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The Kids' Tree Tradition {Christmas Tour of Homes 2}


One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas was the multi-colored lighted tree just for kids.  It's a tradition I am continuing this year in our house.  I wrote about our family tree here, where each ornament tells a story.  Looking through our kids' tree, I see that these ornaments also tell their own Christmas tales.

Thomas the Train.  Each of my three sons has been a huge fan of the train set and the movies. This Thomas movie is hands-down our all time favorite.  KC, our youngest, spends half his playtime carrying on conversations between the various trains.  The train table definitely goes to him in the will.

Another tradition I started early on was to buy each child a new ornament every year. Usually they represent a favorite interest of each person.  Sometimes they're simply cute. This jingle bell snowman arrived with the birth of our third son in 2008.


I also buy a new ornament for my husband and myself.  Guess which one of us this was for?

These glittery icicle ornaments remind us of our chilly winters when we lived in Chicago.

The jack in the box arrived was another of our boys' favorite childhood toys.  Be sure to write the name and year on the bottom of each ornament because even though you think you'll remember, you won't!

The kids' tree also collects the handmade ornaments that come home from school as well as the milestones captured in photographs.

This isn't the modern-day elf on the shelf but rather the same little elf I adored over thirty years ago on my mother's kiddie tree.

Beneath this tree we place gifts for our friends.  Our family presents go under the larger tree.

One of the best parts of this tree is that my boys are drawn to it over and over.  They like to rearrange the ornaments and spend time admiring them in the colorful glow.

If you don't have a kids' tree tradition, think about starting one next year.  Target has great sales on trees right now. (I got mine for $25.) And while you're there, pick out a fun new ornament for each child to hang on it to remember the gift of 2012.  
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Comments

  1. JennyDecember 22, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    What a fun, colorful tree. We decided to do the same thing this year. Merry Christmas to you! Visiting from Nesting Place.

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  2. Roxane B. SalonenJanuary 1, 2012 at 10:58 PM

    Okay, I'm a little late, but I loved reading about your tree tradition. The kids tree is a beautiful, colorful, precious idea. We only have one tree and it's pretty much a kid tree. :) I don't know that I placed one ornament on ours this year. The kids did all the work! :) I hope you had a beautiful Christmas and a good start to 2012!

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