Branches of Memories

Here are some pictures of my little Christmas tree, with most of the ornaments being handmade.

I used to have a tradition where I made a new ornament for each year, but as I've gotten older and the kids have left the nest, I have let the tradition go by the way side.  I then moved on to buying a new ornament for each year but I haven't done that in a few years, either.  I know.....Bah-Humbug!  These are a few of the ones I have made over the years.

My most favorites, however, are these.....my Drunken Rudolph.  When I first painted this one,  I just loved him and thought he was so cute and then my husband pointed out that he looked "sloshed".  Just look at him with his droopy eyes, red nose, and silly grin............. sloshed, right.  It's amazing he found his way to all those homes, let alone landing on roof tops.  We have laughed about this for years and he hangs towards the top, front/center of our Christmas tree every year, still giving us laughs.  I tried to duplicate him and make one for each of my daughters a few years ago but as much as I tried, I couldn't get the same effect.  I guess there's is and only will be one Rudolph in this home.

My baby daughter......who is now 26.  This was one of those ornaments little children bring home from school.  I don't remember which teacher did this but it is an ornament I will treasure forever.

My little Kitten in the Mitten and my bright Red Bell.  My mother made both of these.  She was such a dear lady.  Oh, how I love memories, keeping our loved ones near. 

The angel that tops our tree is another favorite.  I purchased two of these one year from our local lumber yard, one for me and one for my mother.  My mother collected angels and I wrote a poem and attached it to the one I gave to her and watched her cry as she read the poem.  Tender.  These angels, however pretty they were, were not made very well.  The inside had lights and it wasn't long before we noticed that the lights were too hot and were melting the plastic on the inside.............even leaving big burn spots.  Whew, that could have been a fire hazard.  I told my friend about it because she used to work in miniatures and I thought she might know of a way to fix it.  We were both sitting on my living room couch working on the angel lights when.....POOF....it kind of blew up, literally.  It really scared us both and we laughed a good one.  So now, my angel sits atop our Christmas tree every year, holding one light that I string up through the bottom.  My little tree may not be the picture perfect, the kind you see in magazines, tree, but its branches hold many memories