Yuletide Cheer

The last several weeks it's been too danged hot to get into the holiday spirit, but I've been trying to muster some up nonetheless. The cooler temperatures the last few days have helped tremendously, but so has putting up the tree. Ah, pretty. And hanging the stockings and putting out the little wooden Rudolph helped, too. My grandpa Christensen designed it himself, handmade them, and gave one to each of his sons and their families. But this is the original that he kept for himself. After he and my grandma passed away it was given to me, and it's one of my most cherished things.
My dad is a fireman (well, a retired fireman), which means real, live Christmas trees all sticky with sap and smelling of yummy pine were a big no-no in our house. So I have a fake tree. Deal with it. I've tested all of the brands of Christmas tree scented candles out there and found the best: Illuminations. It keeps the house smelling like fresh-cut tree all season long. I usually go through 2 each winter.

Ah, that's pretty, too, is it not?

I was born on the last day of the year--2 weeks late, which means my mom and family missed out on celebrating Christmas that year with brand spanking newborn little me. But that didn't stop my Aunt Jill from initiating what has become an annual tradition: Gifting the still in utero Spacebaby (me) with her first Christmas ornament. Every single year since then (and sometimes for my birthday or other occasions, too) she has given me an ornament, so that by now (being as I am in my 33rd year) I have quite a collection. Especially since years ago I began collecting them for myself as meaningful and memorable tokens of my various travels. Here's a tour of the tree, highlighting a few of my favorites.

My Nutcracker ornament was from Aunt Jill. It's made entirely of wood and is hand painted. As such, it's a tad heavier than your average ornament and almost always lives at the top of my tree each year where it can perch upon a lower branch. She gave me this lervly little hand-blown glass ornament the year I bought my house. I wish my house actually looked like that and was, say, nestled on 3 acres in--oh, I don't know--Portland or the Rocky Mountains. But whatever.This pretty blue and white porcelain orb I bought for myself at the Rijkesmuseum in Amsterdam a few years back. Looking at it makes me think about how proud I was to traipse around the city all by myself for 4 days, doing what I pleased when I pleased. What a great trip that was. Aunt Jill gave me this cutie earlier this year at my bridal shower to commemorate . . . well, I guess it's obvious. I got married. Finally. She'd probably been holding on to this baby for a good 8 or 9 years. In this shot you can see a few of my favorites. First there's the sparkly Eiffel Tower. No, I haven't been to Paris--yet--and when I do get there I'll pick up another French-themed ornament. But this one I got in Denver quite a number of years ago while out shopping with Carol. This one's bittersweet because while I love the ornament, whenever I see it I think about how much I miss my sweet friend in Colorado . . . Then there's the official White House ornament that I got at the JFK museum in Boston (the oval one behind the candle). And one of my all-time favorites of the tree every year: The little gold candle holders and candles (juleys!) that B sent to me from Denmark what seems like a lifetime ago. (I even light them sometimes. Ssssh, don't tell my dad.) Every year when I place them strategically on the tree I'm reminded of how much I'm loved and how grateful I am for bosom friends.This one of Pooh and Christopher Robin was from Aunt Jill, and I've had it for many years. It's a longtime favorite and I imagine always will be. At the end of every Christmas season I'm loathe to pack it up again for another year and am always tempted to keep it out. Something about the soft pastels and the heartwarming pose just make me feel soft and cuddly inside. Perhaps someday if we're blessed with a little Spacebaby of our own I'll take it out for good and display it in the nursery.For me, though, the highlight of the tree every year is the angel. She belonged to my grandma Christensen who always displayed her on the entryway table at their house, sourrounded by angel hair "snow." So when we'd arrive on Christmas Eve, she'd be one of the first things I'd see as my grandma and grandpa (along with their little pup) came to the door to greet us with hugs. Seeing her each year is like having a little piece of my grandparents back again for the holidays.Merry Christmas, everyone! May God bless us all.