Christmas Memory Lane

Helloooooo! It's podcast Tuesday!! Enjoy some stories and send bubble wrap, will you?

 Listen here

I have read on multiple sites this year that the ceramic Christmas trees of yore are back in style. (They've been in style at my house for always, because my mom painted the one I have, so I have always included it in my décor.)

You remember the ceramic trees, right?

My mom painted ceramics for several years back in the 80's. There was a little shop somewhere here in Kokomo, and we'd go after school for her to pick out her pieces, choose her paint and brushes, and pick up things that had been fired. (Sometimes I got to paint, too!) One year she made these trees for each household in our family. She picked out all the bulbs and put them in the holes, carefully carving out the holes that hadn't been made large enough the first time.

She made one for my great-grandma (we called her Gran) and when Gran died, I inherited her tree. I was the only person in the family who didn't have my own household at that time, so I hadn't qualified for a tree. I usually put Gran's tree in the bathroom, because it's the perfect size for a small room.

Since most people probably didn't have moms who painted ceramics, or Grans to inherit trees from, I'm not sure what's brought them back in style, but it's good to be up with the times again.

Meanwhile, it's made me curious about other Christmas decorations from days of yore. Want to see some of what I found?

Source

I remember these! The satin ornaments. They were beautiful, but there were always one or two that had strands pulling loose. They'd stick straight out like static cling hair. Mom, do you still have these ornaments?? (Fun Fact: My "Baby's First Christmas" ornament is satin!)

Source

The wooden ornaments! My mom would get me a new ornament each year, and several of mine are wooden. I guess I didn't realize that was a specific thing of the 80's!

Source

YES!! Remember the tinsel that would never go away? Its basically like long stringy glitter. You find it everywhere forever. When I was little, it was a great privilege to help hang the tinsel. (Mom probably went back and rearranged it all after I went to bed. I have a feeling I probably threw it at the tree like a softball pitcher.)

Source

Ahhhh the window snow. A staple in every classroom at Christmas, and in some homes, too. (Not ours. Too messy to clean up. I fully appreciate that now, because Ryan and I tried this a couple of years ago on the decorative windows in the garage. UGH. No.)

Source

I don't even know what these are, but I had the Santa. Anyone else?? The little melted plastic thingies? Were they ornaments? Coasters? WHAT WERE THEY?????

Source

I actually still own a couple of these. Mom handed them down to me when she gave up making roll out sugar cookies.

So what am I missing? What do you remember from Christmases of yore?