Advent Calendar - December 2, 2007

Christmas Tree Ornaments
Did your family have heirloom or cherished ornaments? Did you ever string popcorn and cranberries? Did your family make ornaments?

Today's question deals with Christmas Ornaments. Here is a brief summary of contributions from fellow bloggers and links to their individual posts:

Terry's mother and mine were obviously cut from the same cloth when it came to tinsel on the Christmas tree - to the aggravation of their children. In Christmas Tree Ornaments at Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi, you can also learn the fascinating trick to making "snow" for the tree before you could buy it in a spray can.

Process and procedure were present at Colleen's home growing up when it came to Ornaments. At The Oracle of OMcHodoy she details the order in which ornaments were placed on the tree beginning with homemade ones up to very fragile ones.

The Wonders of Mercury Glass and Tinsel by Steve at Steve's Genealogy Blog is a great look into the secret lives of ornaments and tinsel. Did you know ornaments hold late night parties while you sleep? And tinsel thrown in clumps untangle themselves while you sleep?

On page 2 of his Aunt Dot's Memories, Bill West at West in New England writes about a Christmas in 1929. Aunt Dot's family fashioned decorations out of newspapers and magazines and Santa's bag full of toys were kept out in the dingle. You're going to have to go there to find out what a dingle is! And no, it doesn't eat babies.

What If Ornaments Define the Character of a Christmas Tree? Jasia at Creative Gene thinks that her family's collection of ornaments was able to transform any tree, no matter how crooked or homely, into a grand and glorious dancer of lights, garland and glitter.

In My Family's Ornaments, a mixture made by great-grandmothers, bought on family vacations, as well as those made by her and her brother hang on Christmas trees past over at Jessica's GeneJournal.

Apple over at Apple's Tree describes Christmas Ornaments that were homemade over the years using egg cartons, pipe cleaners, and other ordinary objects. She also has a great picture of and a link to posts of ornaments that represent an event or a memory.

In Christmas Tree Ornaments Randy at Genea-Musings contends that boys don't make ornaments (I wouldn't agree but that's just me!) but he would bring colorful paper chains home from school. Also find out about the unique personalized ornaments Randy's mother made for each of the grandchildren.

Lisa at 100 Years in America describes unique Hungarian and Croatian ornaments in Reflections from Underneath the Christmas Tree. Read about intricately embroidered ornaments, foil wrapped pieces of candy, and hearts with mirrors in the center.

Lori at Smoky Mountain Family Historian describes in Christmas Tree Ornaments a wide range of ornaments from one she made with fishing line and beads (I love that one!) to those picked up from various places she and family have visited.

Ever wear a Christmas ornament in your hair? Or done some other bizarre thing with tinsel? Have a fetish for chains - colorful paper ones? In my post, Christmas Ornaments - Not Just for the Tree Anymore, read about how Christmas ornaments can be displayed in some original ways.

I am still amazed at the collection of ornaments Lee at The I Seek Dead People Blog details in Silver and Gold . . . on Ev'ry Christmas Tree. Plus she's put out a challenge for next year: a blogger ornament exchange. What a great idea!

Diane at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' presents Christmas Tree Ornaments. She has a wide variety of ornaments and remembers the glittery, shiny but breakable ones from her youth.

Janet fondly recalls ornaments from her past at Janet: the researcher. In December 2 - Christmas Tree Ornaments, she tells us that each time she hangs ornaments made by her mother and other ladies at church, she remembers each and every one of them.

Some notes: So far I see common themes among this growing list of participants (we are up to 12 today - and it's only Day 2!):

- many of us have ornaments from places we've visited, from Wall Drug in South Dakota to far off places around the globe;

- while "tinsel throwing" was severely frowned upon by most mothers, most of us progressed to doing it as a night of decorating wore on;

- and most genea-bloggers have pets who look forward to a Christmas tree and all its hanging treasures as much as we do. Read today's posts and you'll see common strategies to avoid pet damage.

For more hilarious lolcats like the one to the right go here. If you haven't been, realize you will lose an hour laughing at all the creatures great and small.

Check back tomorrow for more submissions on the next topic: Holiday Foods