OK, I have to ask...is it
possible to have too many Christmas
ornaments? I know that my sisters would instantly
scream, "No!" but looking at my tree tonight the thought
did
occur to me. The thing almost looks like it was dipped in glue and
rolled in ornaments, and I have to admit that I did have trouble getting
all of the decorations situated on the branches.
At least I come
by this honestly, care of my mother. When I was a kid, every year we
would all join in decorating the tree. Carefully unwrapping each
ornament from miles of toilet paper and stealthily repositioning
favorite ornaments that someone else had foolishly hung in the wrong
spot. Sometimes this happened to the same ornament two or three times.
There's
something about Christmas ornaments that carry powerful memories, so
poignant and sweet that just holding one in your hand can instantly
transport you back to when you were 8 or 10 years old. My collection
has been added to slowly over the years as I search for the
exact
decorations that I grew up with. Thanks to estate sales, thrift stores
and ebay, I've partially succeeded. My tree sports, for instance, two
oddly shaped ornaments that look just like the ones we used to call
"Ramblers" as children. Not until years later did I think to wonder why
we named these particular decorations such an odd name--it is because
they were the same pale metallic blue as my Dad's Rambler American, a
faithful but boxy little car. My ornaments even have the same stripes
as the ones from my childhood, and I call mine "Ramblers" as well. Note
to self: Explain this line of descent to my daughter, so she won't
suddenly wonder in
her later years why the Hell she's calling
those damned things "Ramblers". Another fav is a plain red ball from
the 50's with a white snowy church scene and the words, 'Silent Night'
painted on the side. Nearby are the colorful glass clip-on birds with
the fiberglass tails, the fabulous indented teardrop ornaments, the red,
silver and blue glass bells, the oversized glass balls with the
elaborate, glittered scenes painted all around them and the four color
glass church with glittered 'snow' on it's roof.
To
these nods to childhood I've added my own special pieces: the ornate
set of red, gold and silver plastic teardrops that were attached to the
top of the first Christmas gift from my husband, the 24 long,
sliver-like glass icicles that are ALWAYS a royal pain to retrieve off
of the tree each year, the three small handpainted china bells from an
estate sale of a couple named Ken and Shirley who lived down the street from me,
the two beautiful tiny glass chickens from my sister, the wooden cat
ornament from my sister--it waves it's arms and legs wildly when you
pull on it's string--, the delicate snowflake sequin ball from Eva, the
cinnamon-apple dough ornaments my 5 year old and I made last year, the
three ultra-tiny wooden ornaments that barely cling to the very
tippy-top of the tree each year and somehow over the last 20 years have
miraculously never gotten lost, the gigantic silver ball that I refer to
as 'The Queen Mother'--always the last to be hung, with a large red
glittered set of poinsettias on one side and an ornate old-world 'Merry
Christmas' in blue glitter on the other. And new this year--a replica
ornament of the fabulous 'leg lamp' from the movie 'A Christmas Story', a
gift from my husband.
The decorations mentioned here barely
scratch the surface, of course. This year and last, it took me three
days to finish decorating the tree. Last year I put it down to being
ill and moving slow, and to some extent the same was true this year
thanks to a sinus/ear infection. But the truth is that decorating the
tree is something I really love to do, and taking the time to unwrap
each ornament and getting that childhood zing and a smile just by seeing
it again and holding it in my hands just can't be beat. The tree will
stay up until New Year's Day for my OTHER personal tradition, rising early in the quiet while everyone else sleeps, removing the
ornaments and packing them away while watching the Rose Parade. So what
if I end up watching the Rose Parade a few times because it takes so
damned long to unload the tree, right? Which brings me back to the
original question: Is it possible to have too many Christmas ornaments?
Ah,
um...never mind--I see a bare spot on the tree. There's room for more.
Come to think of it, I'm still searching the the heavy plastic
filligree bells and the handpainted pale blue ball with the glittering
white snowman on it from my childhood.
Forget I said anything.
