Advent Calendar December 2: Ornaments

Growing up, I don't recall any special Ornament ritual, such as making them as a family, or things of that nature. I do remember, however, that all three of us kids were required to be present to put them on the tree (we never complained about this!). I remember at times getting impatient with Dad whose job it was to put the lights on the tree, though, since the lights and the garland had to go up first.

When it was time to put up the ornaments, we'd all sit in front of the tree. Mom was in charge of doling out the ornaments, one-by-one, to us kids to put them on the tree. She always started with the ones we'd made ourselves, at school, church, or wherever. She'd pick one out and whoever made that ornament got to put it on the tree, anywhere he/she'd like. Once the homemade ornaments were done, she'd continue doling out ornaments in the same way. I remember each year being allowed to hang the more fragile ornaments as I grew. Each year she'd give me a "breakable" ornament, I felt more and more grown up!

When we became teenagers and had moved to Arizona, this ritual with the ornaments pretty much faded away. But while the ritual went away, the homemade ornaments stuck around throughout our growing up years until they finally saw their last hanging, worn and weathered, and mostly unrecognizeable.