by Tara Shafer posted in Parenting

I love trimming our tree and setting out ornaments even more than I love Christmas morning. I think too, that if my kids were able to be really honest, they would agree. The tree trimming hype is less in comparison to an orgy of gifts, but the magic is more.
Holiday decorating seems less prone to go down in the creeping anticlimax that naturally occurs as children grow up. My oldest grieves the memory of Santa faith, but still insists upon decorating the tree with absolute abandon. That never leaves him.
So, yes. My favorite thing about the holidays -- hands down -- are the decorations.
This year we were late to the tree. By the time my entire family was all together, it was late on a cold winter afternoon in mid-December and the blue early evening light unspooled everywhere. There was a fire and the kids had chosen a tree, a wreath, and centerpiece at our local tree farm.
Earlier, I had set out the ornaments, hauled up once more from the basement. Everything from the dates on the newspaper in which they are wrapped to the ornaments themselves are evocative.
I make it a point to buy an ornament in as many shops as possible over the course of a year. I'm the lady buying the Christmas ornament in July at a shack at the beach. (A tiny lobster pot, a Hershey's Kiss). I have a bulb for most family vacations I?ve ever taken. I love the memories associated with each one.
What makes these ornaments so special"
Ornaments represent moment...