Hi Everyone!
Christmas is probably my very favorite time of year–every single year. My husband says I’m still “a big ol’ fifth grader” when it comes to Christmas, and he’s probably right about that.
Today I thought I would just share a few of my decorations–I don’t ever do ‘trendy’ things because my decorations and ornaments are ones that I’ve had since I was a child, going up through my early years of marriage, ornaments my own children made in school, and those we used to buy for them each year and hang on the tree. I couldn’t bear to get rid of any of these and opt for something more modern! These two pictures are last year’s tree since I have none of my presents wrapped this year yet, and I had to show you all the very best present of all that keeps on giving every day–Sammy, the dog!
Every year, I always include the little ladder with Santa and his elf climbing up to the middle of the tree. I got this when my kids were very young, and my son Casey was fascinated with my earrings. He took a little Christmas sticker and drew a picture of an earring, attached the sticker to the edge and put it on the elf’s ear. That elf wore that earring for YEARS until the glue finally let go and the earring was lost. You can see the ladder, Santa and elf in the first picture on the left side of the tree.
This is the first ornament I bought when Gary and I got married, waaaaaay back in 1979. It’s hard to see, but it’s two lovebirds with a red heart between them, surrounded by a clear heart. This is all blown glass and very fragile.
Here’s the poor little mismatched, loved-through-decades nativity set. Mom and Dad had this nativity set before I was born in 1957! Oh, how I loved this, from the time I was able to crawl over to it! Some of the figures are plaster and have not stood the test of time (and three kids) all that well. I cut up a piece of green velvet fabric I wasn’t supposed to use to make Baby Jesus a beautiful blanket about 2 inches square for His cardboard manger. One of the wise men has disappeared, along with the donkey who didn’t make it, and a sheep. But, there are two camels, a cow and a sheep, along with a shepherd, two wise men, Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and a plastic angel. The stable is cardboard, too. My mom gave this to me one year for Christmas when I was in my mid-thirties, and my kids were very small. We had a good cry over it at the time, but what a gift I will treasure forever!
This is one of my mom’s paintings that I am using on a display in my living room this year–it’s a very wintry scene and looks great with the bright red lighted poinsettias and some other Christmas-y things on my couch table. Below, you can see the entire display. That’s her painting right next to the old-timey lantern.
Here’s another favorite–back when latch hooking was so popular, I made this little Christmas tin soldier and he goes on my door every year. I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I made him, but I’m sure it was very late 1970’s. It wouldn’t be Christmas without him!
Here’s a couple of new additions to my holiday decor. These beautiful reindeer that I leave out all year round. I can’t bear to put them away. I’ve named them Fred and El Wanda, after my parents.
This is a plate I couldn’t resist and a little cute miniature bird house. Bought all of this just this year, but I won’t ever part with all the traditional decorations I love so much!
I always put “icicles” on my tree–this is something we did from the earliest Christmas I can remember, as a kid. I remember when we used to buy those for .17 a box–now, they are three boxes for $14.29!!!! Times have changed, in some ways, but I’m not sure it would be a real Christmas without those icicles, so it is my one big splurge from my usual practical outlook.
I’m going to attach a short story here that I wrote many years ago about why icicles are so important in our family tradition. It is based on a very true story, and I hope I did it justice. Merry Christmas, everyone!
SILVER MAGIC by Cheryl Pierson
Did you know that there is a proper way to hang tinsel on the Christmas tree?
Growing up in the small town of Seminole, Oklahoma, I was made aware of this from my earliest memories of Christmas. Being the youngest in our family, there was never a shortage of people always wanting to show me the right way to do—well, practically everything! When it came to hanging the metallic strands on the Christmas tree, my mother made it a holiday art form.
“The cardboard holder should be barely bent,” she said, “forming a kind of hook for the tinsel.” No more than three strands of the silver magic should be pulled from this hook at one time. And, we were cautioned, the strands should be draped over the boughs of the tree gently, so as to avoid damage to the fragile greenery.
