Favorite Christmas Ornaments

There was no money for a Christmas tree and very little money for any decorations the first coupld of years AD and I were married. AD's Great Aunt Gladys, the one who started us on the Gumdrop Tree tradition, was very generous and let us borrow a white artificial tree that she had and some of her beautiful antique ornaments. The only stipulation was that we be very careful with the ornaments and return them to her right after Christmas.

Those old ornaments were so beautiful and delicate. We were always very careful with them and appreciated Aunt Gladys' generosity.

I crafted a few very primitive ornaments those first years and we gradually added a few purchased ornaments of our own each year. When Son was born several friends and relatives gave him his own first ornaments.

Each year we would buy Son and Daughter a new ornament of their very own. It was my intention that when they married they would at least have a few ornaments for their own trees.

Their ornaments were passed on to them even though I still miss having them on our tree. They hold so many memories.

Each of the ornaments that are on our tree now are special to me in one way or the other. These are just a few.


The tree top angel was made for me by the sister of a girl I worked with years ago. Our angel has held up well and although she may look new she is at least 27 years old, if she's a day.

That little red '57 corvette there - it was the first in a series of Hallmark ornaments. I bought it at a Hallmark sidewalk sale years ago because AD always dreamed of owning a 'vette. Being curious today I checked ebay and found the ornament going for anywhere between $10 and $100. I know I didn't pay more than a dollar or two for ours.


See the little spider with the golden legs hanging on the tree? A lovely lady that I knew years ago made it for me and when she gave it to me it came with a typewritten version of The Legend of the Christmas Spider. That lovely lady has since passed on and I treasure the spider more and more each year.

This Barbie ornament is fairly new. The Christmas after Elliott came to live with us he decided she didn't need one of her arms. She's now known as our Venus de Milo Barbie.

In each of these photos are also acrylic icicles. They are some of my favorite decorations of all.

Back in the day people decorated their trees with thin aluminum (?) icicles that generated a lot of static electricity. My mom would make us put them on our tree one icicle at a time and there were a LOT of them! After Christmas we had to take them down again, one at a time, and place them back over the piece of cardboard they came on. I did NOT like those icicles at all!

Up until a couple of years ago we had season passes to Silver Dollar City. One of the perks of the season pass was that if you visited a certain number of times each year you would receive a special ornament during the Christmas festival. This is one of many that we have. It's a replica of the Silver Dollar City candy store.


When I was little we had these little elf guys. Although this one is old - from the days when my kids were little - he is much newer than the ones from my childhood.

A few years ago the elves began being marketed as The Elf on the Shelf. You can read here about how one woman's family tradition led to the re-marketing.

One year after Christmas AD and I bought two plastic snowmen for our front yard. Son thinks they are cheesy, tacky things but I love them.

The year we first put them out Son made the comment that "those snowmen are as tacky as those awful plastic pink flamingos people put in their yards." And we were off. I bought him and his wife a pair of pink plastic flamingos when they bought their first home. He retaliated by presenting me with a pink flamingo something-or-other. I can't really remember what it was because we've gone back and forth on this flamingo thing for a long time now.

I have a number of pink flamingo items from the plastic yard versions to a pair of very comfy, warm Christmas socks. One of my friends got in on the act and has given me flamingo ornaments for my tree each year. This is one of several.

Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West (now known as Elphaba) have been on our tree for a few years because I love The Wizard of Oz movie. This year Glinda and Elphaba are even more special to me because my friend, Kristin, her husband and I went to see Wicked in Tulsa. It was one of the highlights of my year.

The last decoration is not a tree ornament at all. It is the one decoration from Son's first Christmas that I didn't pass on to him yet. Santa and Mrs Claus are made of flocked covered plastic and while you can't tell it much from this picture, the flocking is gradually coming off. I can't count the number of times I've glued the white "fur" back around Santa's hat. But we love this special decoration and the memories it holds. I wouldn't part with it even if the flocking totally disappeared.

This Tradition Started 39 Years Ago

AD's Great Aunt Gladys is the one who is responsible for this family tradition. It's a gum drop tree that blooms at Christmas.

I imagine Aunt Gladys had her gum drop tree before Son was born but the first time I remember seeing it was his first Christmas. Of course he wasn't big enough for gum drops that Christmas but when he was big enough he loved harvesting the tree.

