Merry Christmas!
Starting with the year my hubby and I got married (1987) I've purchased a dated ornament every year since. Some are from Hallmark or Carleton Cards and some are just generic dated ornaments that I've found while shopping or I just date them myself with a Sharpie marker if I find a suitable one.
Each ornament is a little bit of our family history. Each year I try to find an ornament that has to do with something of importance that has happened during the year. For instance, two of them are from the years that our children were born, one is from the year we got our beautiful black lab, Pepper (RIP), another is from the year my kids were obsessed with Miss Frizzle and the Magic School Bus and one is from our family trip to Florida where we went to Gatorland! You get the idea.
Of course, not every year has something really memorable...you know, one of those years when there's not really anything particular that stands out. That's when I just find something that appeals to me personally...after all I'm the one out shopping and making the effort for this. So, I have a pretty nice collection of sewing/quilting related ornaments that have nothing to do with the rest of the family. Pretty selfish, right? Some years I actually bought 2 ornaments…one for me and one for the family. My absolute favourite is the little quilting bee (Sew Sweet) from 1996.
Some have been made by my friends as gifts just for me. My coworker, Eleanor, made me a beautiful patchwork ornament in my favourite colours (purple, teal and turquoise) when she picked my name out of the hat for our gift exchange a couple of years ago. My friend, Trudie, made me a couple of gorgeous machine embroidered ornaments. And even though it isn't handmade, my friend, Frances, knows me well enough that she sent a cool sewing machine ornament one year. Of course, I have many more sewing related ornaments, but these are my faves.
from Eleanor
from Trudie
from Trudie
from Fran
This year's ornament has been an easy one...Covid ruled the world and with it came some really great ornaments. This is the one I decided on and it’s currently in the mail. I ordered it over a month ago and hopefully I’ll actually receive it before Christmas day!
Whatever your celebration looks like this holiday season (probably much, much smaller than it usually is!) please keep yourself and your family safe so we can all celebrate in our usual way next year. Merry Christmas everyone!