Holiday Traditions

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to give and receive Hallmark Ornaments. This has been something that has been passed down from my grandma, my parents, and now from me. Every year starting with my first in 1981, my parents and my grandma would buy me a Hallmark ornament. Through the years, I have collected quite the collection of beautiful ornaments. I have several single ornaments and many ornaments which are in a series. Below are pictures and reasons why these are some of my favorite ornaments hanging on our tree this year!This ornament is from 1989 and from the moment I opened it I thought it was the cutest little manger scene. I still love to look at it and think about the birth of Jesus and the reason for this amazing season!This is one of the ornaments I have that are in a series. The Wizard of Oz has always been one of my all time favorite movies. Just ask my mom, when I was about 5 years old I would watch it time after time during the same time. Only fast forwarding through the wild monkey scene. Still can't watch those ugly things! When this collection came about, I had to have it! I have about 5 ornaments from this collection, this one being my favorite.This is another ornament that comes in a series. Starting in 1983 the Nostalgic Houses and Shops series came about. I have all but 3 years in this series. Somehow along the way I decided I wanted to collect a different ornament and was getting tired of these "houses", so my mom listened to me (don't know why she did that) and now I am missing 3 houses in this collection of 24. I have already bought 2 of the missing years on ebay, still looking for those other few years. This series probably means the most to me of all the ornaments on my tree.

Mrs Potato Head...does anymore need to be said? What a fun toy this was in my childhood collection. When Hallmark came out with this ornament I had to have it! It has been a part of our family tree for several years.

This ornament is from 1982, and I believe my Grandma Russell gave this one to me. I use to think is was the cutest because it was like a carousel. It had a little spinner on the bottom that allowed the snowmen to move.1999 was the first Christmas Ben and I shared as a couple. This was the first Hallmark ornament I ever bought for him. Every year since then, I have bought him an airplane ornament. On our tree, he is very out numbered with which ornaments belong to him, so every time I see an airplane ornament I buy it, hoping one day we can have the same amount of ornaments.This year I was searching for an ornament that would signify the purchase of our first home. I wasn't so crazy about the ornament Hallmark put out for that milestone, but they did start a brand new series called Doorways Around the World. 2007's doorway was Germany. Therefore, this is the ornament and the new series that signifies our first home. I look forward to adding to this collection every year from here on out!Last but not least, the NFL football players series is actually a collection that my brother has, but if you don't know this about me already, the Steelers are my favorite NFL football team and when Big Ben was the ornament of the year, I could not resist adding HIM to my collection!So there you have it, a little bit about my Christmas tree and why I love it so much. I would love to see what ornaments are your favorites and why they are important to you. I challenge you to finding your top 5! Merry Christmas to you and those closest to you!