Few holiday traditions are more personal than trimming the Christmas tree. With heirloom ornaments and preserved keepsakes sharing the stage, our readers create memorable displays upon a backdrop of evergreen boughs, perfectly capturing the beauty and heart that make Yuletide so special.
A New York Botanical Garden train suspends in mid-air; its golden cowcatcher glitters in the sun, ready to glide into the next branch. Interloping snapshots of visits to landmarks hang nearby in filigreed silhouettes marked with tiny banners bearing names such as Ellis Island and Longwood Gardens. Then there’s a covered wooden bridge from Vermont, a ceramic lobster from Maine, an enameled Las Vegas sign, and a seashell-encrusted sand dollar from Cape May.
The stars of our Christmas tree are dozens of ornaments, each with a story to tell. In addition to handmade gifts from our daughter’s elementary school years and vintage Sears, Roebuck and Co. glass and wood figurines bequeathed by my mom, we started a tradition of purchasing tokens commemorating our travels, amassing an impressive collection to display each season.
These keepsakes become more treasured as the years pass. Someday, they will all belong to our daughter, just as Mom passed my childhood finery on to me. Until then, our stories will continue to hang together, creating a holiday of history year after year.
SONYA FITZMAURICE
Easton, Pennsylvania
Our Christmas trees are the main attraction in our house at Yuletide. The star has always been a tall, dominating fresh fir from a nearby tree farm or nursery. However, last year we decided that perhaps it was time to give up the fresh pine and order an artificial tree.
I was not happy about it. How would we feel the true Christmas spirit without the real thing? Our main tree had always been fresh. Yet, I unpacked the usual ornaments and started on this newcomer. I soon forgot this tree was not alive. The evergreen began to look right at home as it was adorned with a hodgepodge of holiday items.
It took me a long time to decorate. I stop each year and gaze at each ornament as I pull it from the box. I held the olive wood Nativity scene. I filled branches with little metal scenes of The Night Before Christmas. I hung the gold locket that holds a picture of our wedding kiss. All the ornaments that our daughter made when she was little drooped from the branches.
I smiled at the tiny, framed ornaments that hold precious pictures of our grandchildren and at the funny ones that showcase pictures of our pets, living and past. Over the years, I have collected ornaments from all our travels. They, too, joined the tree.
I realized that I had not done one thing different with this new tree. It was filled with the Christmas decorations that meant the most. So, fresh or artificial, it didn’t matter. Everything was the same.
BARBARA BATHRICK
Littleton, Colorado
We own a 7,200-square-foot circa 1903 home that is a bed-and-breakfast. We love decorating for Christmas and sharing in the holiday spirit with guests! We do a series of Christmas carol–themed trees, including “O Holy Night,” “Jingle Bells,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and The Nutcracker, but our favorite is the “I Saw Three Ships” tree.
This tree is decorated with several miniature wooden ships in various sizes and styles, all with a Victorian or vintage look. Throughout the tree are different nautical ornaments, seashells, starfish, ships in a bottle, strings of pearls, red velvet bows, gold ribbon, brass ship wall plates, and some sailor figurines we have picked up over the years. The tree topper is a wooden ship’s wheel.
This tree has such a fun, whimsical feel and is also a favorite of our guests! This year, I am making a change, and I’ve already purchased several spools of a vintage blue velvet ribbon that I will use instead of—or perhaps along with—the red ribbon.
JENNIFER MALLORY
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
To read more reader letters on this subject, see “O Tannenbaum” in the November/December 2026 issue available on newsstands and at victoriamag.com. If you’d like to see your own letter featured in our pages or on our website, submit your response to our latest Reader-to-Reader prompt on the “Calling All Readers” page of our website.
