For the next few posts, I will be featuring ornaments from my Christmas tree. This is one way I can savor these decorations that only come out once a year. Each post will feature a group of ornaments related by a common theme.
The Ornament Parade--Kids' Handiwork
We have several ornaments on the tree made by Wally, Theo, and other relatives when they were smaller. And what's significant about these is that most of them were made by kids who were more interested in jumping off the chair instead of sitting on it and doing a craft. It took a lot of effort for them to make these and that didn't go unnoticed by Ward and me.
Without further ado, let the parade continue.
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| There is a series of this kind of ornament with Wally or Theo's picture in a frame decorated by them. |
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| This one was x-stitched by my younger cousin and was a gift for one of our early Christmas trees. I think she was in middle school at the time. |
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| This one was made by Wally in kindergarten. I think it was supposed to be a round wreath, but the wire the beads were strung on is flexible and the "wreath" has been many different shapes over the years. |
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| This gods-eye was made by nephew. We were very proud of him for making it because working with his hands was definitely not his thing when he was younger. |
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| Wally and Theo made this when they were in early elementary school with a group of kids in the neighborhood. |
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| I'm not sure how, but this was made by my niece with gelatin. Originally it was a sun catcher, but it got too hot in the window and started to warp. Then I retired it to be an ornament we enjoy every year on our tree. |
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| This one was made by Theo when he was a Tiger Cub Scout. If truth be told, I think his den leader had as much of a hand in it as did Theo. |
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| This was made by Wally in first grade. |
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| This is a cinnamon applesauce ornament. I helped Wally make a set of these in first grade to give to his teachers and other special adults in his life. For the first several years, they gave off a nice cinnamon smell. |
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| This is not an ornament, but a decoration Wally made it in preschool. The teacher spray painted a pine cone and mounted it on a thread spool. Wally then glued sequins on it for ornaments. Many of the sequins have fallen off over the years, but it's still a cute little tree. |
I really got a kick out of seeing those because... I have a few of the same ones, made by my kids in preschool and early elementary years, lol. The star that we use to top the tree still (when we can have a tree, which we haven't had for 2 years running now because of our cats) is a cardboard star that is mounted on a toilet paper ring. The star was cut by Middle Son's preschool teacher, but he painted it. Every year since he brought it home from preschool, it's been our tradition that he's the one who puts it atop our tree. Oh man, now I miss my Christmas tree!
ReplyDeleteI'd put the tree up anyway. We've had one (both real and artificial) every year with various numbers and ages of cats. Some years, there were no breakable ornaments on it because they climbed the tree. Many years we'd find ornaments strewn about that the cats had knocked off and played with. We would redecorate the tree every day. Then we started to hang ones just for them on the bottom branches. Now as old cats they mostly lay under the tree. However, they did have a lot of fun investigating the boxes that everything came out of.
DeleteI think you'd enjoy both the tree and the cats playing with it.
I'm remembering the first Christmas as a kid after we got a cat & dog. The cat was ecstatic - "Look! A tree! Just for me! Complete with dangling toys and everything!" I think she brought the whole thing down about half a dozen times - water and pine needles everywhere. And the dog pooped out tinsel for weeks! And then there were Grandma's hand made ornaments... shredded and chewed to bits - my mother swore us to secrecy over the fate of those ornaments! I still don't know if Grandma ever figured it out. Anyhow, we switched to artificial trees with a lot fewer ornaments after that. :-)
DeleteI guess you had to have fewer ornaments. Doesn't sound like the pets left many for you to use. :)
DeleteWe also have some similar ornaments on our trees! :) Both of my kids, in kindergarten,made Santas out of their handprints--these were laminated with a poem about them growing older on the back. I think those are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteWe have some really cute reindeer made out of thumb prints from my kids. I didn't include them because there were names and dates on them. I can understand why Santas made from you kids' hand prints would be your favorites. They sound really cute not to mention the sentimental value.
DeleteAwww... I still have a set of felt ice skate ornaments, with paper clips for blades, that I made in the 3rd grade. It's packed away in a box somewhere since I'm way to lazy to decorate. But it is sorta fun to have it nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever dig out your ice skates, I'd like to see them. With paperclips for blades they sound really clever.
DeleteYou're in luck! I took a picture of them and posted it on my photo site a few years back.
Deletehttp://www.photos-public-domain.com/2011/01/28/felt-ice-skates-ornament/
Love them! Thanks.
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ReplyDeleteSorry, Strayer. I just deleted your comment by accident. For the rest of you, Strayer wanted to know if the candy cane was still edible and the sun catcher looked like aquarium art.
DeleteYes, the candy cane is still edible even though it's about 20 years old. It still has the original plastic wrap around it. We used to have plain candy canes we put on the tree, but over the years they've broken, so we don't have them any more.
I think the kids' handmade ornaments are among the cutest. I had one of those candy cane reindeer, myself, for many years.
ReplyDeleteThis year, we didn't put up the tree and none of the ornaments have been unpacked.
Your big event this season was your almsgiving. I can understand if you just want to relax a little and not spend a lot of effort putting up the tree. You and your daughter have plenty of other fun things to do.
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