Holiday Traditions: Christmas Ornaments

I want my Christmas tree to be full of memories and stories. So we came up with a nice little tradition of giving each other one new ornament for Christmas every year. There aren't really any rules for what it should be, but we try to tie it to something that happened that year. We started this tradition in 2010, the year we got married, so we don't really have a big collection yet, but I find it special to add two (now three) more ornaments each year.

I like how I have to force myself to pick one, and only one, which can be difficult when your at Kris Kringl in Leavenworth, a two story store with nothing but Christmas ornaments. The idea of our tree in ten years though with many fun, unique ornaments that all have some sort of meaning or story behind it makes it so worth it.

With all the remodeling going on in our house, we decided not to put up a Christmas tree this year, but the wreath I made instead actually ended up being perfect for the number of ornaments we already have. 

2014 was a big year for sports in our house. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl and Germany won the Soccer World Cup. So it was pretty clear early in the year which ornaments we would get. I also added Noah's first pair of shoes to the collection. It'll be nice to look at them every year and be amazed by how fast he's growing.  

 

I love the squirrel. Tony picked this one and it's so "him" which is why I love it. I never really think about it but we do love our squirrels in the backyard. So does Noah. I mean hey, we even put up a squirrel feeder this summer. Anyway, this ornament is so cute and dorky at the same time. What's not to love? 

I got Tony the Lederhosen man in 2012, the year we all went on our big Germany trip with some friends and Tony's sister. Noah calls him Papa. Hehe.

These two were the first. I love the big blingy ring as a symbol for our wedding in 2010. The snowman represents me making Tony take part in this new tradition by dropping him off at Pier 1 and waiting in the car and him grabbing a random ornament he thought looked "alright" a few days after Christmas. I was so annoyed then. Now, I love it. 

Noah's first ornament - our sleeping prince.

Because he's my prince...

 

 

We also have our college teams covered. Tony got me the UW one in 2011. He put some more thought into it than the year before and bought the ornament I should have got in 2010 when I graduated from UW. We got the gnome in Nebraska last year where we celebrated Christmas that year. The angel in back was on our wedding present from my Grandma and I love that it doesn't just get lost in the junk drawer or a pretty box that never gets opened but finds its way on our tree (or wreath I guess) every year.

Tony's aunt gave us this cute little plane for Christmas last year to remember Noah's first airplane ride and first visit to his grandparents. 

As you can see, we also love to add ones that we get from friends and families. The felt Santa hat is from my mom who spent Christmas in 2012 with us. "Baby's first Christmas" was a birthday present from dear friends who clearly know me well.

The one ornament I don't have an individual picture of but you can see in the picture of the complete wreath above, is the Christmas pickle. It's super cute and even comes in a little mini pickle jar. The first Christmas pickle I ever saw was on a friend's tree at an ugly Christmas sweater party. I had never heard of it but apparently it was an old German tradition I had never heard of, where the pickle was the last ornament hung on the Christmas tree and then the first child to find the pickle got an extra present or good fortune the following year. Many of my American friends seemed to know more about German traditions then I did, but I just assumed it was a tradition in just one of the parts of Germany and I had just never heard of it. Anyway, as it turns out, the story is a total myth. The most plausible explanation seems to be that the Christmas pickle was invented for marketing purposes in the 1890s to boost the import of glass Christmas tree decorations from Germany. Why in the world would anyone choose a pickle of all things for this little story? 

Myth or not, I might just hide the pickle really well in the tree next year and have an extra present ready for the one who finds it first.