Favorite Holiday Traditions

What is your favorite holiday tradition? The one that I love most is designing and planning my annual family photo Christmas card. Now that my family is grown I include my kids, grandkids and even my granddogs. This is something I've done for over 40 years. I look back in awe as I see the way everyone has changed over the years. 

I'm not really sure how I got anything done before Pinterest but it is definitely my go-to for any and all ideas in every aspect of my life. The possibilities are endless! Whether you want to include your entire family, just the kids or even your furbaby, follow my Christmas Card board to find your own inspiration. Now is the time to start planning the perfect holiday greeting!
The first known personalized Christmas card was sent in 1891 by Annie Oakley, the famous American sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. She was in Glasgow, Scotland at Christmas time that year and sent cards back to her friends and family in the states featuring a photo of her on it. 
As you can see in the photo, honoring her time in Scotland, she's wearing a tartan (a pattern consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands). Annie reportedly designed the cards herself and had them printed by a local printer. We found this great story at whychristmas.com.
Stay tuned...each week we'll be blogging on all of the wonderful and unique traditions during this magical holiday season.

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Is There and Elf on Your Shelf?

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Santa Claus sat in his workshop at the North Pole, thinking. He knew he needed to get presents to all the good little boys and girls across the world, but how would he know who had been good that year? One day, he had a wonderful idea. He gathered his elves around him and delivered an important message. He was going to send each of them to a home with young children, where they would live from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Each night, the elves were to travel back to the North Pole and tell Santa everything the children had done that day and if they had been good. Each morning, the elves would arrive back at the house before the children awoke so they could hide in a different place. The children would excitedly seek them out once they awoke, so they could whisper their Christmas wishes to the elves.

So goes the story of a delightful children's book, written by a woman named Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. Since its publication in 2005, The Elf on the Shelf has won multiple awards and inspired many families around the world to begin their own Elf on the Shelf Christmas traditions.

The Elf on the Shelf has become a wonderful source of inspiration for all of us at Ornaments for Keeps. We fell in love with the story the first time we heard it, and we have loved getting to participate in this adorable family tradition through the creation of our personalized elf ornaments. 

This year, we invite you and your family to join in the fun! Our customized elf Christmas ornaments make the perfect elves for your children to search the house for every morning. Though we live in an increasingly digital world, we don't want the next generation to grow up without the same sense of imagination and wonder that filled our hearts when we were young. It's through fanciful traditions like these that we help keep our children's imaginations alive.

We hope you'll start a new family tradition this year by inviting the elves into your home, and we would be honored to get to be a part of it. If you're looking for some more creative ideas, check out our Elf on a Shelf Pinterest board!

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Phone: (573) 893-3272
www.ornamentsforkeeps.com

Will Your Elf Be On The Shelf?

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Santa Claus sat in his workshop at the North Pole thinking. He knew he needed to get presents to all the good little boys and girls across the world, but how would he really know if they had been good or bad all year? One day, he had a wonderful idea. He gathered his elves around him and delivered an important message. He was going to send each of them to a home with young children, where they would live from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Each night, the elves were to travel back to the North Pole and tell Santa everything the children had done had been good. Each morning, the elves would arrive back at the house before the children awoke so they could hid in a different place. The children would excitedly seek them out so they could whisper their Christmas wishes to the elves.
       So goes the story of a delightful children's book, written by a woman named, Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. Since it's publication in 2005, The Elf on the Shelf has won multiple awards and inspired many families around the world to begin their own Elf on the Shelf Christmas traditions.
     Elf on the Shelf has become a wonderful source of inspiration for all of us at Ornaments for Keeps. We fell in love with the story the first time we heard it, and we have loved getting to participate in this adorable family tradition through the creation of our personalized elf ornaments.
     This year, we invite you and your family to join in the fun! Our customized elf Christmas ornaments make the perfect elves for your children to search the house for every morning. Though we live in an increasingly digital world, we don't want the next generation to grow up without the same sense of imagination and wonder that filled our hearts when we were young. It's through fanciful traditions like these that we help keep our children's imaginations alive.
     We hope you'll start a new family tradition this year by inviting the elves into your home, and we would be honored to get to be part of it!

