Are you looking for a gift that you can give each year? A gift tradition? I have the perfect idea for you! I love giving gifts. It’s my love language (okay, I love all of the love languages…can anyone really just pick one?). One of the best feelings is giving a gift to someone and seeing that person genuinely excited about what you gave to him or her. After all, I believe that one of the best ways to make yourself feel good is to make others feel good. Because I am a pretty practical person, I find true joy in giving gifts that others will either use frequently or that have some sense of sentiment so that they can cherish it in the years to come.
When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle from out of state created and added to a collection that I cherish so much today: my very own Christmas village. At the age of 3, when new toys were all the rave, they sent me my very first house for the village. From there on out, for each occasion they wished to send me a present, they added to the collection with another house or other accessory. After about 5 years, the village was complete! When it’s time to pull out the Christmas decorations each year, I think about how grateful I am that I have my own collection to reminisce about and share with my own family today. Once I had my girls, I knew that I wanted to start a new tradition and provide them with a collection that is unique to each of them. Hence this post: Ornament Sentiment!
3 reasons why i chose ornaments
1. they can be as general or specific as you want them to be
“Baby Shark” on repeat all year? Consider buying a cute shark ornament. Want to get a personalized ornament made? There are a ton of great options that you can find, from Etsy online shops to craft shows (does anyone still check those out?!) The goal for this ornament tradition is to choose an ornament that represents their main interests for the year, or their individual “themes” if you will. Since my girls are still super young, I kept it pretty basic to start. I already had my oldest’s picture frame “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament, so I purchased a first Christmas ornament for my youngest for her tree. The exact one that I purchased is no longer available, but here’s a similar one that offers personalization. Since my youngest was born in June, it was the first Christmas that they shared together as sisters, so I bought them this “sisters” ornament for each of their trees. I can’t wait for each of them to grow as the unique individuals that they are so that I can find ornaments that represent their interests in each year of their lives!
2. They don’t take up a lot of space
Because my village contains so many boxes and takes up a great deal of storage space, my goal was to try to think of something that wouldn’t take up much space to store, hence the ornaments! They are small enough that you may even choose to keep the box that they came in so that they stay nice and protected. I prefer to keep the original box and write a note on it stating the year and why I chose that specific ornament! I also love the fact that Hallmark Keepsake ornaments have the year on the actual ornament itself, so if the box gets misplaced, you still know what year the ornament represents!
3. they never go out of style
Raise your hand if you still proudly hang your “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament on your current tree! Or maybe you still have the handprint ornament that you brought home from 1st grade? Anyone have an ornament with a framed picture of their childhood dog? My hand’s raised. My point here is that ornaments never go out of style and they serve as an opportunity to take walks down memory lane each year that you pull out and dust off those boxes of Christmas decorations. Final perk: I love that it also gives family members the opportunity to learn more about each other as they exchange stories from their past. It’s almost like each ornament has a story to tell.
what this tradition looks like for us
Each Thanksgiving weekend, I give the kids their ornament for the year. (This way they can hang it up as we decorate and enjoy it for the month leading up to Christmas). In order to display their individual ornaments, I purchased each of them a Christmas tree for their rooms. This one here is the one that we have in each of their rooms. I like how it fits perfectly in the corner of the room and comes pre-lit with easy assembly. Although I can’t bear to think about when the day comes, they will each have their own tree and collection of ornaments when it is time for them to move out. I can only hope that they can’t help but feel sentimental when they unbox their ornaments each year, even if they happen to be staring at a sparkly pink ballerina or a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ornament!
Keep in mind, this tradition may look different for you. Other suggestions include having a designated kids’ Christmas tree for them to collectively hang all of their ornaments, or maybe you want to put these ornaments on your main Christmas tree. Maybe you decide to give the ornament on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day instead. Or maybe you don’t plan to use this tradition with kids, but with someone else special in your life. These are just a few possibilities!
Don’t want to purchase an ornament every year? We also have and LOVE this Milestone Baby’s Keepsake Ornament. It comes with notepapers that you can write memories on with each year that passes.
Are there any Christmas gift traditions that you share with your family or others? I’d love to hear more about it! Thank you for reading!
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