Ornaments Dear to Me

My Christmas ornaments are dear to me. Over the years our Christmas tree has grown fuller and fuller with an eclectic variety of Christmas ornaments. Each winter when it comes time to decorate, the majority of ornaments that grace our tree tell a story of our lives.

All ornaments made by my children (now grown) are especially priceless to me. They bring the good tears (and those are always welcome.) :)

I have old fashioned lacy metal ornaments given to me by my mother in law my first Christmas as a member of the family. They are very dear to me too because they are exactly the same as the ornaments that adorned my own family's Christmas tree as a child in the 1950s.

Christmas is about Love and I am truly in love with the memories attached to my dear to me ornaments. I hope you may always enjoy the very best of love at Christmas time and all the days in between!

This picture shows a photo ornament of my daughter rock climbing in the dessert in Oregon, just one of the many pink flamingo ornaments given to me by my fun and lovely sister in law, an old mercury glass ornament from my husband's grandmother's collection, a vintage lacy "metal" bell ornament from my mother in law and an acrylic painted "stained glass" plastic ornament made by my son several decades ago. This blending of ornaments.....so dear to me.

Elsie Marley shares a tutorial for this endearing half-eaten gingerbread man ornament. I made several of these little gingerbread guys this year to attach to family gifts. These were a big hit and have already become very dear to me (just because they are so darn cute!) :)

Portable ornament storage boxes also make great carriers to transport craft fair ornaments to events year round.

Twenty five years ago, I purchased a kit to make a group of felt hand stitched Christmas ornaments. Thankfully I ordered the kit in plenty of time; this was a very long process, but the results were so rewarding.

There are 3 similar sand and shells ornaments in our family. My husband and I have one, and each of our grown kids took one for their own family's Christmas tree. Made when our children were small from sand and shells picked from a beach here in Hawaii, they will always be so dear to me and my children.

A special "little helper" ornament

Before our daughter was born, my son and I spent the Christmas of his third year making these fabric candy cane ornaments. I sewed the candy canes and my son helped me to stuff them. Happy memories like this one flood my mind when I place these candy cane ornaments on our tree.

I used self-sealing laminating sheets to preserve this photo of my daughter and I this year on a special day 11-11-11. :) It's very dear to me and such a personal ornament. These also make wonderful gift tags!

My mother crocheted this Christmas ornament for me many years ago. She used a simple crochet stitch to cover a wishbone. It's my lucky ornament from mom and it is placed with pride on our Christmas tree every year.

This snowman was made by my daughter when she was very young. She actually made two snowmen (well, I think one is a snow mama and this is her baby snowman). His charming little snowman face greets me happily each year when it's time to decorate the tree. :) It's absolutely very dear to me!

Long ago, my little man brought home this special keepsake ornament for me when he was in the second grade. So very special, so very dear to me!

Melted crayons grace this sweet paper heart ornament from my daughter, long ago. I have no ornaments from my own childhood, so every handcrafted item from my children will always remain dear to my heart.

Vacation memories from 2011 are captured in this dear to me photo ornament. Self-sealing laminating pouches make these so easy to diy.

I made this dear to me ornament just this past Christmas. A piece of my husband's paternal grandmother's sweater encased in a small wooden hoop and adorned with a vintage Christmas brooch. Find more details about this dear to me ornament here.