I'm lucky enough to have travelled quite a bit over the past few years. Buying souvenirs becomes tiresome and space-consuming pretty quickly -- there are only so many fridge magnets one fridge can hold! A few years ago I decided that my souvenir of choice would be Christmas decorations. I love Christmas and each year I can hardly wait until December to put up my tree. And now, each year, unpacking the decorations and putting them up on the tree is almost like opening up a photo album and remembering those adventures.
These cute little stockings came from California. I bought them at a Christmas shop in Pebble Beach. A friend and I hired a convertible and drove from LA to San Francisco along Highway 1. We had thought it was going to be warm (it was March) and it wasn't -- we ended up in our convertible wrapped up layers and hats with the heater blasting and the top down. As if we were going to travel all that way and hire a convertible and not put the top down! It was such a fun trip and I loved that this one ornament included he names of places I'd visited as well as the year of the trip (2008).
This sparkly, ornately gold ornament came from the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. I went to North Carolina with a group of lovely friends and a couple of us went on a driving trip to Asheville to see the Biltmore mansion. It was absolutely wonderful to see a brand new part of the US that I'd never visited before and I definitely experienced the famous southern hospitality at its finest. The Biltmore itself is quite an amazing building and I felt an ornately gold ornament was a fitting memory of the place.
I bought this tiny, intricate pewter ornament in Munich from one of Germany's famous Christmas markets. I have fond memories of drinking lots of gluhwein (mulled wine) while wrapped up in about a billion layers to keep warm. There was often snow falling, and holding a cup of hot wine to my face and watching snowflakes fall into it is one of my best, most Christmassy memories.
Finally, here's my little Louis XIV. I bought him at Versailles during a day trip that took me to the palace as well as to Monet's house and garden. It was a beautiful, sunny Spring day, and the gardens were full of flowers. I could just imagine myself as Marie Antoinette, taking a stroll around the grounds with my entourage and a servant-provided tea party!
Louis is annoying to hang on the tree -- he won't sit straight -- but I guess that's his majesty's right to do things however he wants!
If you celebrate Christmas, I hope all your plans are in place and you're looking forward to a fun time filled with peace and enjoyment. Not everyone goes in for the big family gathering, but that's what I'll be doing. We'll be eating too much, and swearing that this year was the year we were going to cut down on presents (never happens), and my sister and I will watch Xanadu and sing along, and then it will be time for a nice long sl-e-e-e-p.
32 comments:
Germans make the most exquisite Christmas decorations. We used to have a Christmas shop in Canberra (open year-round) that sold so many things from Germany. I do miss it!
We have a harlequin decoration from England that so heavy he won’t sit straight either. I tend to balance him between close branches!
I wouldn’t make declarations about cutting down on presents. They’re the years you end up with twice as many!
Wow, those are lovely - and such great momentoes of your travels.
I, too, try and pick up ornaments from places I visit over the years. I HATED that I forgot about picking one up in NYC this past summer at Nationals. Guess I'll have to go to NYC again.
Some of my most special decorations include ornaments. I started dating my husband in the 8th grade and for some reason, I bought him a Christmas ornament every year at his birthday (Oct) that revovled around what he was into that year. So we have bass fishing Santas, weight lifting Santas, lots of dentist ornaments, etc. Always fun to pull out the memories when we pull out the ornament from its box :)
Wow, those are lovely - and such great momentoes of your travels.
I, too, try and pick up ornaments from places I visit over the years. I HATED that I forgot about picking one up in NYC this past summer at Nationals. Guess I'll have to go to NYC again.
Some of my most special decorations include ornaments. I started dating my husband in the 8th grade and for some reason, I bought him a Christmas ornament every year at his birthday (Oct) that revovled around what he was into that year. So we have bass fishing Santas, weight lifting Santas, lots of dentist ornaments, etc. Always fun to pull out the memories when we pull out the ornament from its box :)
Hi Emmie, I loved your photos and stories.
A few years ago, we started collecting Xmas ornaments from places we visited, too. And Liz--I really wish I had collected ornaments from all the various RWA Nationals. Something to start in 2012. :)
I like your Xanadu tradition with your sister, Emmie--how sweet! My sister and I stay up and play Scrabble until long after everyone else has gone to bed. :-) With Christmas ornments you've found a lovely, lasting way to commemorate your travels. Thank you for sharing your pictures!
I love your decorations. We buy one each year for our tree. And the last couple of years, I've started buying a special decoration for my adult children and their families. I say 'adult', but whenever I mention cutting back on presents, they revert to childhood quickly!
Hi Emmie ~ I've been to a couple of places you have been to. Loved Monterey, Carmel and Munich. Yes I have decorations from them all. I agree with Sonya that in Germany and Austria we had a huge choice of beautiful ornaments.
Seeing Giverny is on my bucket list but I don't imagine I'll ever get there now.
Have a Merry Memory Filled Christmas.
Hi Emmie.