Connect with us for the latest inspired, creative ideas!

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Phone: (573) 893-3272
www.ornamentsforkeeps.com

Start Your Ornament Tradition!

What does the word "tradition" mean to you?

Traditions can appear in the form physical objects, or they can manifest as verbal or behavioral rituals. They are passed down from generation to generation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Traditions play an integral role in our lives all year long, but they are especially prominent during the holiday season. With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away and Christmas not far behind, all of us at Ornaments for Keeps thought it would be appropriate to spend some time reflecting on some of the holiday traditions we've come to love - and give some ideas for fun new traditions!

You're Participating in Traditions 

(And You Might Not Even Know it!)

Our entire culture has become so accustomed to certain traditions that we find ourselves participating in them without even realizing it! Hanging stockings by the fireplace and giving each other gifts, for example, are Christmas traditions that are observed by almost everyone in the United States. These traditions have become so ingrained in our minds that we do them without hardly even thinking about it. 

What's Your Holiday Tradition?

Beyond these over-arching traditions observed by our culture as a whole, each family has its own unique holiday traditions. These traditions can be as elaborate as your imagination allows, or they can be as simple as watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas Day. Some families share a certain holiday meal every year, others read "The Night Before Christmas" every Christmas Eve, still others get personalized family Christmas ornaments every year... The opportunities for traditions are endless!

Every Tradition Has To Start Somewhere!

Some of these traditions date back longer than any of us can remember, but every tradition had to have started at some specific point in time. It's never too late to start your very own family Christmas tradition. If you're looking for a fun new tradition idea this year, consider ordering one of our Customized 2014 Family Christmas Ornaments! We design and decorate all of our personalized ornaments with the utmost care and precision in order to deliver you a wonderful start to an adorable holiday tradition. 

If you have questions or another idea for a great holiday tradition, please let us know! Connect with us on Facebook (Ornaments for Keeps) or on Twitter (@ornaments4keeps). We'd love to hear from you!

Connect with us for the latest inspired, creative ideas!

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Phone: (573) 893-3272
www.ornamentsforkeeps.com

Is There An Elf On Your Shelf?

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Santa Claus sat in his workshop at the North Pole, thinking. He knew he needed to get presents to all the good little boys and girls across the world, but how would he know who had been good that year? One day, he had a wonderful idea. He gathered his elves around him and delivered an important message. He was going to send each of them to a home with young children, where they would live from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. Each night, the elves were to travel back to the North Pole and tell Santa everything the children had done that day and if they had been good. Each morning, the elves would arrive back at the house before the children awoke so they could hide in a different place. The children would excitedly seek them out once they awoke, so they could whisper their Christmas wishes to the elves.

So goes the story of a delightful children's book, written by a woman named Carol Aebersold and her daughter, Chanda Bell. Since its publication in 2005, The Elf on the Shelf has won multiple awards and inspired many families around the world to begin their own Elf on the Shelf Christmas traditions.

The Elf on the Shelf has become a wonderful source of inspiration for all of us at Ornaments for Keeps. We fell in love with the story the first time we heard it, and we have loved getting to participate in this adorable family tradition through the creation of our personalized elf ornaments. 

This year, we invite you and your family to join in the fun! Our customized elf Christmas ornaments make the perfect elves for your children to search the house for every morning. Though we live in an increasingly digital world, we don't want the next generation to grow up without the same sense of imagination and wonder that filled our hearts when we were young. It's through fanciful traditions like these that we help keep our children's imaginations alive.

We hope you'll start a new family tradition this year by inviting the elves into your home, and we would be honored to get to be a part of it. If you're looking for some more creative ideas, check out our Elf on a Shelf Pinterest board!

Connect with us for the latest inspired, creative ideas!

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Phone: (573) 893-3272
www.ornamentsforkeeps.com

Christmas Card Traditions

Christmas cards have become a wonderful tradition in many families across the United States. These annual cards are a great way to reach out to distant family and friends over the holiday season. Many people like to add a personal touch to their annual greeting cards by including pictures of their immediate family, so distant friends and relatives can see how everyone has grown and changed over the last year - and the Ornaments for Keeps family is no exception!

