starting a family tradition.

When I was pregnant, I read an idea in Good Housekeeping that really stuck in my head. A reader had sent in a "vacation tip," saying that when she and her family travel, rather that getting lots of souvenirs that they'll end up getting rid of, they buy a Christmas ornament for their tree. This way when they put up their Christmas tree every year, they'll be able to look at each ornament and remember each trip they have been on as a family and think back on all of the fun times they have had. I loved this idea, and just to get started I bought two ornaments at Christmas time last year that represented home/ Baltimore - one was a pink flamingo and one was a crab - both from a little boutique in Hamden and very glittery and fabulous.

When we went to Deep Creek Lake a few weekends ago, we went searching for our first vacation ornament. Since black bears are on just about every Deep Creek souvenir, we picked an adorable black bear Christmas ornament! It is a mommy or daddy bear (I told Andrew it is a non-gender-specific parental bear) holding up a baby boy bear (who is gender-specific due to his blue pajamas.) We knew it was perfect since it was Bennet's first vacation.


I can't wait to keep going with this tradition for our family. Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I know that adding this special idea to our Christmas celebration will make the holidays even more meaningful to me.

On a side note, Christmas is what? 5 months away? I cannot wait! This will be our first Christmas in Baltimore in our house as a new, little family and I am so excited to start making family memories with Bennet here in our home. We're getting a real Christmas tree for the first time, and we have all kinds of other fun plans. I am so looking forward to it!