My new Christmas angel tree topper in her golden gown arrives

Merry Christmas friends far and near.
Here is a photo of my new Christmas tree angel topper in her golden gown. I had to replace my twenty year old angel tree topper because she showed signs of scorching near her lights.
Here is the new angel below.

Below is our angel in her white gown who is now moved to near the nativity scene, where she can keep an eye on things, while not being plugged in. Like me, I think she is liking the change, as she retires from being queen of the tree, and I retired from work.

Below is one of my new ornaments, made from a kit by my son Lane, of Bounce's paw print.

The other new ornament is below, and is also handmade, painted by a neighbor of my son Colt.

As you can see it features a purple mushroom and a cute Christmas gnome.
Have you added new ornaments to your tree this year?
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 KJV
I hope your Christmas is blessed and merry.
Written by Terra, one of the co-authors of "The Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts."

Home made flour dough ornaments

Many years ago, when we were first married and before we had children, my husband and I made ornaments from flour and salt for our Christmas tree. The ornaments are still gorgeous years later.
We experimented with the mix of flour, salt and water to use and the ingredients are approximately: 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt and enough water to make a very stiff dough, about 1 1/2 cups water. Form it into a ball and place in the refrigerator for a day.
Press or roll the dough and then cut out shapes with it, using a butter knife. We made churches, apples, Mr. and Mrs. Santa, gingerbread men, and angels.
Make a hole at the top of each ornament big enough to put an ornament holder or thin ribbon through. We used a pencil to make a wide hole.
Let the ornaments dry by putting them on a cookie sheet in an oven on the low setting for an hour and watch them because it could take more or less time for them to dry. After you remove them from the oven you will probably need to let them set and dry further for a few days and even as long as a week, turning them over occasionally.
Buy hobby paints in the colors you want, and I recommend glossy red and white and green, among others.
Testors brand model paints in bottles of gloss enamel work well. Some people decorate with permanent markers which I haven't tried, since we like the glossy paint look.
I painted the year we made them on the back of each ornament.
When Christmas arrives this year, and we get out our heirloom flour ornaments, I will take photos and post them here.
No matter what kind of ornaments you make, your family will enjoy working or playing together while making them, and I'm guessing that for years to come they will be a cherished feature on your trees.

Holiday Houseplants

Since I have a collector’s heart, I possess far more Christmas ornaments than I could ever hope to decorate trees. But I don’t want to keep favorite, meaningful ornaments encased in their plastic storage boxes! What to do?

Decorate other things.

My family (my mom) started with houseplants—specifically a Norfolk pine that sat at the end of our sofa in the log home in Colorado, where I grew up. The space between branches allowed room for larger ornaments. One year we used crocheted (Or was it macramé?) snowflakes, the white against green providing a striking contrast.

From there I moved on door knobs, cabinet pulls, wall hooks. Just about any horizontal protuberance (Gotta love the thesaurus!) works. Now I can have my ornaments and eat them too. Or something like that. (Hmmm . . . kinda makes me hungry for gingerbread.)

Blessings,
Leslie Porter Wilson

Cool Recycled Christmas Ornament

Lots of great ideas abound for creative ornaments, but one of our family’s favorites also involves recycling. I always keep our old amusement park passes (from Six Flags or Winter Park, CO—our favorite ski area). We now have quite a collection, and my teenagers enjoy seeing themselves at four, five, six-years-of age and reminiscing about the fun times they had.

I intend to keep their school IDs and drivers’ permits as well—if I the kids don’t lose them!

Leslie Porter Wilson

Every Time You Hear a Bell Ring. . .

One of the best moments in It's A Wonderful Life is when Jimmy Stewart hears the bell on the Christmas tree ring and knows that his angel friend has finally earned his wings. A simple ornament made from a large jingle bell and some ribbon is a great gift to keep on hand for those unexpected Christmas visitors.

At a craft store purchase some large jingle bells. They sometimes come in colors of red or white or green as well as silver and gold. Buy some thin satin ribbon and large ornament hooks as well. Simply cut an 8-10 inch length of ribbon, thread it through the top part of the bell, tie a bow and add an ornament hook. If you want to get any fancier, you can glue on some berries and greenery or mini-pine cones. Keep the bells in a large basket or hang on your tree and use them to gift your friends in appreciation for their visit.

As always, it is more frugal to buy these after Christmas but beware that often jingle bells are one of the first things to sell out at the holiday.