Once the icicles had been carefully added to the already-lit-and-decorated tree, we would complete our “pine princess” with a can of spray snow. Never would we have considered hanging the icicles in blobs, as my mother called them, or tossing them haphazardly to land where they would on the upper, unreachable branches. Hanging them on the higher branches was my father’s job, since he was the tallest person I knew—as tall as Superman, for sure. He, too, could do anything—even put the serenely blinking golden star with the blonde angel on the very highest limb—without a ladder!
When Christmas was over, I learned that there was also a right way to save the icicles before setting the tree out to the roadside for the garbage man. The cardboard holders were never thrown out. We kept them each year, tucked away with the rest of the re-useable Christmas decorations. Their shiny treasure lay untangled and protected within the corrugated Bekins Moving and Storage boxes that my mother had renamed “CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS” in bold letters with a black magic marker.
At the end of the Christmas season, I would help my sisters undress the tree and get it ready for its lonely curbside vigil. We would remove the glass balls, the plastic bells, and the homemade keepsake decorations we’d made in school. These were all gently placed in small boxes. The icicles came next, a chore we all detested.
We removed the silver tinsel and meticulously hung it back around the little cardboard hook. Those icicles were much heavier then, being made of real metal and not synthetic plastic. They were easier to handle and, if you were careful, didn’t snarl or tangle. It was a long, slow process—one that my young, impatient hands and mind dreaded.
For many years, I couldn’t understand why everyone—even my friends’ parents—insisted on saving the tinsel from year to year. Then one night, in late December, while Mom and I gazed at the Christmas tree, I learned why.
As she began to tell the story of her first Christmas tree, her eyes looked back through time. She was a child in southeastern Oklahoma, during the dustbowl days of the Depression. She and her siblings had gotten the idea that they needed a Christmas tree. The trekked into the nearby woods, cut down an evergreen, and dragged it home. While my grandfather made a wooden stand for it, the rest of the family popped and strung corn for garland. The smaller children made decorations from paper and glue.
“What about a star?” one of the younger boys had asked.
My grandfather thought for a moment, then said, “I’ve got an old battery out there in the shed. I’ll cut one from that.”
The kids were tickled just to have the tree, but a star, too! It was almost too good to be true.
Grandfather went outside. He disappeared around the side of the old tool shed and didn’t return for a long time. Grandmother glanced out the window a few times, wondering what was taking so long, but the children were occupied with stringing the popcorn and making paper chains. They were so excited that they hardly noticed when he came back inside.
Grandmother turned to him as he shut the door against the wintry blast of air. “What took you so long?” she asked. “I was beginning to get worried.”
Grandfather smiled apologetically, and held up the star he’d fashioned. “It took me awhile. I wanted it to be just right.” He slowly held up his other hand, and Grandmother clapped her hands over her mouth in wonder. Thin strands of silver magic cascaded in a shimmering waterfall from his loosely clenched fist. “It’s a kind of a gift, you know. For the kids.”
“I found some foil in the battery,” he explained. “It just didn’t seem right, not to have icicles.”
In our modern world of disposable commodities, can any of us imagine being so poor that we would recycle an old battery for the metal and foil, in order to hand-cut a shiny star and tinsel for our children’s Christmas tree?
A metal star and cut-foil tinsel—bits of Christmas joy, silver magic wrapped in a father’s love for his family.
This anthology is only available used now, but it’s well worth purchasing from Amazon if you can find it, and reading so many heartwarming Christmas stories from yesteryear! Hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas and a fantastic 2024!
CLICK THIS LINK FOR CHERYL PIERSON BOOKS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
A native Oklahoman, I've been influenced by the west all my life. I love to write short stories and novels in the historical western and western romance genres, as well as contemporary romantic suspense! Check my Amazon author page to see my work: http://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson
I live in Oklahoma City with my husband of 40 years. I love to hear from readers and other authors--you can contact me here: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com
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Thanks for sharing your photos and the story, Cheryl. What a beautiful memory of your grandfather! He certainly loved his family. It’s hard to imagine taking such time and care in today’s hectic world.
