Fragile Treasures

My favorite Christmas ornament
approximately 1975

This fragile ornament is one of my favorites: I love the color and the peaceful scene on its surface, and I've photographed it many times over the years.

When I was growing up, the boxes of Christmas decorations were stored in the attic, a large unfinished space that was cold in the winter and could only be accessed through a small opening in the hallway ceiling just outside the bathroom door. Getting the boxes down from the attic was always the exciting beginning of the holiday and required a ladder: some years a straight ladder was brought into the house, but eventually, a step ladder was used. When the garage was built in the 70s, the tattered boxes were stored on the shelves and carried into the house. Storing the boxes in the garage made getting them easier, but it took some of the anticipation out of the process.

Even though some ornaments were never used, my mother kept them in the boxes, and each year, we sorted through the collection housed in the containers.

Opening the boxes of decorations was exciting and memorable. The tattered boxes contained a mixture of old and new: red and kinky, celluloid garland too old to use but never thrown away; dull-red, glass ornaments (the size of large grapefruit) that no longer had metal tops for hanging; boxes of glass ornaments of various sizes, some with stripes, some with paint, some plain; plastic prancing reindeer with broken legs and a plastic horn that had long ago lost its noise maker - despite their broken state, they were propped on the evergreen branches; ceramic ornaments (Raggedy Ann and Andy - see next photo) that my sister painted with each grandchild's name. Selecting fragile treasures from the boxes, my mother transformed the tree to a thing of beauty each year.

Marilyn painted a Raggedy Ann for each granddaughter and a Raggedy
Andy for each grandson. The ornaments hung on Grandma Rosie's tree
for many years. (photo taken approximately 1975)

Out of all my mother's ornaments, the blue one shown in the top photo was my favorite. I searched the tree each year until I found it, tucked near the truck. When my mother died, it was the ornament that I wanted for my own tree. It is now stored in a different box in the guest bedroom closet along with my eclectic ornament collection: Hallmark ornaments, travel souvenirs, bead garland, and a turkey wishbone. It is the ornament that I treasure the most and the presently the only traditional ornament I own.

Connie (Far Side of Fifty) has quite a collection of traditional and authentic Shiny Brite ornaments. Even though Connie has photos of her exclusive Shiny Brite tree on her blog, I would love to see it in person.

Do you have a treasured ornament?