Monday, December 7, 2009

Her Taste is All in Her Mouth

Our grown children have had a playful battle ever since I can remember over favored ornaments vs. ugly ornaments. They constantly move the ornaments they don’t like to the back of the tree and strategically place their favorites front and center.

To me, there is no such thing as an ugly ornament and my tree bears witness to that. I admire themed trees that glisten with all gold or all silver or Victorian pieces or whatever. But as “eclectic” describes my house, so it describes my tree. A generous mix of old and new, silly and elegant.

I’m attending an ornament exchange party this week and in my quest for a distinctive ornament I visited a local gift shop. I was delighted to find birds and butterflies that I thought were fabulous. I bought extras for additional gifts.

I proudly showed them to my daughters who tried to be polite but burst into laughter. Cupcake’s comment was “those are the ugliest ornaments I’ve ever seen.” In order not to embarrass myself, I exchanged them. I had to keep a butterfly as I still think it’s beautiful. Aren’t ornaments supposed to be sparkly and fanciful?

My mom has always had an expression, “her taste is all in her mouth.” It took me until I was an adult to “get” that. Personal preferences are influenced by an indeterminate number of things and I think when it comes to admiring Christmas decorations, I will always be 5 years old. Growing older is inavoidable, growing up is optional.

I’m not going for a run this morning. I’m going to skip the whole way.

7 comments:

Merrie said...

I love the thought of skipping the whole way! What fun that would be! I also love the thought of the neighbors watching and laughing and then joining in!
I'm with you and the tree. I love the theme trees. I don't have one. Mine is a reflection of years of love and collections.
Blessings!

Zuzana said...

Wonderful! I agree completely. In fact, I love the ornaments you post here. The bird reminds me so much of the ornaments of my childhood.;)
My style is eclectic too, so I can very much relate.;)
xo
Zuzana

Spring M Fricks said...

I'm with you. There is no ugly ornament. Some are a little "worn" but that's okay. They mean more that way!

Shelly Wildman said...

See now? This is exactly why I hate ornament exchanges! I have gotten more than my share of ugly ornaments over the years because everyone's taste (or lack thereof) is so unique. I'd prefer to choose my own ornaments which will usually be in a shade of red or white.

Edie said...

I love the ornaments you have pictured here. I also like all types of ornament styles but these days I try to decorate my tree with ornaments that represent the Birth of Christ.

For years I had some airplane ornaments that my daughter hated and didn't even want me to put on the tree. I think they all eventually broke. No I don't think she did it. :)

Merry Christmas to you my friend!

Melanie said...

love the bird. i have several on my tree.
love you, too.

heather said...

You have clearly never seen the purposefully "ugly" ornaments Kaylor picks out annually for the women's Christmas party. Everyone waits to see who will get stuck ith it and just how bad it will actually be that year. Too funny!