fruityÖaty

[APPROX. SIZE on 17" monitor set at 1024x768 resolution] I come from a small family with many traditions. But we observe them with less frequency as my parents' desire and energy wane every passing year. Or maybe it's because neither my sister nor I have yet to give them grandchildren to cherish. Traditions are fun to observe when there are little kids involved. I was bummed out when my parents said that they didn't want a Christmas tree this year even though I offered.

When I was very young, I made 9 wooden ornaments - all lovingly handpainted. Now, they're over 20 years old. Well, I figured, if they're not going to be up on a tree this year, they might as well adorn MY BLOG. Enjoy!

My Dad hung up pretty Christmas lights outside very early this year and we do have some Christmas ornaments inside our house, so it's not totally unfestive in fruity's casbah! Actually, my Dad hung up all the lights the day before Halloween. Yeah, the trick-or-treating kids must have been very confused! Traditionally, we put up the tree around the last 2 weeks of November, near my Dad's birthday. By the time Christmas Day arrives, I'm pretty sick of seeing all the decorations, hehe.

OK, the 9 wooden ornaments... I'm showing you just 3 in this post. You'll have to COME BACK this weekend for the last 6! Do return if you want to see the complete set (3 ornaments per post = 3 posts total). ;-)

They're all made out of wood cut into Christmas wreaths with painted green ivy leaves and red holly berries. On top of each wreath is another cutout - 6 wreaths have bears (1 has twin bears), 1 angel, 1 Christmas tree and 1 semi-finished wreath has a rocking horse. I'll explain why I've purposely left it semi-finished in a PART 3 post. Do come back again! Each wreath has a looped string (for hanging to the tree) and 2 bells at the top. Both the shiny strings and bells are gold-coloured.

I sprayed them with a transparent glossy sealant so that they'd last for years. In 20+ years they've held up well, but they are beginning to show their age. Two wreaths have a bell missing, some have acrylic paint chipped off, a few have frayed or snapped strings and the colour has faded just a bit. I should retouch up the chipped parts.

Question: How about you guys? What family traditions will you observe during this festive season? Discuss.

I scanned these with my Lexmark machine and resized them so that what you see is the APPROX. SIZE if viewed on 17" monitor set at 1024x768 resolution:

A. The first one shown above is titled "Voted Most Likely to Fail Miserably in a Spelling Bee: Beary Christmas Bear".

B. The second ornament shown on the left is called "Voted Most Likely to Run the Olsen Twins' Empire: Good & Evil Twin Bears".

C. And the third one below is called "Voted Most Likely to Whig Out and Kill All His Co-workers: Office Worker Nerd Bear" (it's missing one golden bell).

The last 3 photos below depict the backsides of each ornament (in corresponding order as the first 3 above). I did not paint much detail as it wasn't necessary at all because you don't really see the backsides when they're hung up on the Christmas tree.

Hover your mouse cursor over any image to read its description. Click on a thumbnail to view a larger image:

While they may not be of high monetary and artistic value, they are priceless to me as they remind me of my childhood and family traditions. If they're still in good shape, I hope my sister's or my own future children will use them as a foundation for their own traditions.

Remember to visit my blog this weekend to see the remaining 6 ornaments!

Adieu,
fruity bear - "Voted Most Likely to Go Crazy" :-D

P.S. If you never return to see the rest, I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year and all that jazz!

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