I know talking about ornaments in April seems a little bit weird, but I never seem to post much around the holidays and the closest thing I seem to have for a theme for the A to Z Challenge this year is “things I meant to post about but haven’t.” That brings us to ornaments.
Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday, but
Christmas is a pretty close second. And
I love Christmas ornaments! My parents
don’t celebrate any holidays, so as an adult, I tend to be a bit enthusiastic
about them. Or like a child in an adult’s
body.
I got my first Christmas ornaments when I was 25, and my first Christmas tree when I was 26. I
had moved out and started exchanging Christmas gifts with co-workers and
friends before then, but never got a Christmas tree when I lived alone. It didn’t seem worth it, and I wasn’t even
entirely sure how one went about getting and decorating a Christmas tree. I think that’s one of those things most
people learn as kids and take for granted as adults.
I’ve loved ornaments ever since Nick gave me my first
one. I think the butterfly is so pretty.
My boss, Ginger, gave me this cupcake ornament when I left
my job in SC to take a job in NC.
Nick’s mom gave me this one in 2018, so I got a
hippopotamus for Christmas. Is the song
stuck in your head now?
Not technically an ornament, but Nick’s mom also gave me hippopotamus
lights for Christmas. And they’re pink, which makes me ridiculously happy.
Our friend Martha gave us this one the first Christmas
after we were married. She started
looking for it right after our wedding to find one with the right dress and
tux.
Our friend Alex gave us this one. I call it the Thanksgiving ornament. That means I really like it.
Of course, we have lots of firefighter-themed ornaments
since Nick volunteered with the fire department for so long.
This isn’t technically an ornament, but it is a Christmas decoration. My old coworker EJ gave this to me for Secret
Santa several years ago. Some people
thought it was weird, but I love it.
We usually try to get an ornament on our yearly vacation. Except for 2016. We weren’t planning to get an ornament that
year anyway, since it’s a year we both want zero reminders of. Leaving vacation early as part of a hurricane evacuation sealed the deal on not getting an ornament that year.
This one is from when we went to Atlanta in 2012. It’s from Coca-Cola World.
Quite a few of ours are beach and/or South Carolina-themed. We do love going to Folly Beach
for vacation.
I love getting ornaments.
I love picking them out, and I love when other people give them to
us. It makes me happy to think of the
stories that go with them every year when we hang them up. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being
given special ornaments. I don’t have
ornaments or decorations from childhood, so I appreciate being given them
now. The stories that go with them may
not be old stories, but they’re part of my holiday story.
What are your favorite ornaments?
