Christmas decorations

[Call Me Cordelia]

When DH and I were engaged, uPDMIL dumped a lot of her old Christmas decorations she didn't want anymore on to me. Under this grandiose guise of giving my DH "fond childhood memories in continuity with his new life and home," or whatever drivel. It was her reject pile. DH doesn't have memories attached to any of it. And yet...the FOG. It came from her, so it must be important.

I've been slowly getting rid of that stuff. DH couldn't stomach getting rid of it all in one fell swoop, and some is still boxed with stuff my own uPDMother dumped on me. ("But what if you regret getting rid of it? You already have so few things from your childhood.") But today I dumped the last of it that I actually saw year after year. I bought a new tree skirt that fits MY home and style. My Christmas is now NC as well.

Merry Christmas to me!

MIL's pile was all store bought stuff, but the stuff from my mother is mostly things I made. It strikes me as very weird that our she would "pass on" to us ornaments and decorations we made for them in our childhoods. There have been years I dutifully displayed what was given to me, but now that I have my own kids... why? I can't imagine purging all of that and expecting my kids to hang up their tempera paint stars and such in their adult homes. Aren't the parents supposed to be the ones nostalgic about when their kids were little?

While I'm on the subject, what is the normal thing to do with kiddie things like that? Keep a few things year to year and quietly disappear the excess has been my policy so far but now I'm second guessing. And worried that I'm keeping more from one kid than another. Gulp.

[OddFamily]

I know what my parents did is they kept most of it, but only a few items actually go up.  Usually they're better made pieces, and they're not always given pride of place, but I'm fine with it.  The main one I care about is a paper star I made when I was very young, I'm not attached to it for the craftsmanship but for the sentiment that's written on it.  Then again, their tree is super eclectic, they have some amazing ornaments that were a promotional gift with coffee jars from early in their marriage, some from my dad's mom and some from my mom's parents, and some given over the years.

[Blueberry Pancakes]

I think I do the same as you. Keep a few from year to year while the excess slowly disappears.  Fortunately, nobody so far has asked about any of it.       
   
There is something about the hand made decorations on my parent's tree that tug at my heart. I see dates written in my childhood handwriting. Memories are associated with each one at various phases in my life even up through college when I took an art class. It is kind of like a living history.  I always thought my mom likes to still display them because it is proof to her that she has a wonderful family, has loving memories, and it creates a cozy picture.   

I on the other hand, do mostly store bought decorations and will not be walking down memory lane each year with anyone.