Christmas ornament show-and-tell

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is getting all my favorite ornaments back out and remembering when we got them. These are some of the ones I like best...

Because our anniversary is December 18 and we don't like getting each other expensive gifts, Jordan and I usually cover both occasions at once with an ornament exchange. Sometimes we make them, sometimes we buy them. This one I had made (professionally, through our photographer) from one of our wedding pictures. We had such a good time riding to our reception this way; it gave us time to talk before the whirlwind of greeting guests. But it was cold!


Jordan made this one for me. It's always so exciting to see what he'll come up with when we make ornaments, because he doesn't draw or paint or sew, or do much of anything artistic, but he is pretty creative. He made this one with pipe cleaners, golf tees, and white marine epoxy. We had the same initials after we got married, if you hadn't guessed. It's so deliciously geeky.


This is what I made for Jordan that same year. Actually, I made a bunch of picture ornaments as gifts. My mom taught me how.


This one was a gift from someone in Jordan's family, and it's so pretty. I also love our red wooden beads. Our very small tree needed a little something, and they were it. I think we bought them at a yard sale.


We call these our Unity Santas. German for Jordan and Scottish for me (even though together we are a mix of German, English, Scottish, French, and I can't remember what else). My mom bought them for us. The one in the middle is a Clemson Santa, so he represents us both, and he was a gift from Jordan's parents.


My brother Paul carved me this Santa years ago. He said it was Santa after he just got back from delivering all those toys.

There are some more good ornaments at my parents' house, like the little dough "bell" I made for my mom one year when I was about five. I painted it brown to give it a copper-like color, and instead it ended up looking like a piece of poop on a string. I always hang it right on the front of their tree. Also, with that same batch of dough I made my brother Paul an ornament that ended up looking sort of like a small sugar cookie. It about broke his teeth out before he realized what it really was.

What are your favorite things and memories during the holidays?