Christmas - 11/15 - The Idea Room

Christmas Ornaments

Years ago, growing up my parents had a tradition of getting each of us kids a new ornament on Christmas Eve. The ornament was usually something that represented something we did or had accomplished that year. Then, on the Christmas Eve after we were married, my parents wrapped up all our ornaments from our growing up years and gave them to us, as a new couple, to use on our own Christmas tree.

This particular ornament was given to me the year my brother taught us all how to rapel. We went many times as a family and loved it.

This ornament was given to us when we were pregnant with our first child. This was the last ornament my parents gave us. And we have continued the tradition in our own family, beginning with our son’s first Christmas.

This is the ornament my daughter received for her first Christmas.

My husband and I usually only get ornaments for the kids, but every once in a while we will surprise one another with one if we did something fun or significant that year. Six years ago my husband surprised me with this ornament after my mom, sister and I took a class together and became SCUBA certified.

We got this for my daugher when she started taking ballet. I was so excited when I found this ornament because not only does it represent her ballet, but she loves to dance with her dad and brothers on the entry way rug.

My son received this ornament the year he started to play soccer.

…and the year my son learned how to snow ski.

This one is a little different to have on your tree, but I love it! It reminds me of when we went to Yellowstone and my son who is the animal lover was fascinated with the Buffalo. He couldn’t believe how BIG they were. He sat and stared at one forever and they were all he could talk about. So everytime I see it, I smile thinking of that experience.

The ornaments can be about anything that is a memory. Some years are harder to find ornaments for than others. I remember one year my mom had a really hard time finding one for my sister, she ended up giving her a pickle ornament. But, the funny thing is that it was one of my favorite ornaments on our tree growing up. The pickle ended up being perfect because this sister LOVES pickles!

I keep a paper in our ornament box and each Christmas when we put away the ornaments, I take the paper out and write down the ornament the kids got that year. This way when they get married, I will remember who got what ornament and when!

What is your favorite Christmas Tradition with your family?

December 5, 2009 · Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Decor, Christmas Traditions Tagged with

The Innkeepers Key

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**Just a reminder…if you have used my ideas and then posted them on your blogs, please link back to my blog! I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am in charge of planning the women’s activities for our church group. This past Tuesday was our Christmas Party. We gave each of the women one of these as a little Christmas gift.

They are brass skeleton keys meant to represent the Innkeepers Key. The innkeeper who said there was no room at the inn for Mary and Joseph in Luke 2 from the Bible. I included a quote from one of our church’s apostles, Elder Neal A. Maxwell. He said that “each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus.”

The women can then remove the key from the paper and place it onto their ring of keys so that they could see it and always remember that they are the only one who can unlock the door and let Christ into their life.

I also included a poem to go along with the key which can be used as a bookmark.

The poem is called A Prayer For December:

Dearest God,
Please never let me
Crowd my life
Full to the brim.
So like the keeper of Bethlehem’s Inn,
I find I have no room for Him.
Instead, let my heart’s door
Be ever open,
Ready to welcome
The newborn King.
Let me offer the best I have
To Him
Who gives me everything.
–author unknown

For those of you who celebrate Christmas and believe in the Bible, this idea is really universal. It would make a nice simple and inexpensive gift for a neighbor or friend.

Since I already have these all made up, in the spirit of Christmas, I have provided them for you to download and print for your own use. For the poem, click here. For the key tag, click here. I purchased my keys (which are sold in a pair) here. Please feel free to change them to suit your own needs!

December 4, 2009 · Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Gifts, Free Downloads Tagged with

JOY Letters

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I made some JOY letters to add to my Christmas decor yesterday after I had received an email from a reader asking me about them. I had forgotten that I wanted to make some like the B O O letters I made for Halloween. So, here they are. These are really so quick and easy to make. I whipped them up during nap time and still had plenty of time to work on cleaning up the house which I had been sadly neglecting! To make these, click here to refer to the directions I previously posted with the BOO letters as the process is exactly the same!

I purchased my letters from JoAnn’s and the paper was purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts. The green polka dot paper is by Bo Bunny–St. Nick Sugar Plum, the red striped paper is Lasting Impressions–Tomato Distressed Stripes, and the green lined paper is s.e.i–Christmas Mint (wintermint).