Christmas Tradition | Collecting Memories not just Ornaments

When I married my husband almost 13 years ago, I soon realized his family has a few traditions that I just love.
One of them is the ornament giving at Christmas by all the girls in the family. My husband comes from a family of 4 siblings same as I do. But that then leads to also the 3 sister-in-laws also. And his mother also participates in the tradition. And as the years go by, the granddaughters and so on, are also starting to join in.
Anyways, all the girls had a long lived tradition started by one of my husbands sister-in-laws, Betty Jo, that instead of giving traditional gifts each year, we would exchange an ornament.
Each girl, of course, tends to have a favorite color or love of something, and we try to incorporate this in each years' ornament gift. For example, my husbands sister, Lisa, loves owl ornaments because of how they look on her tree. So for this year I'm gonna try to find an owl ornament or make one.
The ones pictured above is what I have picked up through the year to act as starters to their ornament gift. I will probably use them and just customized them this week for each girl. I have some that is not pictured also that are already repainted and ready to go.
I just love this tradition and as the years have flown by, I am realizing I am collecting memories, not just ornaments.