Favorite Things: Christmas Ornaments (Part Two)

Yesterday I wrote about my teacher ornaments in this post.  It was the first of a two-parter.  Today I'm sharing the ornaments that represent the other aspects of my life.  This post is picture heavy.  You visual learners will appreciate it.

The first is the sequined butterfly.

A friend gave me this about fifteen years ago.  I have a thing for butterflies which is why she gave it to me.  I realize this makes me sound like a ten year old girl.  Maybe I'll write about my thing for butterflies in another post and then you'll understand.  Until then, you can just think I'm like a ten year old girl. 

Speaking of which...

 Okay, this isn't a unicorn (although I do have a unicorn on the tree).  This is Pegasus.  It was on the tree when I was growing up.  I'm not sure where it came from. My mom gave it to me many years ago because I have always loved it.  I remember when we first studied mythology in eighth grade.  The assignment was to summarize the myths we were reading.  The teacher said my summaries were excellent.  Many of the straight A, model students in class had trouble when we did this. It came very naturally to me, as did a love of Greek mythology.  It was one of the first times my writing made me feel special.

I also have an assortment that are related to my children.  They both have engraved "My First Christmas" ornaments that I let them put on the tree every year.

Since then I have tried to let them pick out an ornament of their own every year.  Here are a few of my daughter's...

 

And my son's...

 

I have a cardinal to remind me of my Nana who passed away this year.

 
And I have a couple with pugs to remind me of my beloved Ruby .

This one is my husband's. I bought it for him, and I make him hang it every year.  He used to have a Harley.  I don't want him to be left out.   He needs some representation.

Over the last several years, I've been collecting ornaments from places we've visited.  It's a great way to stop and remember those trips.

Disney World...

Our trip to Tennessee - This came from the large arts and crafts fair there.

And this one is from Ripley's Aquarium.

We have three from three different trips to Holiday World.  These are just too good to pass up when we're there.

 

This one came from our last trip to Santa Claus, Indiana. There is an archabbey there, St. Meinrad's, that we toured.  This was in the gift shop.



Here's the St. Louis Arch...

 And St. Louis Zoo

I hope to keep adding to this part of the collection on future trips.

This year we had a special Grinch themed supper on the night we watched the Grinch.  The Grinch is hands-down my favorite Christmas special.  I love Dr. Seuss.  He's one of my top 5 children's lit writers.  We put a special ornament on the tree for this new tradition.

 

 

 

 

Barbie looks a little scared...

I could go on and on, but I'll end with another ornament I bought years ago because it reminded me of the Grinch's heart on the cartoon.

Go out and get a new ornament for your tree this year!  Pick something out that's meaningful to you.  Tell your loved ones why.  Everyone needs a story. Merry Christmas to all! 

 

Kim