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The Ghosts of Christmases Past

12/24/2013

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One of the things I love most about Christmas time is the chance to drag out all the holiday heirlooms. My house is stuffed full of the old and worn loved items of my ancestors and now I get to kick it up even more! 

A few of my favorites: Ornaments & Stockings
I've had this lovely white porceline bell since I was 3 (that's 40 years for those counting!) It even has "Jodi 1973" inscribed on the back - apparently I was a very talented 3 year old :) It's also the only ornament I don't let my kids hang on the tree.
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Stockings are quite special because, in our family, they are home made (mostly.) I'll remember not to hang my stocking next to my husband's next year - the difference in white is a little too obvious. My grandmother Holly made my stocking. I don't remember a Christmas without it. I made my husband's and both my daughter's as well. My mother made my son's. I also made stockings for my nephews...and anyone else who will let me! I love love love the care that goes into making a unique, individualized heirloom. These are very welcome ghosts indeed.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


Copyright (c) 2013, Family at Your Fingertips, Jodi Bash
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Fingertip Friday: Holiday Heirlooms, angels and a scary Santa

12/14/2012

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Tell me this is not the scariest Santa you've ever seen (that wasn't intended to be scary).
My lovely grandmother-in-law, Jean Lang Horne, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, was a crafty soul in her later years. We have a plethora of lovely stuffed and studded ornaments and stockings. She even made a beautiful quilt for her first great-grandchild - which she forbade her grandsons to have while she was still living!

She also made, what is quite possibly the scariest looking Santa ornament I've ever seen. The picture does not do justice to just how creepy this guy can look when he's staring at you from the back branch of the Christmas tree. My daughter refuses to even hang it on the tree. I think it's the eyes. Whatever it is, it's just weird. Jean, of course, had no intention of creating a creepy Clause - and frankly it just adds to the love of ugly thing. It gives me a giggle every time I look at it. Everything's better with a story, intended or not. And we have a great one with this guy. I will ensure that my youngest, Nora Jean, gets this for her tree someday. She can tell her kids that this is the Santa that visits if they don't behave!

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On a less scary and less interesting note, these little angels sat on my grandparents shelves for every Christmas as long as I could remember - and then my mother's. I snagged them before my brother could after mom died. And this is the second Christmas they've adorned my mantle.

As I was gazing at all my Xmas decor the other day, I started to laugh thinking that these beloved angels were probably made in China and something my grandmother bought on the cheap. But apparently they are solid brass from India!

Whether it's a brass angel or a scary Santa face, as always, it's the memories of the people who handed these down to us that warms our hearts and keeps us putting the same darn decorations out year after year.

I wish I could to see how many generations after me that Santa is hanging around!

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    I'm Jodi. Lover of genealogy, graveyards, and stuff that's old.

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