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The tree is up!
Eli helped a lot… it is so wonderful to have someone else in the family who totally “gets” the tree thing, and the tradition, and is interested in which ornaments came from where (literally all over the world!) and when…. and that would be me and Eli! We assembled the tree (more on that in a sec) and got the lights on over the weekend, and the ornaments on yesterday!
The tree!
Here’s a close-up. Even *I* will admit my ornament collecting (it was supposed to be one a year, but is usually more what with gifts from friends and my inability to stop at one of the purchased kind too….). We’re hoping in the new house (moving locally in late January, fates willing) that the tree will be in a spot where we can reach the back side of it so we can spread out the ornaments!
LOTS of ornaments! On the center right, a chola from La Paz, Bolivia, on the center left one Eli made, the red reindeer is from when I was in about 1st grade and to his left a painted lantern from my last overseas trip with the Foreign Service to Moscow. Tthe tin reindeer is from the Waterford Craft Fair in Virginia, Top right has an orca from when we lived in Friday Harbor; the cub scout is Joshua back in first grade (and it was a Cub Scout project). There's a trillium stained glass on the lower right from my assignment to the US Consulate in Toronto (Trillium is the official Ontario flower), there are miniature Bolivian hats here and there, and in the top right a wooden US capitol purchased when we lived in DC on Capitol Hill. And sort of in the center, Eli's origami bat (made in school) and a little foamie mousie he made, too! Our life, on a tree!
As for “assembling the tree.” You might wonder why a family that lives in the Pine Tree State would have an artificial tree. Well, when you are in the Foreign Service and live all over the world, you had best take your Christmas goodies with you. La Paz, Bolivia, for example, was in the barren, nearly treeless, Altiplano. The next overseas assignment was in Gabon, in Central Africa. LOTS of trees….jungle!….there. But Christmas trees? Not quite. So we had an artificial tree that traveled all over the world with us. And by about 1995 it looked like it had been around the world. We donated it to a charitable auction (they decorate trees and auction them) and bought a new one on sale after Christmas. It was also larger, to better house the growing ornament collection.
Fifteen years later, I think I need to prune what goes on the tree every year! Even the larger tree is crowded. That’s in part because Mom sent me ALL the ornaments I had sent mom and dad over the years. The good news is that when the boys have their own homes, I can divide up everything into three piles, and each of the boys will have a matching set since I usually bought one for mom and dad and another of the same for me—two sets! Good thing we didn’t have three kids! So that’s my story… after nearly 30 years, we’ve had two trees. I like them. They’re part of the family tradition just like the ornaments. Enjoy the love and the lights of the season, Sarah
December 18th, 2010 at 9:27 am
How fun! I wish one of my sisters cold recall what happened to all our ornaments as we were growing up. No one claims to have them and I hope they weren’t discarded when clearing out my parents’ home. Some of them were very old.
December 18th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
What a beautiful, festive tree! I inherited the ‘collecting ornaments’ gene from my grandmother, whose tree looked different every year.
December 18th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Now that is a Christmas tree with attitude! I love it. Maybe in the new house you can do two trees? this one plus a real one?
December 19th, 2010 at 4:30 am
Thanks for sharing your tree with us. It looks beautiful, and I don’t think you need any more ornaments. Dorothy.
December 19th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I love, love, love your tree and understand the tree thing.
Happy Christmas from Sue in a v.v.v. chilly UK.
December 21st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Beautiful tree !
Merry Christmas from Germany, where unfortunately all the snow is melting…and I had hoped for white Christmas 🙂
December 21st, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Love the tree Sarah, we have a falsy and also now a real tree -also much snow and ice here in Yorkshire-I’m happy I have both girls home for Christmas in spite of the travel woes and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. HXXX
December 24th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Gorgeous tree! I love all the ornaments and their stories – reminds me of the angel I made in second grade that would always reside, to my chagrin, on the top of the Christmas tree for years! Have a great holiday and a smooth move (having just completed one…)!
December 24th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I thought I had lots of Christmas decorations..but..you beat me by a long way. It is snowmen with me, can’t resist them…..you have a lovely bright tree with lots of memories