Unfortunately we didn't inherit the gum drop tree when Aunt Gladys passed on. And it took me a few years of searching to find another one.

When I finally did, I bought 2 of them. But alas, one of the trees branches ended up broken.

So each year I'm very careful with our lone gum drop tree. I keep looking every year in the hopes of finding another one. You know, for just in case . . .

Have you ever seen a gum drop tree for sale?

You're Invited

to our virtual Christmas Open House.

This was the solution I came up with since I know how busy my blogging friends are and you wouldn't have time to travel here for the real one we hosted this past weekend.


We're so glad you could make it. Please sign our guest book. Thank you!

This is our Christmas tree and our Advent Chair. I bought an old chair several years ago. AD cut out a wooden tree that would just fit the back of it. Decorative tacks were added to the tree and cup hooks were attached to the underside of the seat. I painted the chair and upholstered the seat with a festive Christmas print material. Christmas ornaments meant for small trees were purchased and were hung on the tree. Each day an ornament is moved from the tree to one of the cup hooks.

These 2 Old World Santas are very dear to me. Several years ago one of my managers gave them to me as a Christmas gift. Every year when they are brought out for Christmas it reminds me of what wonderfully special people he and his wife are.

The punch is chilling in the refrigerator and will be put in the bowl in just a few minutes.

Please take a plate and help yourself to all the goodies. There's a cheese log and a dried beef cheese ball with crackers.

There's some Texas caviar and corn chip dip with jalapeno Tostitoes and Fritos.

Here's a plate of tortilla pinwheels and the stuffed jalapenos will be coming out of the oven in just a couple of minutes. The jalapenos usually go pretty fast so if you want one you'll need to get it as soon as they come out of the oven.

In the dining room you'll find divinity, a couple of different Chex mixes, fudge puddles, brownies, jalapeno peanut brittle, regular peanut brittle, and chocolate chip cookies.

There's also chocolate dipped pretzel sticks, hard cinnamon candy, chocolate dipped marshallows, semi-sweet chocolate peanut butter cups, milk chocolate peanut butter cups, Halloween brownies, chocolate caramel brownie thingees, peanut butter cookies and Ranch seasoned crackers. Enjoy!

One last thing to see. One of AD's favorite Christmas movies is A Christmas Story. Son gave AD this Leg Lamp last year for Christmas. Son made it himself. He found the mannequin leg on Ebay and then went looking for the a shoe to fit. He told us he got some strange looks because he had to take the leg with him to try shoes on it. Son went to a lot of trouble but it made for a great Christmas present, a very funny story to be told over and over and a great dining room conversation piece.

We hope you enjoyed yourself today. AD, Smoke, Elliott, Dani, Mikey and this Oklahoma Granny would like to wish each of you and your families a very Merry Christmas!

I Can Only Eat One

Most people call these Chocolate Covered Cherries. When I was a kid we used to call them - in fact AD and I still do - "Cherry Chocolates" and we used to buy Brach's brand. Maybe I'm not looking in the right stores but I am rarely able to find the Brach's brand. I personally think that company uses a better quality chocolate to make theirs. But that's not really here nor there.

AD LOVES cherry chocolates and he usually acquires a few boxes this time of year.

Me - I'm not too much of a fan. I might manage to eat one a year but if I don't get one it is NOT a problem!

I used to love cherry chocolates as much as AD does. Back when I was 3. You wouldn't think I could remember that far back, would you? But those candies bring back one big, bad belly-ache memory.

You see, my younger sister was born on December 20. Back then the new mothers and babies stayed in the hospital for at least a week or so.

My mother loved cherry chocolates and while she was in the hospital lots of family and friends brought her boxes of cherry chocolates. So many that she sent those boxes home with my dad. And back then, those boxes held way more candies than the boxes do now.

Dad hid those boxes from us kids. At least he thought he did. I don't exactly remember this part but from what I've always understood, my older brother and I searched until we found the stash.

And we went on an eating frenzy. For me, I ate so many that it made me really, really sick. That's the part I really remember - the being sick part.

Consequently at Christmas I'd much rather have a candy cane (or "stripety candy" if you listened to John Henry Faulk's Christmas Story) or ribbon candy or even those old fashioned hard Christmas raspberry candies with the jelly stuff in the middle than a cherry chocolate.

Did you ever over dose on a candy?