How many memories can a Christmas tree hold?

It takes a special tree to hold all the memories represented by these Christmas ornaments. Photo credit: Mary Jo David

by Mary Jo David

White trees and flocked trees are in vogue this Christmas, with splashy tinsel and baubles in a single hue or bulbs and ribbon in a simple duet of colors. Google it and you’ll find Christmas 2021 has official color themes. The one I found listed “joyful brights” as this season’s theme, which begs the question: When shouldn’t Christmas décor be joyful and bright?

Anytime I visit a home that boasts coordinated tree trimming, I’m so impressed by the owner’s creativity and planning. However, a little part of me is sad for the older decorations—the ones that don’t fit the theme. If you think the Island of Misfit Toys is sad, imagine being an ornament stuck in an old storage box and tucked away in a closet on that island.

This might explain why I go the extra mile to make room for as many of our ornaments as our tree can hold, from old to new. (And no 2021 tree is complete without a Santa or Rudolph masked against COVID!).

At our house, tree decorating is a time for reminiscing and getting the kids and their families back home for the day. Although she’s no longer with us, there’s still a special spot on the couch reserved for “Ma” Hicks, the official ornament unwrapper.

Each year, I look forward to the fond memories our ornaments evoke—another reason I can’t consider a themed tree. All are special, but some are treasures:

• The bulb we simply refer to as “the war bulb” hails back to WWII, when metal was in short supply and companies improvised by creating glass ornaments with cardboard caps instead of metal.
• Ornaments distributed in exchange for sponsoring pagan babies (or maybe Advent collection cards?) in Catholic school back in the 1960s.
• A needlepoint depiction of “the little red house” my best friend and I rented many moons ago. The house was like no other, and my sister-in-law’s handiwork prompts warm recollections of time spent there.
• The first ornament our daughter made, a now-faded, homespun, paper chain, was a not-so-creative craft I devised for her first play date with a kindergarten friend.
• Baby’s-first ornaments, kids’ handcrafted decorations, and new-home trinkets we’ve been gifted with over the years.
• Special ornaments from siblings near and far, especially a few from my dear, departed sister who always found perfect gifts for acknowledging my family’s diversity.

I must stop myself before I list every ornament on our tree. How can I possibly send any of them off to a closet on the Island of Misfit Toys?

So I have a plan. Beginning this year, the grandkids will get their pick of an ornament from our tree and the story that accompanies each. But please don’t think less of me for putting the really special ones near the top of the tree—out of their reach until they’re old enough to appreciate them!