I loved all your beautiful ormanents and stories. I collect Snoopy / Peanuts Hallmark ornaments. I have them all from 1977 to the present.
Emmie (and Liz), I love the Chrismas ornament idea. Are they hard to find on summer vacations?
Or in March w/the top down :)
Wow love the decorations! I have some special decoration for my tree but don't use them anymore. I don't put up a big tree anymore so I dont need as many but I have them stored away. I don't travel much but I always ask people that do to bring me a thimble because I collect them.
Emmie, Xanadu! How much fun is that? Great ornaments, too. Mine are temporarily in a box until the day they no longer live up in the attic, but the memories they represent are still there. Thanks for making me think of them. Merry Christmas!
Emmie, Louis is my favorite, he's gorgeous. What a neat idea, collecting on your travels. My favorite Xmas ornament is one my son made when he was four out of gold card and sparkles. It's a toothbrush. I have no idea what inspired him but it makes me smile every time I pull it out and put it on the tree.
Hi Sonya -- I agree -- I've never seen more beautiful decorations than at those Christmas markets in Germany. I went to a market in London just two years ago, but it wasn't the same...
Hi Liz, not having bought a decoration in NY is definitely a reason to go back! Not that you really need a reason to re-visit good old New York! I LOVE that you have such a gorgeous history with the decorations you have bought for your husband! That's really special.
Hi Cathryn, collecting ornaments from the cities that the Nationals are held in is a great idea! Would be a lovely memory to bring out each year.
Kathy -- the Xanadu thing is not something everyone understands, but it's so fun and silly. It usually gets brought out late on Christmas Eve, when most of the family have gone to bed and we've had one or two champagnes.... That does make the pretend-rollerskate-dancing easier... lol
Kate -- I think buying decorations for people is a lovely gift. I've started buying a special decoration as a "family" present for friends of mine when it's become too much to buy a separate gift for all their children. I think if they're well-chosen, they can become family heirlooms.
Kaelee -- I do hope you get to see Giverny one day, it's beautiful! I absolutely loved my trip along the California coast -- so pretty and relaxing. I could imagine living there!
Tammy -- I LOVE the sound of your Snoopy ornament collection! What an amazing tree you must have once they're all up! It must be so special taking out those ornaments each year and 'visiting' with them -- and adding a new one to the family!
Rogenna, I've actually never had a problem buying an ornament at any time of year. Once you start looking, you realise they're everywhere! I bought a great one in New Orleans in June this year, but unfortunately it broke on they journey home. It's waiting for me to have a spare moment to sit down with some glue and try to see if I can fix it.
Virginia -- I'm a bit of a collector at heart (if you couldn't tell!) so I like the idea of any kind of collection. I don't see thimbles around very often these days, though, I wonder if they're hard to find? It's good that you've kept your pretty decorations even if you don't have a use for them right now -- you never know when you might need them...
Mary -- yes, Xanadu. I know it's a little strange -- not exactly a Christmas movie -- but it does have a Christmas-friendly happy ending, so it works for us!
Karina, I love the sound of your home-made decorations! I had so many I wanted to put in the blog post, but I figured no-one would want to read about a hundred decorations... lol. I have a little home-made one that I bought at a street stall in Budapest that was being run by a primary school there to raise money for something. It's a little papier mache tile with glitter on it. It doesn't really match my other decorations, but I love the story of it, so it always goes on the tree.
Those ornaments are gorgeous. And I know how much of a Christmas gal you are, having had some of your special Christmas cookies for breakfast (!!). Have a wonderful Christmas, Emmie.
Glad the cookies made for a yummy breakfast, Louise!
Emmie,
Thanks for sharing your ornaments, They're so beautiful, as are the memories.
Merry Christmas!
Love your ornaments. They do keep memories alive.
I collect Santa Clauses from the places I visit. One of my favs was a gift, a wool Santa Claus rug handmade and bought in the village in Turkey where Saint Nicholas was born.
I have some Christmas decorations that the children made long ago. They go on the tree each year. I treasure them more than any I have bought.
Hi Linda -- thanks and Merry Christmas to you, too!
Linda S -- wow, what an awesome piece of Christmas souveniring! That rug sounds fantastic, and what a story to go with it too! Thanks for sharing.
Marybelle -- it is the ornaments that have a story that really 'make' Christmas, I think. The trees in the stores that are all color-coordinated look pretty, but with the sentiment that goes with them, I don't think they mean as much.
I love Christmas ornaments! I know lots of people prefer a tree with coordinated, elegant ornaments, but I love best the kind with memories attached. For example, I still have the one my daughter made in kindergarten, where she glued down macaroni noodles to cardboard cut like a candle and spray-painted the whole thing gold. In fact, Christmas ornaments were on my wedding registry, and I love the ones that announce our first Christmas as a married couple and our daughter's first Christmas. (Love the mother mouse rocking her baby mouse's cradle that attaches to the light string, too!)
I think ornaments that commemorate places you've been are just perfect as mementos!
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