These are a few of my favorite things...

I have very fond memories of Christmas growing up. My single mother of a mom and I were apartment dwellers so we never had tons of space for a big beautiful tree. Oh how I wanted a grand 8' Christmas tree! But because of our confined space we would tree hunt and come home with something no bigger than about 3.5'. The little guy would find it's home upon of side table in the corner of the living room. My mom would bring out the decorations, and the little 3.5' guy would always turn into a beauty. We were pretty standard on the decoration department. Colored lights were a must, gaudy silver tinsel, and the little glass balls in green, red, silver, and gold. I can still see those ornaments so clearly, sitting in their boxes, purchased from department stores now long gone. The decorations were simple, but comforting.

Now I'm the one who needs to create that comfort and enjoyment for my kids when it comes to our tree decor. This year the kids opted to go green and pull out our artificial tree. We have the 8' I always wanted, but now that I'm grown 8' seems too big. Makes me realize how much I had with that little 3.5' tree.

There are still the main elements that can't be left off from when I was small. We still have to have the colored lights. The gaudy tinsel is still there, but over the years the kids have added their own stamp to make the tree theirs. They started collecting ornaments from the places we have traveled and visited, and love remembering where they got each one.

Here are a few of my favorites they have picked over the years...

No tree is complete without the Grinch! Owen got this at Universal Florida a couple of years back

Emma made this one when we vacationed at Disneyworld. All the colored pieces are dyed ostrich shells

Here is another Disneyworld one, the Yeti from Expedition Everest

This was a Tiger Owen picked up at the San Diego Zoo

Jack at Sally from Disneyland

The kids had to get and ornament for their dad

These homemade ornaments are some of my favorites! A kindergarten creation from Owen

Emma picked this when we attended a ballet

Owen chose this gem from the Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas

This guy is from the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, CA

Oh yeah, this one is all the way from Graceland

My husband's creation, circa 1981

Emma's first Christmas-2005

Owen was so excited to find this one at the Love shop in Las Vegas

San Francisco-2007

This one Owen made at Disneyworld, like Emma's it's made with dyed ostrich shells

Another ornament from Love, every time Owen sees the show he checks for a new ornament

Emma's choice from Bass Pro Shop

This is one of Emma's newest purchases. This is her second year preforming the Nutcracker ballet as a baby mouse. She was so excited to find this guy!

Owen got this from the Titanic exhibit in Las Vegas

I love adding to our collection year after year. We have so many ornaments it's crazy!

How do you decorate?