Once Thanksgiving is over, Advent and Christmas decorating, and preparations begin! Some say I go a little crazy decorating – yes, I even decorate my bathrooms. I don’t know maybe its because I’m the daughter of a second generation real bearded Santa or maybe it’s just because I still have a childlike heart when it comes to the magic and wonders of Christmas, but either way no surface of my house goes undecorated. I’ve been known to have seven trees of various sizes up during a season. And that’s when I get to see some of my most prized possessions after nearly a year in storage. Handmade ornaments. These ornaments are very carefully packed separate from all my other ornaments. There is extra tissue padding around them. They are some of the first decorations to be put up and the last to be taken down (sometime after Epiphany on January 6).
The vast majority of these ornaments are ones Ryan and I made together after we were married, but there are some each of us made when we were kids, making them over thirty years old, and some that friends and family gave to us. They go on special trees I refer to as “Love Trees” in my bedroom. They are the one of the first things I see when I wake up each morning and one of the last things I see when I fall asleep each night.
I’ve toyed with the idea of leaving them out all year, but I’m afraid they would then just blend into the decor of my house too much and the special feeling I get seeing them for a little over a month every day would wear off. You know what they say about too much of a good thing. Plus from a preservation standpoint it is better to give them some time to rest - to not be exposed to the light, potential dust, or prolong exposure to pets or toddlers that might accidentally damage them. Most museums have a rule of thumb that for every month on view an object should have 3-4 months of rest.
Now that our girls are turning four, I know that we’re going to be getting more handmade ornaments. I would say we easily get at least six new handmade ornaments a year. After this Christmas I believe it will be time to upgrade my storage. The boxes are quickly becoming too small to properly hold and pack all the ornaments.
So I’ll be taking measurements, looking through catalogs to decide the best sizes and shapes, placing my order and then waiting for them to come in so I can repack. I’m sure there will be a blog post or two where I’ll cover the process for all of you.