A Christmas Collection

As a general rule, I am not a fan of collections. Not to say that I don't appreciate other people's treasures, but collecting is just not something I'm really into, especially given my efforts to have less stuff. I will admit that Dan and I are definitely guilty of having too many books, but other than that, I don't really have any intentional collections going in my house.

The one exception for me is Christmas tree ornaments. The first year that we got married, Dan and I started a tradition of collecting an ornament every year to represent a significant event or trip from that year. The first year we were married, it was an ornament from Oregon (where we went for our honeymoon); the following year, it was a picture of our cats who we had adopted that year. Our ornament from 2010 is one we picked up during our trip to Yosemite.

I love how, as we unpack the ornaments every year, each one tells a story. I hope that, 30 or 40 years from now, we will be able to look back at a tree full of ornaments marking special times or trips in our lives and it will bring back a host of memories. Here are a few of my favorites, including some that have followed me from the tree we had growing up.

A little bell from when I was six

One of several wooden ornaments my mother painted before I was born

An ornament marking our time in St. Louis (with Harry Potter close behind!)

Classic glass ornaments that pre-date me

My sister and I loved this one when we were little. You can actually flip through the book and read the entire story!