Monday, December 10, 2007

Fun Monday #3: I blew my whole Christmas decorating budget on one little train




This week's Fun Monday is hosted by katyabug. It is a fun and simple assignment:

In the spirit of the season I would like to see your favorite Christmas tree ornament. Not to be confused with the WHOLE tree. I want you to zoom in and show me one or a few(you know I can't choose just one!) of your favorite ornaments. If you don't decorate a tree, show me your menorah or dreidel, Kinara, or Yule Log. I want to see your favorite decoration for this holiday season.

I went with a decoration rather than an ornament. This is my favorite Christmas item. I must have been about twenty years old, maybe twenty-one. I was working in the human resources department of a large employer in Tulsa. It was the late eighties, I was going to put up my first Christmas tree of my own, and I didn't have one ornament. I had allowed myself a budget of about fifty dollars for the tree and decorations. One of the ladies I worked with was selling Christmas decorations that she had made. They were beautiful and I fell in love with them. One in particular caught my eye. It was lovely, seven pieces, all hand painted, with a Christmas tree that actually lit up. The price was $50. Because each item was hand made, she required orders to be placed in October and payment up front. I had never spent $50 on anything outside of my wedding dress before. Back at the time, my weekly grocery budget was just $40. I ordered it anyway. I'm so glad I did. We still enjoy it today as much as I did that first Christmas, when it was the only Christmas decoration in my house.





31 comments:

Gattina said...

It looks so cute and special, no wonder that you bought it !

Nekked Lizard Lady said...

That was money well spent, although it was hard to have spent it at the time. It brings back good memories. Thanks for sharing. Nekked Lizards

laurie said...

that was wise of you, to buy one nice decoration rather than a whole bunch of cheapo ones.

it's very very cool.

Pamela said...

we have a little nativity scene that the hubby bought when he was a teenager. It is getting very worn...but he still have much fondness for it and brings it out every year.

lisaschaos said...

That is really cool and a neat story to go with. I wonder, is it ceramic? It looks lovely!

Kim said...

Gattina, I do really love it.

NLL, at the time, it was a lot of money for one decoration. I felt like a spendthrift.

Well, I don't think I made the decision with any wisdom. I bought it because it was so damn cute.

I love decorations with history. New ones just don't have the same meaning for me.

Thanks, Lisa, yes it's ceramic. Hand painted and then fired, I think.

nikki said...

Looks like $50 well spent.

nikki

A Slice of Life said...

And you still have it and love it, whereas you probably wouldn't have really cared much about a whole mess of glass bulbs and tinsel. Smart move for such a young girl!

Susan at A Slice of Life

Karmyn R said...

Wow - very nice! I'd say your money was well spent and paid for many times over!

Dreaming What Ifs...

Carrie said...

Obviously the expense was worth it... great train.

Katie said...

Adorable!

My favorite Christmas tree ornament is a clay gingerbread man that I made when I was four. It's lumpy and misshapen, but adorable all the same.

ChrisB said...

It is lovely and I definitely think it was worth the money

Jenni said...

Very cute train set.

You mentioned that you had a similar set of elves to the green felt one I pictured on my blog. We've got several in red and several in green and also some with gingham clothes. They can stretch their legs out or fold them up.

Crystal Jigsaw said...

It's always lovely to keep old decorations and ornaments getting them out year after year. They hold so many beautiful memories.

Crystal xx

daddy d said...

Great story. The train has its own tree. Such a lasting deal over all these years.

willowtree said...

Hey, what's the big idea! Unfair doing a poignant post, I'm getting all misty.

Jo Beaufoix said...

That's really lovely. I bet you're so glad you bought it.

Tiggerlane said...

How cute! That would have been a tough purchase for me to make, but I would have done it, too. You made a great decision.

Sauntering Soul said...

Oh wow! What a great story behind your train. It's lovely and meaningful and those are the best decorations of all!

Amanda said...

That little train is definitely worth the $50.

ellen b. said...

I think that was a wonderful investment. It is great! Once in a while it's fun to splurge. Hand made and unique better than made in china....

kitten said...

How wonderful! Gosh that is so special!

Molly said...

What a precious Christmas train that you have. The train must bring a flood of wonderful memories every year.

My wedding dress cost more than $50 but just $6 more. That was in 1966.

the rotten correspondent said...

You could have bought a whole lot of things you didn't care about much, but instead you bought something you still love.

That was $50 well spent.

Bren said...

That's a really cool train. Thanks for sharing your story.

Peter said...

A wise choice all those years ago has created a family heirloom.

Robinella said...

That is darling! Money well spent.

AnGlOpHiLe FoOtBaLl FaNaTiC said...

Wow. That was handmade? It's beautiful. I understand why you blew the bank on one thing!

Alison said...

It is adorable...money well spent!

Kaytabug said...

That is lovely!

Christine said...

A truly lovely decoration, and something special like that I can understand why you bought it. Definetly worth it!!

Christine@AreWeThereYetMom