Tip of the Day 12/22/11

Day 10 of The 12 Days of Christmas.

What are your 10 most loved Christmas Ornaments or decorations and why?

1) The first ornament that has always gone on our tree is a little basket with a cardinal sitting in it from our dear friends Betty and Bill Linsenmeyer.
2) A tiny ornament of 3 tiny pinecones tied together with wire that hung on my Nanny and Papa's Christmas tree. It always goes at the top of the tree right below the angel.
3) All the Hallmark ornaments my Aunt Jean collected for us. She sent so many every year our tree was packed full. So, it was good when the girls left home and took theirs with. We can actually see all of ours now. :)
4) The ceramic Nativity my Grandma Hanks made.
5) My Christmas China my Mom and Dad gifted us with.
6) A Christmas quilt from Richard's brother Jeff and his wife. It is the only gift we ever received from him and he died the next year.
7) A corn husk Nativity that we purchased in Nairobi. Unfortunately we have deaf sheep in our set. When we were purchasing some as gifts and the vendor we were talking to was charging more than another one, she said it was because her sets did not have deaf sheep and were worth more. The other vendor sold ones that had sheep without ears, so they weren't as expensive. :)
8) A Menorah we purchased in Israel.
9) A stained glass snowman my mother-in-law had made for me. It is the last gift I received from her. The package was lost in the mail and arrived at our house the day we got the call that she had a brain tumor, Good Friday. It is a treasure.
10) A Hallmark Daughter ornament that my Mom gave to me the year Richard and I were married. The day the tree fell over it was broken and so was my heart, but I was able to take the band with the words off and put it on another ball that was the right size. The ball was one I got at a luncheon I attended with my Mom, so it was just right.