The Tree of Misfit Ornaments

a story by Renee Moreno

Handmade ornaments. Every kid makes some during those early school years. They’re sweet and sometimes cute, but they won’t win any home decor awards.

My mom still has each and every ornament that my sisters and I made in school. She has ornaments I made at age 5 when I couldn’t write my 9s properly so they look like Ps. The reindeer ornament my sister made has lost its pipe cleaner antlers somewhere along the way.

So each year, when the time comes to decorate the tree. We all have to do it together. Even as we started getting older and having more obligations, we made sure that a time was found that worked for everyone.

We spend those couple hours listening to Christmas music and laughing at our poorly made ornaments. Judging the ornament I made in 1998 out of a green cake ice cream cone that has somehow not deteriorated in the slightest. Remembering bad haircuts or good teachers. Sometimes even repairing the old crafts in the hopes they can live a few more years.

It’s a simple day. No Christmas outfits. No Christmas treats to eat while we decorate. Sometimes we even forget to put on the Christmas music, because we’re so busy talking over it. With the exception of the ornaments gifted to us by my grandmother each year, we’ve stopped putting “normal” ornaments on the tree to spruce it up. We even stopped hiding the tree upstairs so guests don’t see it. We let our handmade ornaments tell our story.

And to this day, we still all get together to decorate the tree. 24-year-old ice cream cone and all.

Scripture: Luke 2: 19-20

Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

Prayer

God of us all, who weaves together our stories with yours.  May we never hide from the truth, beauty and grace you bring each time you enter the world.  Amen.