Blogger: Rachel Kent
I was look
ing back at some old December blog posts for inspiration, and came across one about favorite Christmas ornaments. I previously posted about this ornament from Yellowstone National Park. Back in 2011, my husband and I took a vacation to Yellowstone, a favorite place of mine and now his. That’s when we got this ornament. We were determined to take our kids to Yellowstone–and this year we did! It was a dream trip and we had so much fun. This ornament is on our tree now and this year it holds meaning for the entire family.
Our kids loved the trip to Yellowstone and I do hope we will continue to go back there through the years.
My parents instilled a love of adventure and nature in me and my kids totally take after me. 😀 I am so glad we got to enjoy this trip together–and my parents were there, too! It was amazing.
Do you have any ornaments from favorite vacations? What souvenir, if any, do you collect on trips? Have any of your ornaments gained new meaning as the years pass?
Here are a few pictures taken in Yellowstone. One is from 1991, one from 2011, and the last two from 2018. I have been to Yellowstone two other times. Once with my sisters, too! Those pictures are buried somewhere in my parents’ house.
Washing Your Hands Like a Writer
My parents let us pick out one new ornament each year. When we left home, they gave us “our ornaments” to decorate our own trees. We did the same for our children. Many annual ornaments were purchased on vacation. They weren’t the least bit Christmasy, but they reminded us all where we’d been and what we did. Some honored a life event (a new puppy, a winning season). Our tree didn’t win any décor awards, but it was (still is) the story of our lives.
Shirlee, we had a neighbor give us ornaments from Danbury Mint each year, before she passed away. They’re gold and have the most beautiful intricate details. I’d love to start getting them for my girls, for their own tree one day, because they are our favorite ornaments.
That’s how our tree is! I love that each ornament is unique and has a story to tell. We aren’t going to win an award for most beautiful tree, but in my eye it is the most beautiful. 🙂
I love Yellowstone, but I haven’t been in so long. Your pictures are so sweet. We started taking our girls to Disney World when they were 8 and 6, and we’ve gone every year since. We have Mickey ornaments on our tree. I love that time to get away, especially after the girls have finished a tough semester at their university.
What a fun tradition!!! We took the kids to Disney last year and it was a blast!
I had no special ornaments from trips but I did have one that was very special to me. My mother bought a lovely Christmas tree ornament that went on our Christmas tree the first year after I was born. A pretty little angel standing on a sparkly silver star. When I was old enough she told me it was my ornament then told me the story of my birth and about the birth of Jesus. It was part of every Christmas and when I married, she gave it to me for our tree. It was a lovely reminder of my mother, now gone. Sadly I don’t have it any more. It was lost in a devastating house fire a few years ago that claimed everything, including my lovely little angel and star ornament.
But the memory remains.
What a sweet memory! Thank you for sharing it!
And I am so sorry you lost your home to a fire! I have a lot of friends and acquaintances who are going through that loss and recovery process right now. We live in Northern California and the recent fires have been very close to home.
Awww, Rachel. What fun pictures of your family, and of you as a girl. 🙂 I like to collect Christmas ornaments from the places we visit too. And, having been a military wife, I’ve also collected a few ornaments from the places we’ve lived, like a cotton Christmas angel from Alabama.
My past week has been crazy, with a family emergency, but I love, LOVE the new site! The pictures are so fun and the look of the site is clean. Well done, ladies!
I am so sorry you had a family emergency. I just said a prayer for you!
I hope things are calming down.
Thank you for sharing about your ornaments and we are all glad you like our site! 🙂
My husband and I took our 3 sons to Yellowstone two years ago and it was a dream come true for us, even thought our van broke down and we spent an entire day of our trip waiting for it to be fixed … and then drove home! Thankfully, the two days before that, we did get to see Yellowstone!
Alas, those kinds of struggles turn into great stories after they’ve happened. 🙂 Inconvenient at the time, but memorable forever.
I’m glad you had a couple days to enjoy the park before the car broke down!
Oh, Rachel, what special memories and photos.
Ornaments and special meaning? Ah, yes. Like all of them. Some are from our son when he was in elementary school or Sunday school. Those are precious but don’t get hung every year save one. The one is a simple nativity made out of popsicle sticks. That always goes near the top of the tree. We used to use an angel or star on the top of the tree, but a found a crown of gold which now goes on the very top as a reminder that Jesus laid aside His crown and position to be born in a stable for us. And the crown upon our tree reminds us that the crown led to the cross. I have selected a variety of stars that hang on the tree in to reminds us of the Star that marked his birth, and led the wise men to the newborn King, that the inn had no room for. I could go on, but suffice it to say, my home inside and out is filled with memories and meaning. I’ll be sharing it on my Facebook this weekend as I, Reclaim Christmas One Heart at a Time.
I got a school ornament this year from our daughter. It had the sweetest poem on the back and her picture on the front. I totally cried when I opened it! I’m sure I will cry every year when I hang it on the tree.
I love the idea of a crown on top! It sounds beautiful and meaningful.
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