Tree Decorating & Ornaments: Old or New? (& a touch of nostalgia)

Are you one of those that goes for a different tree decorating "theme" each year, sticking with the latest "trends", or do you tend to lean more towards a "classic" or "traditional" tree, re-using cherished heirloom ornaments from year to year?  


Me, I fall into the second category.  I now realize how blessed I am that I was given an ornament (or 2 or 3) every year of my life from my 1st Christmas on (and I'm still getting them!)  And, on every ornament is written the year it was given.  


Here's the ornament from my 1st Christmas (1977):

I was given all of my ornaments when I moved away from home, and back then, I resented those old ornaments, & wanted to have a more trendy tree based on what I was seeing in the stores.  But, for one reason or another (mainly lack of funds), I pulled those out and filled my tree every year.  I think now though, with the trends more vintage and homespun, my ornaments fit that bill exactly.  With each ornament that was unwrapped from it's tissue bed, a fond memory of Christmases past filled my mind.  


As I was growing up, we made it a tradition of trimming the tree as a family, and each family member would hang their own ornaments.  Christmas music, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (love that clay-mation), or "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown" would be on in the background, and if we were lucky enough in the Texas weather to have a chilly evening, there would be a fire in the fireplace.  Of course, it wasn't always a Hallmark card at our house, usually fights ensued between my sister, brother, & I, or some other drama of that sort.  Or there would be jealousy, (usually on my part) because my sister would have the pretty pink ornaments, while I was stuck with the ugly brown or yellow ornaments.  (I still will not get over that! wink, wink) Here's a good example:

This one I have fond memories of because it always reminded me of a cookie (if you look close, you can see bite marks where I probably tried to eat it when I was little- or was that this year?)

Sadly, some of the ornaments have not survived 30+ years, but for the most part I still have every one of mine, and even some "inherited" ornaments from other family members.  It is really amazing how Christmas ornaments can evoke such fond memories.  My grandmother started the tradition, and now my mother is carrying that on for my children, so they will one day have the same cherished memories that I have every Christmas season when I pull out my ornaments to trim the tree, & I hope they have the same appreciation & fondness for their ornaments as I have for mine!  


This is probably one of my favorite ornaments right now:

Here is my tree (I know the lights kind of make it hard to see all the ornaments):  

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!