Special Ornaments Make Christmas Bright

by

The day we’ve waited for all year is coming fast and my head is spinning as I try to remember everything. In fact, I feel like one of those bobble heads! I guess it won’t matter. I’m determined to enjoy this special time. I’ll be with family and it’ll be a fun, noisy affair. Quite different from last year when we were all stuck in our homes alone. I didn’t feel like decorating or celebrating. In fact, I was pretty depressed. But that’s behind me now.

This year I put a small tabletop tree up and decorated my door, so I think I’m ready. Nothing says the holidays like twinkling lights, tinsel, and laughter. It makes everything so pretty.

I want to show you some special ornaments that came from halfway around the world. A dear friend who loves to travel bought these for me.

She got the blue handmade one from Budapest, Hungary when she took a Viking Cruise. I really love the old world feel about this ornament. The white Christmas tree came from Scotland and gifted to me by the same friend. This one is special because it came from the land of my roots. I hope to one day visit and see the beauty firsthand.

In this next set of pictures, a different friend gave this Santa ornament to me right before she passed away so I treasure it dearly.  When I hold it, memories of the times with her run through my mind. She was such an incredibly talented woman who made the most awesome things with flowers. The sparkly silver ornament was sent by a reader from Ireland. It adds so much beauty to my little tree.

My heart is full of gratefulness and love. I’m truly blessed to have such good friends who add so much to life. I never want to take them for granted. Friends are like flowers and you have to water and nurture them or they won’t stick around.

Do you have any special items that you hold dear that you take out each year? I’d love to hear about them. I’m giving away one 2022 calendar that I made myself to someone who comments.

Wishing you all so much happiness and love. Whether you spend this holiday with family, friends, or alone, find something that brings joy to your life and give thanks for what you have.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Linda Broday Headshot
Website |  + posts

Here in the Texas Panhandle, we do love our cowboys. There's just something about a man in a Stetson and jeans that makes my heart beat faster. I'm not much of a cook but I love to do genealogy and I'm a bit of a rock hound. I'm also a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. You can contact me through my website and I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. HAPPY READING!
https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules/

70 thoughts on “Special Ornaments Make Christmas Bright”

    • Good morning, Denise….I’m so glad you stopped by. Angels are really special and if you’ve had one for a while, it makes a beautiful treasure. I hope you’re not too crazy getting ready for the big day. I’m leaving in a bit to finish shopping. Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

  2. My favorite ornament is one that my husband gave me the first year we were married. It’s a glass ball with two cardinals in it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family

  4. Every year we choose a new ornament that depicts a special memory for the year. A set of tiny wooden shoes for the year we visited Holland, Mich, a tractor from the year we bought the farm, a rocking horse from the year our first child was born, etc. We date each ornament to help us remember which year we got it. Every year when we unwrap the ornaments to place then on the tree, we relive our memories.

    • Good morning, Rhonda! I’m so glad you stopped by. I love that tradition of giving special ornaments at Christmas. You must have quite a collection by now and each one filled with warm memories. Merry Christmas to you and your family. May you get to unwrap something really beautiful that takes your breath away.

  5. My Dear Sweet Linda. Glenda Kinard made me the most beautiful ornament a few years before she passed last year. I really miss our daily visits, she was such a beacon of light in both you & my lives. I make sure to hold it each year and know she’s smiling down giving me her love.
    I love you, Linda and I’m so glad you are spending it with family this year. Merry Christmas and we have got to get together in 2022.

    • Good morning, Miss Tonya. How special that ornament is that Glenda gave you. Treasure it and remember her giving heart. She loved her friends. You especially. Yes, yes, we’ll make it a goal to get together this next year. I can drive up to Amarillo and that will help. But it’s a must!! Enjoy Christmas with your parents. I know how much you’re looking forward to it. Merry Christmas, dear sister friend! 🙂

    • Good morning Debra. I love that you’re sharing your favorite ornaments with your children. That’s really special. Merry Christmas! I hope you have one filled with love and laughter.

  7. Good morning I have 3 I get out every year. One a bird house from my daughter Charity. A wonder woman ornament from daughter Sherrie. One I made for daughter Kathy the year she passed. Merry Christmas.

    • Hi Yvonne, thanks for coming. It’s always so nice to see you. Those ornaments are really special and I can see why. Cherish and treasure them. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

  8. My dearest friend Debbie passed away several years ago. After her funeral I went to meet her husband he said Debbie left a few things she wanted me to take. The box contained a few special Christmas decorations, one was a mouse that sits on at a piano playing sheet music . There are about a dozen of your favorite Christmas carols , you place them in front on the piano . He talks and plays the piano singing all my favorite songs. I think of the Christmas her and I had together, precious memories. Merry Christmas my friend!!

