Even though this tradition was started many many years ago, we've only hosted it in our home since 1993. Still, that’s a long time! Like warm dough the family seems to double in size with every blink. We started with 10 adults and 16 grandchildren. Besides our original crew, there are now 11 married grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren, and these add-ons are just as loud, messy, silly, and talkative as the first group. I should be thankful that distance keeps some away, but I can’t help but miss the entire clan -- think what a raucous we’d raise! (Not sure my house would survive, or Merrell for that matter.) Glad Dave and Linda came. We’re a long way from Chicago!Our party was traditional: Santa, food, white elephant exchange, ornament exchange, and more food. Santa doesn't get any older. The children do.
Mom, Carolyn, Cathy, Linda, and I started exchanging ornaments in 1974. This year we had 15 participants! Now that’s a lot of ornaments. Everyone agreed that next year the exchange would separate into 4 families. Thirty-five years of receiving ornaments makes for one full storage box! I only wish I had them all – some have been broken, some lost, and some have hung on my tree for 35 years!
These are just a few of the ornaments that have decorated our tree through the years. The "H" in the middle was Carolyn's first exchange in 1974! It ALWAYS hangs on our tree -- a great reminder of how poor we all were...and how creative too!(See, this post was worth waiting for!)
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