fading and some a little tattered even after the careful attention when putting them away.  These ornaments are for the hubby and me for nobody else will have a clue as to why we bought them or what was going on in our life.  They are our moments.  Make some moments of your own this Christmas.  It doesn't have to be an ornament, it can be something very simple.  It might be just turning off the TV and decorating the tree together.  It might be a drive around your own neighborhood and looking at the lights.  Just make a moment.        

I hope to tell you about my childhood Christmas trees as I remember them.  I have to laugh because some of my siblings don't recall much of their childhood so I can just whip up some memories and they believe me.  But seriously, I will try to be accurate as a woman my age can be.  Don't laugh!  See you tomorrow.  I love you!