ornaments

I have my own tree.  I have my own wonderful ornaments.  I can tell you where I got all of them.  Many have stories behind them.  Several are just things we wanted to buy.  Or make.  Or someone gave us. 

I know Gretchen (and hopefully Carl, but this might be a sexist Girl Thing) will stay connected to those ornaments for her whole life.  Even those that came before her.  She will always remember seeing them each year.  She will relate warm, cozy holiday memories with hanging those ornaments on the tree even if she doesn't remember who they came from.  Or, she might very well know exactly where they came from, but only because she was told those stories, not because she lived them.

The following are not my ornaments.  They are ornaments I have been part of my whole life.  They are my mother's ornaments, but I can tell you where they all came from.  Well, I do have part of my father in me... I may be making some of it up. Don't worry, you won't notice. 

This dove is from Christmas 2008.  It was hanging on the tree in church.  Each family who lost a loved one during 2008 had a dove on that tree.  It was covered.  I probably should have brought my camera to church to capture it.  

This delicate heart made of wood shavings came from my kindergarten teacher, Mrs Conklin.  She passed away a few years after I was in her class in the early 70s.   I wonder how many little hearts are still hung each year from her former students. 

Here is one from Aunt Lila.   We have several of these ceramic ones with little pictures glued into them.  They have dates on the back in Lila's handwriting.  This was 1975, I think. 

And here is one of mine from that same era.  This might be '76. Look closely, I have a knit puppet on my hand.  Mom just gave that puppet to Gretchen this Christmas.  And I made that blue striped icicle at the Corning Museum of Glass one December.  I just love making stuff there.  You know that though.

 I decorated that little hot pink spool covered in glitter.  I do not recognize the Santa, but he is clearly marked with Daddy's handwriting on the bottom:  1989.  My father had a great habit of dating things. 

Karen Magrum ceramic creations.  I thought there were 3, but I only found red and yellow to put on the tree this year.

 Hallmark Mrs Claus.  This one is mine.  Of course, Santa is Kenny's.  They are from 1975.  I looked them up online... one store had them for $60 each. 

This Betsy Clark one I saw selling closer to $100.  (ebay was a lot cheaper than collectible stores online)  There should have been a Little Drummer Boy that was Kenny's, but we didn't find him in the boxes, either.  The kids and I decorated Grammie's tree while she was at work.  We dug pretty deep into her many boxes.  She is going to have a hard time figuring out which box goes with which ornament when she takes the tree down.  I am assuming it is still up.  It is only mid-January, after all.

 

 A new 2011 Grandmother ornament with a favorite photo from this summer. 

 Here is one from the year the twins were born.

OK.  This one stumps me.  We have several felt ornaments.  A Santa, a cardinal, a bluebird, this koala... and I cannot tell you where they came from.  Also, a pom pom monkey.  But, cute nonetheless.

 Gretchen loves this one!  You stick a Hershey's kiss or some other small candy inside it.  

This one is made from the same fabric that Mom made the tree skirt from.  (which, by the way, did not make it out of the box this year.)

Mouse on Marble by Dean Griff.  I bought this one back when I was teaching after college.  I didn't make a lot of money, so when I saw this cute little marble ornament for $3.50 in a gift store between Potsdam and Canton, I bought one for my mother because she likes clear marbles.  Well, I thought about it some more and the little mouse was so cute, I decided - only a few days later - to go back and buy 2 more.  One for me and one for Nanny.  I was only earning $5 an hour, so buying $10 of ornaments wasn't something I did really lightly.  Well, I got back to the gift store and the little tree that had been covered in several of them was bare.  So, I didn't think much about it for years.  Well, when we lived in Massachusetts, I started collecting Charming Tails.  We moved to NY and then to NC and I kept collecting.  In NC, I once traveled back to Albany to go to a signing event with Dean Griff, the creator of Charming Tails.  That is where I met Bev & Cathy.  We were standing in line with them at the event at Grandma's (a gift shop) in Albany, NY.  At that time, Lew & I knew we were soon to be moving to Syracuse NY and Bev and Cathy were also from central NY.  We chatted and kept in touch via email.  Once we got to NY, we soon joined them in starting a collector's club for Charming Tails lovers in the CNY area.  All this time, I still did not realize who created that little Mouse on Marble. 

It turns out, I did see some of Dean's older work and it included a whole series of "on Marble" ornaments.  I was able to collect Cat, Squirrel (2), Possum, Frog (2), Bear, and Chipmunk, but Mouse was hard to find.  (I think I am missing Dog, too).  I did find a collector willing to part with hers... for $300!  Hmmm....  no thanks. 

But, I still look on ebay every so often trying to find the little Mouse on Marble I remember seeing a tree full of back in Potsdam one December.  Phew, big backstory for such a tiny ornament.

This is the ice cream cone I made in kindergarten.  It is made of soap flakes.  Kenny's got broken as did Lew's. 

You all know who this is.  And, I'm sure you know it was Big Ken's.  My dad loved Howdy Doody.  

Now, these guys.  Mom says these hung on their very first Christmas tree in 1968.  That's the little elf that looks just the new Elf on a Shelf.   

 Guess he was watching over me my whole life.  Must be why I have always been so good!

And now, the final photo.  It's a Big Ken special.  Just one of many that my Dad made over the years.  I have a couple red ones, too.  A star and a stocking.  And they are tied with curling ribbon, too. 

Mom's tree 2011