Thanks, Mary! I’m glad you enjoyed. Yes, my granddad’s nickname was “Doc”–everyone called him that, though his name was Thomas –no one called him Tom. Mom told me he got that nickname as a boy because he was always bringing home animals to take care of and taking care of their animals when they got injured. He died when I was 11, so I don’t have a lot of memories of him, but what I have are good ones. I think he was a very kind person at heart. Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Love your decorations and stories.
We saved the tinsel, too.
Thanks, Denise! I’m glad you stopped by today! I know a LOT of people who grew up like I did–saving the tinsel! LOL
How special to have a Christmas tree that holds so many memories!
Janice, thank you! It’s very special to me because everything I put on the tree has some kind of memory–an ornament I bought or received from someone, ornaments people have made for me, ornaments my kids made in school, ornaments I made in school…you name it. I even have some ornaments my parents had when they first married! I think the newer ‘trendy’ trees are beautiful, but the way I decorate my tree has such meaning for me, I don’t think I’d ever change it! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
What special Christmas memories!
Hi Rhonda! Yes, for me, that’s really what Christmas is all about–the memories, past and present. I’m going to find the picture albums I have made of Christmases past and put them out for everyone to look at this year when they’re here for our Christmas celebration. I think they will really enjoy that!
Enjoyed learning about your Christmas, traditions and house. I only have a couple of ornaments from my childhood but I treasure them. I have crocheted ornaments my sister taught me to make. I lost her a few days before Christmas, her favorite time of year, and a new tradition for me is buying myself a gift from her.
Charlene, what a lovely, lovely tradition, and one I think I’m going to follow! How sweet. My parents were both huge Christmas lovers, and they made a lot of sacrifices for the three of us girls to have memorable Christmases. My dad worked in the oil fields, and Mom was a homemaker. My dad passed away on December 23, 2007 and my mom just three weeks later on January 12, 2008. I didn’t take a Christmas “off”–I wanted to honor their memories by celebrating in full force, as always. Yes, there are some melancholy times around the holidays, but I know they would not want them to be tempered permanently by the sadness of their passing. I can’t think of any better way than to buy myself a gift from them. What a wonderful idea! Merry Christmas, Charlene!
My mom saved the icicles from year to year too and we were only allowed to place them on one at a time. My mom was born in 1924 so she grew up during the depression too. She had that ladder and elf but I don’t remember what happened to it. I have several of her decorations though. My favorites are the cardboard nativity and blue light lampposts that she put with it and the bells with lights that I hang above my kitchen sink, just like she did.
Oh, Naomi, I would love to see a picture of the lampposts and bells! I bet that is just beautiful. I love the older decorations. When the icicles started being made of plastic, I was actually kind of sad about that! But…even finding them at all now is a project in itself. :(((( One sales clerk said, “Oh, I think we stopped carrying those because they were kind of…’old’…you know? Old-timey…people weren’t buying them so much anymore.” So…off I went to Amazon. LOL
Naomi, thanks so much for sharing those pictures with me on FB–they went to an old profile of mine and FB would not allow me to comment–I wrote a comment but it was not showing up. Anyhow, I wanted to tell you how lovely those decorations were and they sure brought back memories. I’m so glad you still use them–I love the older decorations–I wish more of my parents’ had lasted through the years, but I’m glad for what I’ve got. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
What a beautiful story of your grandfather and your treasures. My mom taught us the same thing about icicles.
HA! Barbara, is there ANYONE in this world whose parents were of that generation who didn’t have that same theory about putting on icicles? (And taking them off and saving them?) LOL I feel a lot better to know I am in good company and that so many who read this story know exactly what I’m talking about! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I wish you a VERY Merry Christmas!
Thanks so much for sharing your home and special story with us Cheryl! I also leave out my mother’s yo yo Christmas tree she made years ago year round. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Tracy, what is a yo yo tree? I would love to see that! It’s got to be very unusual. I’m glad you stopped by today! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story. Brought back lots of Christmas memories. Tinsel was always so much fun to put on the tree.
Kathleen, thanks for stopping by. I’m glad you enjoyed the story! Yes, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without that tinsel. I did splurge on it this year, but who knows? I might be going back to my roots and taking it off and saving it for next year with the price they are charging for it now! LOL
I love the ornaments, especially the handmade ones!!! They’re so special!!
