quick trick: ornament love

Before all of the ornaments are off of the store shelves, I wanted to share two of our ornament secrets.

Thanks to one of my very best friends, I learned about the pickle ornament tradition waaaay back when I was in elementary school, and the minute I heard about it, I knew I someday wanted to have a pickle ornament tradition in my house.

• Pickle Ornament: I was never sure really why they did it; all I knew was that the Teles family had a really cool pickle ornament that the kids searched for on Christmas morning. And the child with the sharpest eye got an extra--always extra cool--present.
  

So for the last few years, we've done the same thing: we hide the pickle ornament, and the person who finds it gets an extra gift. But I've made sure, since our kids are still very young, to make the gift something that can be shared--a big Crayola Color Explosion or Color Wonder set, a jumbo pack of markers.

The controversial pickle tradition is believed to have German roots, but who really knows. It's fun for kids no matter where it began. Here's some info on the Legendary Pickle Ornament and The Christmas Pickle Story.

• Ornaments from Anywhere: When we go away, rather than spend a fortune on little toys or trinkets that just get thrown away or soon forgotten, my mom got us into the habit of picking up Christmas ornaments along the way.
  

A St. Michael's sailboat from our little first anniversary getaway.

Granted, our tree is a far cry from the Martha Stewart or Pottery Barn-perfect tree, but it's really awesome how our tree is beginning to tell a story--a story of our vacations, adventures, and day trips.

My parents and sisters also bring home ornaments for us from their travels; they always pick up funny ones or ones with extra glitter and sparkle.

Totally tacky, but it brings back memories of our fun
day at Dutch Wonderland this past summer.

And that's it--just two quick ornament ideas for my super-incredible, totally awesome teach mama readers before the holiday shelves are bare and before everyone begins a New Year of travel and fun.

If you have any cool ideas worth sharing--please do so! I am always up for new ideas and am so grateful to those who share. Cheers, friends!