Our Favorite Christmas Tradition

The First Two - Snoopy & the Giraffe

My husband’s mother started this wonderful tradition and it is one we are happy to have passed on to our own children. The first year we were married, she gave us two hand-blown glass ornaments. There was something about them that tickled her fancy and made her smile. We had the same reaction as we gently removed them from their boxes and held them in our hands. The first two arrived over 45 years ago and new ones have been added to our collection each year since – either by her and later when she was unable, by us.

Popeye & Olive Oil

She found them in a little shop on Fifth Avenue in Scottsdale Arizona. Luckily, when that shop closed we were able to locate a new source for these treasured mementos. First we found a shop in Solvang California called the Jule Hus, which bills itself as a year-round Christmas store. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to walk in the shop for our annual purchase and view them all hanging from the ceiling. Later, when we moved to Northern California, we found an online retailer, The Cottage Shop, that specializes in all things Christmas – including a wonderful selection of these fanciful and fragile decorations.

Drippy the Raindrop

Alien Santa

During our Air Force years, these beloved characters were never entrusted to the movers but were packed in our car, like the rest of our growing family, and traveled with us. Living in earthquake country, we've been known to tether the tree to a hook in the ceiling.

Happy and Sad Lions

 When the children were old enough, I started their own collection and have added to it each year since.

Christmas is special for many reasons – not the least of which is the reason we celebrate; the birth of our savior, Jesus – the gathering together of family and friends and hopefully, at least for a little while, to enjoy peace and goodwill toward our fellow inhabitants on this earth.

But the chance to ooh and aww over these bits of joy and visit with them for a while, is another reason the holiday season is special at our house.

I’d love to hear about some of your family’s traditions.