Christmas in a Box

Every year, without fail, the arrival of Christmas is marked by an unlikely symbol. Once Thanksgiving has come and gone, a blue rubber tub comes out of hiding. I love this tub, this ordinary, unassuming, BULGING tub, because Christmas lives inside.

Pulling the lid off this bin is one of the most highly anticipated events of my year. All of our holiday movies are right on top, from Charlie Brown to Love, Actually to my VERY FAVORITE, a Very Brady Christmas. Beneath these are a layer of stockings, decorative ones to hang on the wall, and the ones for Santa to fill. My stocking was sewn by my mom in a fit of Christmas industry one year, and my dearly missed Grammy picked out and embroidered a stocking for my son for his first Christmas.

Below the stockings are the best layer, boxes and boxes of ornaments for our Christmas tree. The ornaments actually fall into a couple of categories. First are the green and gold balls and ribbons and pre-made bows, purchased for our very first "couple" Christmas tree in our first apartment together. Yes, they are all from the Martha Stewart collection, and perfectly coordinated, if slightly sterile.

Next are my ornaments from my childhood, which migrated from my parents' house the year we were married. Ceramic, wooden, plaster and glass cows in all shapes and sizes. I once made the mistake of saying cows were cute, and look where it got me. Truth be told, I love my cow ornaments, as they are mostly handmade and unique. My favorite is the wooden crescent moon with the pinwheel of cows to jump over it.

Mixed in with my cows are the oldest ornaments, passed on from my great aunt's collection. She was a kindergarten teacher for 35 years, and many of the ornaments were gifts from her former students. I love that we are able to hang them now, decades after they were received.

Finally, and best of all, are "our" ornaments. We have ornaments from the resort where we were married, little bride and groom bells we received when we were engaged, hand-painted ornaments for my son's first Christmas. Now we have ornaments made by my son's own two hands, which are the best of all. This year is our daughter's first Christmas, and I can't wait to add her to our Christmas memories.

Now the tree is done, white lights are up and bow on top. My son helped to put on all the ornaments (a few close calls with the breakable ones, but no casualties!). He prefers to put several ornaments on the same branch so they can "play together", but my anal-retentive soul might need to spread those out a bit during nap time. Now all that's left is to enjoy it!