When our kids were little we started the tradition of buying ( or in some cases, making) each of them an ornament that represented something important to them that year. Each of them received a special box for their ornaments for safe-keeping as well. When our kids are ready to move out and decorate their very own tree, they will each have a box with ornaments to get them started. Each ornament also has their name and the date so that they will be able to remember the year they received it. We hope that these boxes of ornaments will be very special to each of them! 
Over the years, our kids have received ornaments of musical instruments, their schools, their hobbies, and their favorite foods (we have a bacon ornament~ hey, some years it is hard to come up with an idea!), among other things. Now you are thinking, AHA, one of their kids really liked pickles, that explains the ornaments, but you would be wrong.
Our oldest son's name is Nick. When he was little we would call him " Nicky" and that eventually evolved into "Nickle-Pickle"....I have no idea why ;). But anyway, one year when we were shopping for ornaments, we stumbled across a glass pickle ornament and that was that. Included with that pickle ornament came the story of the tradition of the pickle in the tree, which claimed it got started in Germany. The story explained that the parents would hide the pickle in the tree after the kids had gone to bed, and the first child to find the pickle in the morning would get to open the first present of Christmas. So we started that tradition in our family but as our kids got older ( or our trees more bare) we decided that the pickle needed to be harder to find, so bought a tiny pickle to hide. And that is why we have 2 pickle ornaments in our tree every year :). 
When I went to research the tradition of the pickle in the tree I did read that there is no proof that the tradition got started in Germany ( and apparently it is not a tradition in Germany), and in some families the tradition is to give an extra gift to the person who finds the pickle. I also learned that the tradition of looking for the pickle forces kids to focus on the pretty ornaments in the tree, rather than on what's under the tree, which I think is fun. Anyway, no matter what the true background is, the tradition is a fun one and one we definitely enjoy!
How about you? Do you have pickles in your tree, or some other "odd "ornament that needs explaining? Do share in the comments! I would love to know!
And if you would like to start your very own tradition of a pickle, I am providing this link for your convenience: Pickle ornament.
Next week I will be sharing some details about a new sewalong I'm starting in January. It will be a slow and simple one, but I like what I have designed so far and hope you will join in the fun! Here is a little sneak peek: 
So, until next time~happy creating!
Monique
I also have a son named Nick. When he was little we called him Nicky Noodles. Those nicknames are fun to remember.
ReplyDeleteSo funny!
DeleteWe have ornaments that our girls made through the years. We down sized a few years ago and there is no room for a tree. So our tree is on the patio.
ReplyDeleteFun to have those special ornaments that your girls made!
DeleteAh yes, Christmas ornaments! I have gifted my 9 grandchildren with a new one every year for their own tree until they graduate college. It's been a beloved tradition. When they were all smaller I hosted an annual tree-decorating party for Grandma's tree with hot cocoa following. Now I decorate alone but each ornament on my tree is very special and I relive the memories as I hang them. My fav is a pacifier...when I opened the box that year I was puzzled and said "What in the world?" The soon to be big sister piped up and said "Grandma, were going to have a baby dis summah!" The baby is now over 6 ft. tall, plays basketball and is 17 years old. I still get a kick out of hanging that pacifier on the tree! Thanks for letting me share and Happy New Year to you.
ReplyDeleteOh what a fun ornament that was! Such great memories for you and your family, I'm sure <3
DeleteLove your story!
DeleteI did the same thing, I gave my three sons an ornament that represented what was going on in their lives for each year, like a car, a guitar, a jack o lantern to remember the Halloween party from hell. When my boys moved out, they got their box. I once repped Old World Christmas ornaments, my collection has grown over the many years, I have about 200. The german pickle tradition was a marketing tool when the ornaments were still being manufactured in Germany. I believer that’s where that rumor started. A glass pickle, or 2 or three is a must in every tree! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOkay, good to know...is bacon a must too? Hahaha
DeleteI love your ornament tradition. I agree with Sandi, marketing tool, but oh so fun. As our children became adults, we gave them their ornaments they had growing up. We've had a pickle on our tree i. Years past and it now hangs on the youngest son's tree.
ReplyDeleteI guess pickles are pretty common then...fun to know!
DeleteI love that you started an ornament collection for your children. I wish I had! We still have a paper ornament with scraps of construction paper on it that our youngest made in kindergarten. Most of the tiny scraps have fallen off but we keep putting it right up front. Our oldest bought a couple of ornaments for her Dad and they are very special, too.
ReplyDeleteOur kids hide the ornaments they made in lower grades, especially if they have their pictures! I love that your daughter's makes it on to the front of the tree!
DeleteMy mother also bought ornaments for each of us every year. It is a great way to make sure your children have ornaments (that are special to them) for their own tree while not taking yours, although we also were allowed to pick from the family ornaments. I picked 20 as that was the year I had an apartment. I did the same thing and my daughter loves her ornaments. We also love the story of each ornament. This year, my brother put a peacock on the top of his tree in North Carolina and posted it on Facebook. My sister in California commented that it looked a lot like her ornament that she got from our grandmother. Turns out it was Grandma's ornament. I don't know how he got the peacock. There are three of them. The only gift Grandma ever gave any of us--one for my sister, one for me (the only girls) and one on her tree. Grandma died in a house fire in 1988 and I thought that ornament didn't survive. My mother must have had it. I am thinking my brother got it when we were cleaning out my parents house when they died in 1996. I put mine on the tree every year and will pass it down to my daughter. I also have the angel I made in kindergarten 54 years ago. It was in the box I got when I moved out.
ReplyDeleteWhat special memories some of those ornaments hold for you!
DeleteI was just looking at the time that came up. My husband just asked me if I would watch his Christmas movie with him in an hour. I thought, it can't really be 1:36pm 'cause it it only 10:36am here in sunny, not snowy California. I can't believe you day is so far ahead and it is still morning here.....
ReplyDeleteFunny, isn't it?
DeleteThanks for sharing your ornaments with us and can’t wait to see what the sew along will be! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun! 🙂
ReplyDeleteyes, we have a pickle ornament, altho I don't think it made it to either tree this year. My youngest daughter decorated both and she was not fond of a pickle in the tree I don't think. My oldest daughter gave it to me one year for Christmas without explanation. Naturally, after she stopped laughing because I told her she had convinced me with that gift that the boys had really driven her crazy, she told me the pickle versions she had heard. Her boys are college age and she said looking for the pickle was one of the first things they did this year when they came home for the holidays. Grandboys also will have a nice selection of ornaments to put on their own trees since I have given them each a different one each year. My 2 girls still at home have special ornaments they like, so I am sure they will want to take them whenever they go out on their own. Happy New Year to everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your family's story Paula. It is fun to read everyones memories.
DeleteWhat a lovely idea. We dont have a pickle, but every year hubbie and the kids buy me a xmas ornament as part of my xmas presents, it sort of started when I was asked what I want for xmas and said a Christmas ornament and its been going on for a lot of years now, I love these because they always pick something special and lovely. Take care dear friend xxx.
ReplyDelete