by Laurie Marshall of Junque Renthunque.

I’ll admit it.  I’m not the perfect mom when it comes to creating holiday traditions. I like the idea of holiday traditions, but I also like the idea of folding clean clothes right after they come out of the dryer, and spending an autumn weekend to put my garden to bed, and inviting people over for casual dinner parties every now and then. But along with those lovely ideas, holiday traditions tend to get overlooked in my busy house, and I’ve (mostly) come to terms with that.

I think the best way to create traditions is to find something you enjoy doing, and just do it over and over. That’s a tradition, right? One thing that my mother did when my siblings and I were young that I’ve managed to adopt myself is making or purchasing annual Christmas tree ornaments for each of her children. This year, now that my oldest has moved into her own place and has her own tree, I’ll be pulling her ornaments out of our boxes for her to take home with her, just like my mom did for me.

In the early days of having kids, mom put her Crafty Hands to work and made ornaments out of felt and craft foam balls and tiny bits of trim. I’m kind of amazed that they have lasted, but I’m so glad they did. There’s the one-eyed soldier, the Santa who looks as though he got a little tipsy on peppermint mocha, and the elf who has managed to stay pristine. Those elves… they’re sneaky.

When I was celebrating my first holidays as a mom, I – like my mother before me – lived on the cheap in a mobile home. Oh boy,was I thankful for my Crafty-Hands genes. We made a lot of paper ornaments and garlands out of Cheerios and Froot-Loops strung on yarn. These little beauties were made from a simple kit I purchased at a craft store. The teddy bear and angel were for my daughters and the train represented the family.

As our family was able to spend a little more money during the holidays – both as a child and as an adult – we purchased ornaments instead of making them. My mom was obviously proud of me when I joined the band-exemplified by two years of flute-playing ornaments (my band career was a short-lived endeavor, bumped by drama club in junior high).

I’m not sure that my store-bought ornaments all represent something about their recipients, but these Angry Birds do. And,my son was pretty stoked about them a couple of years ago…and that’s what matters most, right?

But even as the years passed, my mom and I both kept fiddling with ribbon and wire and making ornaments whenever we could.She beribboned these sweet baskets in the late 1970s. I created fabric and beaded acorns when I discovered these huge acorn caps under a tree in my neighborhood. They’re the only two I made and I gave them to mom that year.

Sadly, my mom passed away four years ago. As my sister and I divided up her craft supplies (No small task! There was a kiln involved, y’all!!)we went through decorations in the old boxes and big blue suitcase where she kept Christmas, and picked out the ones that we gave her or she chose for us. I can’t decorate for the holidays without remembering the love – for family and for creating beautiful things – that mom passed down to each of her kids. Holiday traditions aren’t just about keeping up with the Joneses… in my house, they’re about passing down the Happy Holiday Crafty-Hands!!

Laurie is a writer and junque-hunter living in Springdale, Arkansas with her husband, son and three goofy cats. She raises kids and chickens and makes messes in her craft room. She loves to create good food, pretty gardens, and happy kids. But when that doesn’t happen as planned she simply reads about them on Pinterest. You can follow Laurie at See Laurie Write and Junque Rethunque.