Memories, Memories, Memories

 It will soon be Christmas.  The day after Thanksgiving is often the day the Christmas decorations come out of storage--especially for us and for many of our neighbors.  Unwrapping these decorations brings back so many memories.  A number of the tree decorations are ones that were in my home growing up.

This Santa is made of something similar to plastic.  It had been on the tree when my mother was a child.

These snowmen are copies of ones that decorated our house when I was a teen.  After John and I married, my mom knit a set for me.

I think this tree was made in the 1930s or 40s.  I remember it in our home when I was a child.  At some point, I know my dad sprayed it with green paint to renew the color.  It has also been rewired so we didn't have a fire.

                                    

This Santa came filled with candy canes, probably as a gift when I was very young.

More modern Santas also decorate our home.  We bought this one because John loves trains.

When we lived in Granby in the Colorado mountains, we fell in love with skiing.  This ornament celebrates that activity.

Some of our ornaments first graced the home of other people.  We bought some of them in antique stores.

Our numerous Santas are arranged on the coffee table.  John carved the  five figures in the center front. 

We also have a number of nativity scenes.

I made this scene when I was working in the pottery studio.

This is a nativity puzzle.  Both John and I made these in the wood shop at our resort.

We have had trees of various sizes and shapes over the years.  We bought our first artificial tree in 1975 when we moved to Castle Rock the week before Christmas.  I seem to remember the only decorations were bows made of heavy red yarn.

There were large trees for larger living rooms and a very small tree for Christmases spent in an RV.  Since moving to our small home in Arizona, we have one just under 3 feet high.  The ornaments are quite small.

This is the tree in our Arizona home.

We have lived in three states and numerous homes over the 56 years of our marriage.  Christmas helps us think back on so many of our good times as a couple and a family.

One year when we were traveling a great amount of the time, we returned to find a broken pipe flooding our home in the Denver area.   Many things stored in the basement, including the many books in the library there, were destroyed.  Thankfully, some of the Christmas decorations were saved.  And after we recovered emotionally, we enjoyed shopping for new ones.

 

Christmas Is Coming

And that means we need to pull out our much loved Christmas decorations and find places in our winter home to display them.  We have quite a few nativity sets.  One is carved out of olive wood, another is a puzzle. When the pieces are taken out of their frame they can be arranged with Mary, Joseph, the wise men, a shepherd and animals surrounding the baby Jesus.

Other sets are made of wood, glass, or pottery and one I shaped out of clay.

We also have a large collection of Santas.  The red plastic Santa on green skis I received as a child.  Five wooden ones John carved.  Two are antiques we found.

We have a small tree--just right for our small house.

John carved a larger nativity scene we display in front of our home.

Soon we need to go find some good Christmas light displays somewhere in the area.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, full of the joy of celebrating our Savior's birth,  and a happy and healthy new year.