If you’re tired of your tree ornaments year after year, it may be time for a change. Themes are fun, interactive, and can really show your personality when guests arrive. I have chosen a few of my favorites from the past, present, and future to brighten things up:
- London (Or Your Favorite City). I’m a royalist and Anglophile. When I traveled to London last October, I picked up ornaments that were all British. I then ordered a black and white wall mural of the city off Amazon. It made me feel like I was there in spirit! Fantabulous!
- Streets of San Francisco. One Christmas I was out of town, and some friends from Europe stayed at my home who had never been to S.F. I purchased 52 things to do in San Francisco as playing cards. I wish I had a photo, but with a hole punch and some red ribbon, the tree came to life. My gift to them was a festive tree and cards so they could tour of the city, one Street at a time. I was their tour guide in absentia, and they still talk about it!
- Memories of Christmas Past. Pictures speak 1,000 words. How about taking some of your favorite Christmas cards and placing them on your tree? Or, you could take pictures of wonderful family memories and hang them on the tree. What a great conversation piece around Christmas morning and dinner.
- Silver Bells. 22 silver bells for 22 years of marriage. Each one of my silver bells is hand engraved with a saying to mark the year (Grace, Wisdom, Strength, Sheltered, Sorrow, Peace, to name a few). Tie them with a red ribbon on you tree and you have some great memories. If you don’t have the real thing, you can make your own as a family project.
- Favorite Things Tree. Just because Rodgers and Hammerstein came up with the name doesn’t mean you can’t use it. How about a tree full of Julie Andrews Lyrics? For her 70th birthday, she came up with her own words. She got a standing ovation and so will you when your friends get your/ her sense of humor:
Botox and nose drops and needles and knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string, these are a few of my favorite things
Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses
Polydent and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
these are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak
When the knees go bad
I simply remember my favorite things
and then I don’t feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads and bunions
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
these are a few of my favorite things
Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinning,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinning,
And we won’t mention our short-shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things
When the joints ache,
when the hips break,
when the eyes grow dim.
Then I remember the great life I’ve had
AND THEN I DON’T FEEL SO BAD.
My 2022 Christmas Theme: London Calling