Mrs. Christmas

If anyone could be labeled "Mrs. Christmas," it would have been my mother. I think I've posted often of things connected with her at Christmas--her early shopping for one and her cherry cheesecake tarts. Mom had a way of stretching Christmas out especially when it came to decorating. She would start with the mantel and often unrolled a large piece of cotton swabbing (this was before they made it into all those nice little balls) across the top of it to make it look like snow. Then she'd add little houses or angels or miniature trees. It was never the same way two years in a row.

On the front door that opened directly into our living room and was rarely used, she would tape all the Christmas cards. As I grew older, that became my job. One that I was very proud to do.

Decorating the tree was one of the last things to do since growing up, we always had a live tree. There were some ornaments that Mom absolutely cherished and those were always hung by her and high enough in the tree not to be knocked down by over-zealous children reaching for gifts. I don't remember when she bought them, but I do remember the box of a dozen colored glass ornaments in the shape of teapots. Each was a shiny color, red, blue, green, gold, and had a little sprig of flowers or Christmas greenery painted on the front. It sticks in my mind that those were her favorites. Maybe because they were so delicate or maybe because we were never allowed to hang those until we were grownups.

Some years after I was married, Mom decided to sort through her old ornaments and get rid of those that were tarnished. There were only two little teapots left. For the record, I do not remember breaking any. It must have been my brother. (How's that for sibling rivalry?) The teapots were tarnished pretty badly. One was gold and the other green.

Today, you cannot tell the color of either teapot. They have taken on a reddish-brown patina but they still look as delicate as ever. They are placed each year in the center of my dining room hutch where no one can touch them. They are there just for me. A reminder of Mom and how much she loved Christmas and sharing it with her family.

A Remembrance for the Christmas Tree

Our theme this week has been about giving a gift to a close friend. Can in-laws qualify as friends? In my case, it will be necessary. You see, one of my best friends happens to be my sister-in-law, Polly. She is married to my husband's identical twin. (And yes, we have lots of stories about that.) The four of us often travel together. One year we traveled for eighteen days through Europe in an Audi.

Polly's birthday is in early November and each year when we've traveled somewhere together, I try to purchase a Christmas ornament for her as a gift. Her tree is filling up with miniature cruise ships, Hawaiian flowered Santas, Tahitian sea shells, penguins (we braved Antarctica together), little European mementos, etc. Each one is a reminder of the wonderful time we spent together and the unusually strong bond of friendship and love two in-laws can share.

Do you have any special mementos that adorn your tree each year?

Best of the best of Wilson family traditions

The Wilson family Christmas habit

Like many families, we—Bret’s parents, my parents and our little family of five—have lots of family traditions or habits. Let me just share a sampling with you.

One, my mother-in-law likes to buy everyone in the family special flannel pajamas, which we open on Christmas Eve, don immediately and wear all Christmas morning, as well. I remember a few pair with affection (read: agony), like the ones sporting pink flamingos. My favorites were the “boring” red plaid ones; I still have those. (Not so much on the pink flamingos.)

Two, our immediate family has a special tradition that became a habit for several years. I heard the idea while I was pregnant with Charlie, our first. A friend from our Sunday school class said their family always visited a Christmas tree farm to buy their tree. They made a day of it, going on a hayride and sipping hot chocolate or cider. After they arrived home and set up the great-smelling tree, they camped out underneath it that very first night. Like them, we made a couple of trips to the tree farm, then eventually shortened the tradition to a local tree lot or, closer still, Home Depot. After carting the tree home and settling it on the base, we strung the lights, spread out our sleeping bags under the tree and snuggled close as a family.

Hint: Once the kids fell asleep, Bret and I sneaked off the comfort of our own bed. The kids never knew!

Three, this is a wonderful tip—that I tweaked slightly—from my mother-in-law. Early in our marriage, Bret and I spent Christmas at his parents’ home. As she pointed out ornaments on her exquisite tree, she shared stories—where she’d bought them, who had made them, why they were special—about each one. She said she had made it a point to buy a meaningful ornament for each of her children every year. Her intention had always been to give this collection to the boys when they left home and established their own families; however, when push came to shove, she just couldn’t do it.

My solution? I buy two of each ornament. That way, I’m collecting ornaments for the kids, but I get to keep my own set when they leave home! I always try to choose something that marks a milestone of my child’s life that year. For example, I’ve bought ornaments to remind us of the year Reese learned how to read, the year Molly took dance, and the year Charlie got his driver’s license. Using a fine point Sharpie® marker, I write basic information on the back or bottom of the ornament: the child’s name, the year, and the relevant milestone it represents.