Military family tree

Christmas trees, like any decor, follow fashion trends that vary year to year. Perhaps people who live in the same place for long stretches like to change up their Yuletide tree style to keep things fresh: Funky neon-colored ornaments one year, vintage glass the next. Patriotic ornaments were all the rage about 10 years ago.

Military families occasionally like an updated look, too, but it seems we, as a group, favor the traditional tree and the comfort of the familiar.

We also gravitate toward patriotic themes, chic or not.

My family has seen plenty of change this year, as have most military families. We enjoy the familiarity of our festivities, reminders of continuity in our lives.

It’s comforting to take out the old Christmas ornaments and rejoice that they — like we — have survived yet another move. Nothing a little super glue can’t fix.

On our tree we have tiny ceramic angels that my parents made 40 years ago at the hobby shop at Eilson Air Force Base in Alaska; dollar store decorations from Georgia stamped with little handprints; origami ornaments from friends in Japan. Plenty more came from base exchanges and post exchanges all over the world, including our 18-year-old tree from “Big Navy” exchange on Guam.

Though it’s artificial, our tree grows and changes each year as we add an ornament from a new place, another to mark a new chapter of life.

Comments on the Spouse Calls Facebook page show how much Christmas trees can reflect the sojourn of military life, the travels, the moves and the sacrifices:

• Elizabeth Sullivan: “We have one tree designated for ornaments of all the places we have moved as well as ornaments of all the historical places we have stopped on our way to those places.”
• Therese Gamble: “We do two trees, one for family ornaments and one patriotic tree. My fave is the ornament on the patriotic tree that sums up the last seven years. It’s a suitcase!”
• Diana Hartman: “Every year I take a ‘slice’ off the bottom of the tree trunk, about the size of a drink coaster, let it dry and mark it with the year on one side and our full address on the other. We use cup hooks to connect them so they all hang in one line. We now have 25 ‘slices’ of trees from 13 homes in three states and two countries.”
• Debra Hamer: “My favorite ornament on our trees is the tree topper on the family tree. It is from our first Christmas when my husband was in tech school in Rantoul, Ill. We didn’t have much money. I went and got a branch from a tree that had been trimmed in the neighborhood, decorated it with lots of tinsel and homemade ornaments. I made a tree topper out of cardboard covered with aluminum foil. Thirty years later, we put that star on our tree as a reminder of how God has blessed us throughout the years.”
• Mikela Williams: “I have a few favorites. Like the Christmas I was pregnant and got to put a ‘Mommy’ ornament on the tree. I’m also excited about my ornament from my first real Christmas market in Germany.”
• Chris Ferris: “My favorite ornament is one that our youngest son, Sean, made in first grade. Using macaroni noodles, he created an angel holding a thumbtack for a candle.”
• Natalia Kitajewitz-Ribeiro: “My favorite ornaments would be my children’s favorites. Like their father, they are musically inclined. Daddy has his guitar ornament, daughter has her piano ornament, and my son has his drums — all from Germany, might I add.”
• Nancy Adams: “Every year I have a new favorite! As I unpack the ornaments to go onto the tree, each holds a special place in my heart and is more beautiful than last year or the year before. I suppose my favorite has to do with what has happened or God has accomplished this year. Mostly I am thankful for all that God brings us through each year and the memories and blessings these ornaments represent!”
   

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