Tradition!

Tevye struggles to keep to tradition in Fiddler On The Roof. I can relate to his struggle. Life changes. Kids grow up and choose their own way to go--their own traditions. It always seemed that just about the time something became tradition at our house for Christmas, it changed.

Decorating the tree is one example. When the kids were little we put the tree up on Christmas Eve making it appear that Santa had brought it and his elves decorated it. As time went on and it became more difficult to hide the tree, we put it up and let Santa's elves decorate. Then when the boys started getting older and knew about those elves, we let them stay up a bit to help decorate. As they got to be teens, we put the tree up early and then everyone got to decorate. When I gave in and we turned to an artificial tree, we put it up even earlier. Now it goes up Thanksgiving weekend when everyone is home and the grandkids are here. Hmmm. There's never been a take-down-the-tree tradition though.

One tradition that was started by my aunt and was truly appreciated was her gift of a Christmas ornament each year for each of us. When our boys got married, there were enough ornaments collected over the years for them to have a good start on their own tree decorations.

Now my aunt's ornaments were purchased but this being Crafty Saturday, you might want to consider a handmade ornament. One of the best places to make a really nice ornament is at a ceramics store. There are lots of them in malls and shopping centers where you can pick out some greenware or unpainted ceramic ornaments and with the paints they supply you can create a keepsake. Some of them have paints that dry with a glossy finish and others will fire them in a kiln for you. Take a friend along and enjoy an afternoon of creativity!

Here are several links to help you locate a store:

Paint Your Own Pottery

The Painted Penguin

Color Me Mine