The Meaning of Our Christmas Tree (s)

The day after Thanksgiving was raining so we had to wait until Saturday to pick out our Christmas Tree.  Now, we have several others though tout the house.  One in the family room filled with the ornaments we've given the girls each year (it's kind of our 'ode to Hallmark' tree) and then I have three little trees set up together in the dining room.  These trees are my 'childhood trees'.  They hold the most precious ornaments in the whole house.  They are the ones my girls have made at preschool.  I found old story book garland for those trees.  And then we have a tree in the window at the top of our stairs.  They are filled with the miniature ornaments that I've been given over they years.  (I guess that tree is kind of my 'mini ode to Hallmark minis tree'.  There's a tree in my kitchen that now stays up and changes all year (because I learned that from Billie Jo) and right now it's all gingerbread.

But....

But...

But...

The 'REAL TREE', the show stopper, the one Santa I'm sure stops and breathes deep for a good smell as he's eating cookies and milk is our living room tree.  And we picked it out last Saturday.  She sat in a bucket in our garage for the week because I know what the heat coming on in our house does to her.  And I want her to last all those weeks until Christmas.  But she's going up tonight!

Her ornaments are very special to me.  Very, very special.  If fact the girls usually know that they can help 'just a little'.  But really, it's mommy and daddy's tree.  Maybe I should I call it our 'wedding tree' since all of the others have names.  Because of this text




And this song...

And this little story...

Twenty years ago Scott and I were married for only a few months when December rolled around.  We had very little extra money for things like decorating a house for Christmas.  Without him knowing I had saved just a little bit our our Wedding money.  I hid it away.  And knew just what I wanted it to buy.

That first Christmas 20 years ago we went to New York City (surprised? not!) in December.  We went with my parents and saw The Lion King on Broadway.  And then we did all of the Christmas NYC things.  We stayed over.  I remember what I wore, the New York diner we ate at for breakfast the next morning. I remember loving my coat and the way my heals clicked on the New York sidewalks.  It was magical.

On that trip we went to Sax Fifth Avenue.  And we headed right to the Christmas ornaments.  It was there I saw my first Radko ornament.  I pulled out my Wedding money and bought twelve.  Twelve matching, amazing Radko ornaments.  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal.  Of course we bought ornaments for our first tree.  But it was a big deal.  We were in New York City.  We were in Sax.  This is the most amazing department store in the city.  The very one my Mom and Dad would take up in if we were in NYC just to look around.  And once when were were little I remember my Dad telling my brothers and I to pick out "something to wear on Christmas" in Sax.  I must have been around 9 or 10 years old.  We had just seen the Radio City Christmas show.  I was with my parents, my grandparents, my brothers.  Magical.  My brothers picked out a red sweater and I chose a beautiful green dress.  Oh that dress...

Anyway, Sax is one special place to me.  So that bit of Wedding money, in Sax now a newlywed, with my new husband, my parents, NYC... Radko ornaments.  Magical.

Those ornaments are twenty years old now.  And since then I've added other Radko's to our living room tree.  But that tree, it takes me right back.  Back to when I was 23...

Twenty Christmas's later... so many memories... so many moments I'm so grateful for.

So tonight this tree is more that just our Christmas Tree.  It's a reminder of all the childhood magic at Christmas that I grew up with.  All of the magic that I carried into our marriage.. and all the magic that the girls bring to me each December.





The girls played hide and seek among the trees.

















Have I ever said on this blog that I love Christmas?  And my husband? And being married?  And my darling girls?  And romance?  And my home?  And memories?  If not, I do...

Merry Christmas baby, I love you...