Thanks, Trudy. Those handmade ornaments just mean everything, don’t they? I have a couple that are so fragile I don’t hang them anymore. They are ones my kids made in grade school and are things they wrote on paper and colored and those are so precious to me. I may see if I can get them laminated!
Your beautiful decorations bring back memories of when I was growing up. I was born in 1944 and remember a Nativity set we used to have which also was made of cardboard as yours was. I do not know what happened to it after my mother passed at the age of 41. Life changed so much and she was the one who kept our heritage together. We all felt lost after she was gone. There were 6 of us and Dad. things lose their importance at such a time and eventually get lost such as these treasured decorations. Mom loved ice cycles and angel hair on her tree. It was so beautiful hanging in front of her bubble lights. Oh yes, I can remember it so vividly. Thank you for the walk down memory lane today. It brings back Mom for just a little bit.
Oh, Judy–I’m so glad you mentioned the angel hair! I had forgotten all about that! In our house we had one of those little alcoves in the hallway for a telephone (which we never put there, but had one in the kitchen and one in my parents’ bedroom). Anyhow, in that little niche, at Christmas, Mom always did a small display of Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus in the middle of that beautiful angel hair. When I was little, she always cautioned, “Now, don’t touch that, Cheryl. It’s spun glass!” It always sounded so exotic! (And looked it!) Hope you have a beautiful Christmas, Judy!
Beautiful trees and such wonderful memories. I don’t remember decorating trees so much as going after them as our youth group would go up in the mountains for trees for the church, elderly members and our own families. I used to go all out for Christmas – I have a beautiful Christmas village that I no longer have room to put out, nor do I put up my tree. Sadly, there is just no room to put one up, so I have a small fibre-optic tree. I have a lot of ornaments that bring back memories and wish I could put them out, but……. I do try, each year, to put out a nativity set that was given to me by the law office where I worked for nearly 20 years. The other favorite is the cross made from horseshoes, horseshow nails and painted silver, that my late husband made me probably 10 years ago. I decorate it with large, individual poinsettias this time of year.
Ginni, I have a beautiful Christmas village that I don’t have room to display any longer, either. I used to put it on top of our entertainment center, but when we got a different one, it’s a lot higher up and not practical for that. I have a little fibre-optic tree, too. I just love it. It’s old, but it still works and I love it. And what lovely decorations that your late husband made for you–I wish we could show pictures in our comments–I’d love to see those! I really love poinsettias, too, but with the dogs, I don’t take a chance on putting them out around the house. These little sweethearts of mine think anything is theirs if it’s out and available. LOL Have a wonderful Christmas, Ginni!
That was a very special story. Merry Christmas!!
Thank you, Kathleen! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you, too! Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Merry Christmas Cheryl. Your decorations are so warm feeling and festive. I love you including the painting your mom painted. It’s so beautiful. I’m wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
Hi Tonya! Thanks so much for stopping by! I’m glad you enjoyed my decorations–I have so much more but didn’t want to post them all as it would have been a bit too long, but I love them all so much and there is a story to most of them. LOL I’m so glad you loved Mom’s painting. That would make her so happy. She loved to paint those miniature pictures and she really had the eye for it. I’m not an artist at all. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours!
Thanks for showing your photo’s. I love your tree and the story. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
You are so welcome! I’m glad to share some of my photos of Christmas around here. I’m glad you enjoyed the story, too! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thanks for sharing your story and photos. I really enjoyed them.
Thanks for joining me today. I’m glad you enjoyed it all, and I’m hoping you have a wonderful Christmas!
Cheryl, Thank you for sharing your holiday memories. My mother was much like yours when it came to the tinsel. It was hard for her to keep the six of us from getting impatient and throwing it on in clumps. It does look so much better when we take the time to hang it properly.
Your mother was a very good artist. My mother did some similar work. It is a shame that they didn’t have the opportunity that we do today to pursue and develop their talent.
Thank you for sharing all the pictures of your decorations. I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a great 2024.