    • My grandmother gave me a box of her ornaments a few years ago. I love taking them out and thinking of her and of my grandfather, who passed several years ago. I always enjoying sending her a picture of our tree so she sees how much joy those decorations bring.

      Merry Christmas, Linda! And a happy new year!

      • Hi Jess, how sweet. Your grandmother knew you’d cherish them. I pray you have a very Merry Christmas with those beautiful children of you and your husband’s. Sweet, sweet kids. Wishing you the very best of everything in life.

    • Hi Rose, oh my goodness. Your comment made tears come into my eyes. What a special gift from your dear friend. I’m sure she’s hovering around and thinking of you during this Christmas season. I’ll think of you and say a special prayer. I hope you have the happiest of holidays.

  9. I’m so sorry I forgot to comment yesterday. I have tons of special ornaments and knickknacks dated back to my childhood as well as things that had belong to my mother & grandmother. I haven’t gotten them out the past two years because we have 4 cats now & I can’t even imagine the choas that would ensue. We also have a giant puppy that is into everything and spends a lot of time in trouble. Lol

    I wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas & a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year. Love you dearly my friend.

    • Hi Miss Steph! I don’t know of anyone who’s suffered as much loss as you. Cherish those ornaments and keep them safe for now. Don’t want them to get broken. Wishing you and your girls a very special and bright Christmas. I love you too.

  10. I have so many special ornaments that I treasure, but the one the stands out the most for me is the my Tree topper. I have had it for over 40 yrs. Even though I don’t put up my large tree anymore, I still will not part with it. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2022.

    • Hi Kathleen O, thank you so much for coming. They make the most beautiful tree toppers and I’m sure yours is filled with lots of happy memories. I don’t put a large tree either. Those things are way too heavy for me. Have a very special Christmas.

  11. Many of my ornaments have special memories – ones children and grandchildren made. I also have a small picture frame on a chain that has a picture of my nephew who was killed almost 12 years ago that I always put on my tree and I have a set of ornaments that had belong a an aunt. I always put at least one of those on my tree. I see it and I remember her. I also have a another small picture frame of a child I taught for 2 years (preschool teacher) on my tree and remember the shenanigans she pulled.

    • Hi Karijean, I’m so happy you dropped by to chat. You have some very memorable ornaments for sure. I pray you have a very wonderful Christmas filled with love and laughter.

  12. I have three different sizes of silver bells on my tree. They are delicate. My grandkids have to touch them and ring them. I shudder and hope that they don’t break. But I want the kids to touch all the ornaments that are special to them because they are in awe and wonder. That’s Christmas to me. I have trains on my train that remind me of my grandpa who was a conductor. And, I have a cowboy riding a horse ornament that’s very dear to my heart. It tells me that I am still drawn to reading western historical romance. Merry Christmas Linda. Love the beautiful ornaments you shared. So happy you will be with family. Our celebration will be very festive too.

    • Hi Kathy, I’m happy to see you. Those bells must be beautiful but I’m glad you continue to let the children touch them. That means a lot to them. God will protect them. Wishing you and Ron a Christmas you’ll never forget. This one especially will mean so much. Praise God that you’re alive to see it. I love you dearly.

  13. Hello Linda! Those ornaments you shared are precious. One year my husband and I fulfilled a bucket list item and toured the New England stated during the Fall Foliage season. It was beautiful! We picked up Christmas ornaments in each state that were representative of that state. It is fun to pull out those ornaments each year and remember that wonderful trip we took.

    • Hi Valri, I’m sure your ornaments from each state that you visited on that Fall trip are so gorgeous. The memories mean so much. That was a special time for you and your hubby. Merry Christmas! I hope it’s filled with love and laughter. When the holidays end and things settle down, we’ll go to lunch.

  14. The ornament that is special to me is the first ornament my Mom gave to my son his first Christmas. It’s a small wooden rocking horse.

  15. Your ornaments are lovely. So special to have these with special memories. My husband and I married on Sept. 10. So we had fun shopping for our first christmas. Our very first two ornaments were small crochet stockings that had the year. They go up on the top branches of our tree every year. Now 37 years. Every time I see them I remember when we were young and so full of hope and love. Out of that came two beautiful children (now 35 and 33) Wonderful post. Merry Christmas

    • Hi Lori, thank you for the compliment. They mean a lot to me. Those crochet stockings you and your husband bought for your first Christmas together deserve to be treasured. I’m so happy you still have them to remember that special Christmas. Merry Christmas! Wishing you one that’s filed with love and laughter.

  16. Many ornaments which I have are so meaningful. I have been given lovely ones. The one I cherish the most is a clear glass winter scene. Merry Christmas!

