Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree Ornament

ne of my favorite memories of Christmas is decorating the Christmas Tree with my siblings and my mom. My dad usually did not hang the ornaments on the tree, but he was like a movie director. He would point out the bare spots or the overcrowded ones. Each year, the Christmas Tree was different, it had its own personality regardless of being the same ornaments that decorated the trees year after year.

One Very Special Christmas Tree

Now, there was one tree that I remembered vividly. This tree was two and a half stories high! One of my very best friends and my mom’s goddaughter, Irene, was getting married during the Christmas season. So, they decorated the entrance of her family home with this huge Christmas Tree. You can imagine that such a large Christmas tree was almost impossible to find in Venezuela. This is because the trees were imported from Canada, and usually they were at the most eight feet tall. My friend’s mom, Teresita, was my mom’s best friend since her childhood. She knew how much my mom loved to decorate Christmas trees. But more importantly, she knew my mom was like a magician. She had several tricks up her sleeve, to help disguise a tree’s so-called flaws. My mom had learned of those tricks from my tía Pimpa. So, with the help of heavy strong arms, my mom created the tallest Christmas tree I had ever seen by stacking up three normal size Christmas Trees together. That Christmas Tree was decorated with mirror ornaments and all sorts of silver balls and tinsel. It was indeed a spectacular tree.

After the wedding was over, they managed to deliver the tree to our house. As you enter my childhood home, you are welcomed by a two-and-a-half story tall foyer. That was the perfect spot for this magnificent tree. Of course, the tree was delivered to us bare, with no ornaments, but all strung with white lights. We usually used color lights to decorate the tree, so the white lights were a twist to our traditional decorations. It took us almost a whole week to decorate this ginormous Christmas Tree. We went through boxes and boxes of ornaments, even those that rarely made it onto the tree, as my mom’s Christmas ornaments collection was very large. In the end, we still had more places to fill in. So, each sibling went through their own prized possessions and collectibles. Barbies, trolls, small stuffed animals, matchbox cars, train cars, Christmas cards, and cookie cutters made it onto the Christmas Tree that year. In the end, our Christmas Tree was breathtaking and unforgettable.

The Evolution of the Christmas Tree Ornament

I first created the Christmas Tree ornament in 2015. I had run across an old Christmas tree at a garage sale. As I was inspecting it, I thought that it would make great mini trees. The original version of this Christmas Tree ornament had a bow at the top, just like the Christmas tree my husband Steve and I had on our first Christmas together. That year, I sold every single Christmas Tree ornament I had made. Originally, the ornament was part of the Santa’s World ornaments collection.

So, when I decided to create The Nutcracker ornaments collection, I decided to bring back the Christmas Tree ornament and make it part of this new collection. If you have ever seen the ballet, Clara comes to check on her Nutcracker, right when the clock strikes midnight. At that very moment, when dreams become magic and magic becomes dreams, the Christmas Tree grows and grows until we are transported to a magical land where the Nutcracker doll comes to life, and Clara saves him from the sword of the Mouse King. A land where the Nutcracker turns into a prince, and the Polichinelles appear from under Mother Ginger’s dress. And a land where the Sugar Plum Fairy dances with her Cavalier; and dances and dances until dreams are no more. The Nutcracker’s Christmas Tree always reminds me of my friend Irene’s wedding Christmas Tree which became our Christmas Tree that one year.

Christmas Tree Ornament Design Process

The new version of the Christmas Tree ornament has a large star at the top, just like the one in the Stahlbaum’s living room. I chose a different color of glitter paper to make the star. Colors include white, pink, blue, aqua, yellow, green, purple, silver and gold. I used different shapes and sizes of sequins to decorate the Christmas Tree ornament. For the trunk, I used wine corks that I cut in half.

Specifications

Year Designed

2015

Size

Actual size may vary, approximately 2.75” x 2.75” x 6.0”

Materials

Wine corks, cardboard, sequins, glitter, fake pine, glitter paper, acrylic clear gloss.

Note: Given the handmade nature of the ornament, all ornaments are different. The pictures depict just one sample of the ornament.