The Start of a Tradition

For my first nephew, John, I decided to make and purchase ornaments for his first Christmas. A tradition was born. 

Yearly ornament offerings

From then on, ornaments have been my gift to him, his brothers, and his cousins each year. ​​

 For a while, I extended that to every child I was close to, including all my homeroom "kids."  

Ornaments with meaning

Eventually, I only gave ornaments I made, and limited them to family and close friends. The ornaments became a celebration of significant family events (weddings and births). 

For my Great Nephew Hunter who's father loves Superman,

For my Great Nephew Henry.

To honor my father. It is the symbol of his business, the Greenery.

For when my nephew Ty married Carrie.

At Last! When my sister Lee married Ruthie!

For when my nephew Dave married Jen.

For when my nephew Jed married Kate.

For my Great Niece Bea.

For my Great Nephew Ben.

For my Great Nephew Wolf.

To honor my father. The design is the from his business and was designed by my sister.

For when my nephew Nick married Chelsie

For when my niece Abby married Adam and my nephew Thom married Allison.

Made from the scraps of over 1,000 masks Mom and made to donate and keep friends and family safe.

Story Starter Ornaments

This past year I created a series of ornaments to honor family members who are no longer with us. They have the loved one's name, a favorite quote, and a charm that helps to tell their story. Attached is a picture of them with a story starter of who they were. I hope that it will lead to sharing many happy memories keeping their life story alive to new generations.

Watch for the blog, "A touch of heaven" to learn about these ornaments.

The ornament is one of the last gifts given Christmas morning.  I have always known that a unique book or toy would outshine it that day, but each year another ornament arrived.  Now that those children are adults, I often hear how I am part of their holiday.  When I made an ornament for her wedding  favors, my niece Abby wrote:
Ever since I can remember, my Aunt Jean has been creating beautiful, sentimental gifts for Gerdes family birthdays, holidays, and celebrations. Over the years she has made jewelry from my grandfather's cufflinks and teddy bears from his suits; custom clay portraits of beloved family pets, and personalized aprons for the time we spend baking together. 
I treasure everything my Aunt Jean creates but I have always especially loved the ornaments she makes for our family every Christmas. Every year without fail, she crafts something special for us all to hang on our trees - an ornament that commemorates a significant moment from the year, imbued layers of symbolism and heartfelt detailing. I treasure these ornaments because collectively they tell a story of our family, a story we can look back on and celebrate each Christmas season. 
 It doesn't get better than that! ​​​