It's the Tiny Things - A holiday ornament from times past

A tiny gift for you (it has snails and moons)! 🌙 🐌

We put up our Christmas tree last weekend. My daughter stepped back, a big smile spreading across her face, and said, “I love that we do a tacky tree.” And she’s right – it absolutely is.

It’s a tree stitched together from all the years we’ve lived: beaded ornaments my grandmother made half a century ago, felted treasures from craft fairs, lopsided school projects from every age of her childhood. Every branch holds a memory. This tree is our family history, strung up in lights.

There’s one ornament that always stops us in our tracks. It is the snowman, with the hand-knitted cap.

It was given to us at the hospital during one of the many long stays my daughter had growing up. Another child’s grandmother made them for all the kids who were having extended stays at the rehabilitation center at the children’s hospital. By age four, my daughter had already endured three open-heart surgeries and more than a dozen catheterizations.

But the Christmas I remember most clearly was the year she was seven months old. Her surgery was scheduled for December 23rd – my favorite number, my grandpa’s and brother’s birthday, and one of my favorite times of year.

That Christmas, I let go of every expectation and obligation. My husband and I pretended Santa had come a week early - not that she minded.

In the hospital, the nurses were endlessly kind. A “Santa” appeared with presents on Christmas morning. A parade of emotional-support animals visited our room. We watched movies and took turns holding her as she recovered. It was surreal and tender and strange – a little pocket of joy in that hospital when we just expected fear.

It was just us: my husband, my tiny daughter, and me, wrapped in the warmth of strangers inside a hospital bubble. We didn’t buy much, or need much. We only wanted to take her home. And we did – again and again.

Recently, I found this tiny clip from that time in the hospital. This was Christmas Day, 2009.

Now, each December, when we unwrap our “tacky” ornaments, we retell these stories. My daughter always asks to hear them, even though she already knows every word. Perhaps that’s the point – to remember what we walked through, and how far we’ve come.

There was a time when I stressed over Christmas. I felt like I had to show everyone how much I carried by putting way too much on my to-do list. But all of that has fallen away.

Now I’m simply grateful to be in our home, with our small family, for another year together. And honestly, these have been the best Christmases of all.

Until Next Time 🌙 ✨
Kim

P.S. Please put your tiny thing from the past week in the comments. I love reading them. 💛

I made tiny holiday tags with snails and moons for you! Thank you all for being here and following my tiny space. I so enjoy showing up and sharing all the things that delight me. I hope they bring a little bit of light into your day. Please download these holiday tags. You can print them at home and put them on your gifts. Holiday wrapping is one of those tiny joys of the holiday season for me. And don’t get me started on moons and snails. 🌙 🐌

Find all the little bits that delight you this holiday season. Collect them and carry them. Let them light the way.

Happy Holidays!✨
Kim