    • Hi Ellie, thank you for coming to share ornaments that mean so much to you. That one with the winter scene must so beautiful. Merry Christmas! Wishing you one that’s filled with love and laughter.

  18. Ornaments when the kids were young and I gave to them are very special. Keeping these memories alive. Have a wonderful Christmas.

  19. I have a few I made that are special, a few that were made for me and each year we get a new one to add to the tree… 🙂 Merry Christmas!

    • Hi Colleen, thank you for coming over. I’m sure you have quite a few ornaments that mean a lot to you. Enjoy the holidays and soak up all the love and laughter. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

  20. At my current age of 77 there are many precious ornaments I hang each year. They are an accumulation from many special friends I had the opportunity to meet while on our travels for work. Each one reminds me of those special people and I am grateful for being gifted with these people and to have the reminders to keep my mind fresh. GOD has been very good to me throughout the years. Have a blessed Christmas season.

  21. A gift of an ornament which my first son was born and which I gave to him when his first son was born. Precious.

  22. I hang the ornaments with my mom and dad ingraved. Also the ones my kids and grandkids made. My oldest daughter is in her late 30’s and I have a pop cycle stick reindeer she made in 2000.

  23. I love your ornaments hand made and from around the world. We buy ornaments when we travel, usually something indicative of the area or from a special place there. My most special Christmas decoration is the first nativity set we got. We bought it for our first Christmas together after we got married. John was deployed for Vietnam and found it in a BX over there. It is a small Hummel set and the figurines remind me of the children in Disney’s It’s A Small World. He was supposed to be home for Christmas but was extended. Things ramped up and casualties mounted over that extra month. We celebrated Christmas in Mid-January that year, all the more special because he was home safely.

  24. I love sentimental ornaments! I have quite a few I love reminiscing about each Christmas. My hubby’s grandma has made many crochet ones that take up a whole tree!

  26. Those are beautiful ornaments, and what lovely memories go with them! I really enjoy putting up the Christmas decorations. Its fun pulling them all out of their boxes and being reminded of years past when you first got the various ornaments and Christmas village parts. I’ve started making some homemade ornaments the last few years and I have to say that putting those up on the tree this year made it that much more special.

  27. My most prized ornaments are the photo ornaments I always hang on our tree, they are from when my now 2 grown adult children with little families of their own are in, I also have ornaments that they made in elementary school, my youngest will be 42 yrs old on the 28th. I also made photo ornaments of my parents, after they passed away, my dad passed away first and so his ornament goes up first, my mom passed away almost 3 yrs ago and so her ornament goes next. I also have an ornament of our very first pup we had as a couple and he has also passed so I put his photo ornament on our tree also. We also have an ornament of the nutcracker that was my husband’s when he was very young. I love putting up our bird ornaments also.

  29. I have a boot ornament that you gave me a few years ago. It is always on my tree Linda and I think of you every time I put it on the tree. I also went and bought a set of ornament that was boots and cowboy hats so it wouldn’t be alone on the tree. Thanks so much for that ornament.

  30. I have a Santa and sleigh that I bought for our first Christmas. We just celebrated our 53rd anniversary on Dec. 14.

  31. I love love that you shared thhe story behind the ornaments. They are all lovely! I have a crocheted tree topper angel that i usually take out and some Wiard of Oz ones thhat were handmade and were my g’mas, glass ones from special people, stuffy ones we hhad when i was a little girl (same with the OZ ones). I couldn’t/wouldn’t try to get everything from the corner with my hliday stuffs I’m doing some rearranfging and such so these did not come out tis year. I had plenty to put on the tree though as I was able to reach a small box from last year with ornaments and decor for my coffee table, I was in some ornament exhanges this year also so that filled up one side of my tree and thhat’s good enough with the added garland and candy canes LOL. Foreign or special meaning ornaments are a fave. Thank you for sharing! HAPPY CHRISTMAS! 😀

  32. We set out the nativity that my parents purchased before I was born every year. It is something that I love and cherish. We also have an ornament that my Mom had made for my husband and I for our first Christmas after we were married. It has our names as well as the year we were married. We have a small tabletop tree. It is too big and heavy to hang on the branches as well as we have three cats. I would be afraid it would get broken. Thank you so much for sharing your special ornaments. God bless you. Merry Christmas.

  33. I have a cowboy boot, a cowboy hat, and a saddle wooden ornaments that were painted by my grandmother.

  34. Linda, I’m late to the party, but wanted to comment on those beautiful ornaments. I love ornaments! I would leave my tree up all year if I wasn’t married. LOL Those you shared are just gorgeous, and so special because they are reminders of good friends. Love you, filly sis! Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.

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