Tree Ornaments

I ran in to Hobby Lobby today to pick up goggly eyes and pipe cleaners so Ethan and Abby can help me make pinecone turkeys.  Of course, I had to look at the aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations.  They are all 50% off right now.  Some were fun and some were pretty, even at 50% off, some were quite expensive.  I was standing there looking at the crystal snowflakes and a lady standing next to me said, "I don't know how anyone buys new ornaments every year for a theme tree."  Actually, I can't imagine using all new ornaments every year.  I cherish the old ones and they seem new every time I unpack them because it's been a year since I last saw them.
We put a small "theme" tree on the sideboard in our dining room every year.  It has beautiful Lenox and Wedgewood ornaments and the fillers are little porcelain angels.  And in the kitchen, we put up a garland around the window that has gingerbread people and Coca Cola ornaments.  The fireplace is in the den, so that's where the stockings go.  It's sort of a "North Woods" theme, lots of dark red and cream colors and all of the Mooses that John has gotten from Harry & David's over the years.
It's all pretty and I love it, but my absolute favorite is the big tree in the living room.  That's the tree that has the "kid made" ornaments.  There's a silver Legg's egg with glitter and a red yarn cord that Suzy made at school one year and a picture of Beth in a paper frame that she made in kindergarten and a clothes pin reindeer with goggly eyes in odd places that John made for me.  Lots of others too.  And there are the ornaments that each child picked out on a Christmas shopping trip every year, they are on that tree too.  Of course, we gave Suzy and Beth their ornaments when they started putting up trees of their own, but John's are still on the tree at home, including a tiny wooden angel from his first Christmas.  We still put the breakable ornaments up higher on that tree.  We did it for so long to keep them from getting broken that they just look like they belong there.
Better Homes and Gardens will probably never celebrate a tree like our living room tree, but I think it's the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world.