I remember my first Christmas alone – when I moved away from home at 19.
I moved 2 provinces away and couldn’t get time off to go back to home for the holidays that year. I went and purchased a second hand Christmas tree and was so excited. When I got it home, put it up I realized I didn’t have anything to put on the tree. It brought back many memories of putting the tree up together at home and the special ornaments.
I went out and bought some lights, tinsel and decorations. It wasn’t the same but it was mine.
When I had kids, I started a tradition – every year in the fall before Christmas, we made a Christmas ornament (age appropriate – something that the kids could do with very little help from me) for each of us and I bought an ornament for each of them that reflected what they were into that year. It represented something important to them. Each of us had a box with our name on it that kept our ornaments separate. Every year I wrote down what we made and what was bought to represent that year.
This way when they moved away from home, they would get their personal ornaments that held meaning and would not experience what I went through. That was important to me.
We made memories, had fun, enjoyed time together and had something at the end of it that we could each enjoy for many years.
A simple craft idea that will bring joy for years. Well worth the time and effort!