Linda Henderson, the driving force behind our custom Christmas ornaments business, began designing yearly Christmas cards in 1980 after her first daughter was born in 1979 (on Christmas Day, no less!). She has kept copies of her Christmas cards every year, and looking back on them always brings a smile to everyone's faces. 

Some of Linda's favorite Christmas cards from past years!

The Christmas card tradition began decades and decades ago. Linda's mom actually sent her very first Christmas card in 1954! It's amazing to see how the cards have grown and evolved since then. 

It's definitely not too soon to start planning your 2014 Christmas cards; choosing the perfect photograph(s) to include in the greeting can take more time than you might think! What are are you planning on doing for your 2014 Christmas cards? Send us your pictures... We'd love to see what you have in mind!

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Four Fantastic Family Christmas Traditions!

Christmas traditions are some of the best parts of the holiday season. We love watching traditions evolve and grow along with the families that create them and pass them on to the next generation! As this year's holidays quickly approach, we thought we'd help you prepare for another wonderful season with some of these great family Christmas traditions!

Christmas Cookies
If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's how much we love Christmas cookies. There's something wonderfully special about baking a bunch of Christmas cookies and spending a few hours decorating them with your family. Using red, green, and white icing (along with red hots and sprinkles), your cookies can really come to life! 

Christmas Bucket
This is a new one to all of us at Ornaments for Keeps! With this adorable family tradition, kiddos get a bucket of small packages on December 1st. Every day, they get to unwrap a little present that holds another activity, one for every day until Christmas. The activities can range from writing letters to Santa, cruising around and admiring neighborhood Christmas lights, making homemade bread dough ornaments, and anything else you can imagine!

Gift Giving
Christmas is the season for giving. Encourage your kiddos to get in on the fun by planning a week or ten days of small thoughtful, giving activities that they can help you with. Bake cookies for your mail carrier, write a thank you note to their teacher, etc. Let your kids help brainstorm ways to give to others!

Personalized Christmas Ornaments
We all have our personal favorites when it comes to holiday traditions, and it should come as no surprise that ours are personalized Christmas ornaments! Don't fool yourselves into thinking that our beautiful handmade ornaments only serve as one-time gifts; getting a new customized Christmas ornament with your name and the year can be a great way to watch the years go by.

The holidays will be here before we know it. It's definitely not too soon to start planning your holiday traditions! How do you plan on celebrating with your family?

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Phone: (573) 893-3272
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Six EASY Ideas to Help Start Your Family Tradition!!

Creating family traditions can be simple and effortless - don't get stressed trying to create an elaborate plan.  Remember the point  is to bring the family together for some quality time. 

Here are some simple ideas to create your own family traditions that will be easy to continue year after year.

1. Drive through area light displays together.  Tune in some Christmas carols on the radio and you are ready to be fascinated by the twinkling displays.
2. Make Dough Ornaments with the Family - Check out my EASY Dough  Ornament Recipe!  
3. Movie night!  Watch your favorite holiday flick together...whether it's Miracle on 34th Street or A Christmas Story it will be something to share with each generation.
4. Hand print an item with every family member. Choose a cloth laundry or grocery bag or table cloth and have each person put there hand print on it. One can be made for each member of the family and added to as it expands.
5. Family Pot Luck.  You can choose an overall theme that everyone can bring an appropriate dish or have everyone bring a course.  Have everyone email you the recipes in advance and you can put together a booklet for each guest attending.
   
6. Have an annual ornament exchange.  Each person can draw a name and get an ornament for that family member.  You can incorporate themes or other ideas to spice it up from year to year.

These are just some ideas for you to share with your loved ones.  Traditions that can be created so easily and can last a lifetime!  

Happy crafting and I hope these ideas help!  Since my first craft show in 1981, customers here at home and from around the United States continue to add to their collections and to buy these personalized gifts for family and friends.

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CONTACT US

Phone: (573) 893-3272
info@ornamentsforkeeps.com