The Seasons Change, The Memories Stay
When I thought about writing a post about holiday traditions, I can’t lie, it brought up all kinds of emotions, ranging from heartache to heartwarming. I think most people would probably agree this time of year. A little heartache from the things that look different now, but just as much warmth when I remember the traditions that have stayed and the memories we’ve made along the way.
From waiting all year for the Sears Christmas catalog to hit my mailbox as a kid to wandering Kmart and Blockbuster on Thanksgiving Day (R.I.P. to both), I grew up with a handful of holiday traditions that still make me smile. A few of them have faded with time, but some have stuck around in ways that mean more to me than ever.
One that has stayed? The ornaments.
My mom has been buying me a Keepsake ornament for her tree every year since I was just a baby. There are more than ...cough cough... forty “Amy” ornaments on her tree now! It’s sweet to look back at the ones she chose when I was too little to know what an ornament even was, then notice the shift into the ones I started choosing for myself. You can trace practically every phase of my life through those ornaments (we’re currently in the Golden Girls era… see below). Every year, seeing them feels like opening a little time capsule. Through the years she’s continued the tradition for my sister too, and together our ornaments tell the story of both our childhoods. Needless to say, her tree holds a whole lifetime of memories.
I’ve carried the tradition into my own home as well. I bought my husband his first ornament the year we started dating, and this year makes twenty-one ornaments for him. And even though I can’t flip through a Sears catalog anymore, I still get excited when the Hallmark Dream Book comes out, and there’s something strangely nostalgic about that Amazon holiday catalog showing up in the mailbox. It takes me right back.
And then there are the traditions that aren’t written in stone but ebb and flow with the seasons of life. Case in point: how we celebrate Thanksgiving. Over the years we’ve done everything from going out (I’m looking at you, Puckett’s Columbia. Last year was great letting y’all handle all the cooking, serving and cleaning!) to cozying up at home, which is what we’re planning on doing this year.
Snapshot of last year’s Thanksgiving
After thinking about it, I’ve realized that some traditions look different over time and some stay the same as they've always been. The faces around the table change as the years roll on. Some we sit beside, some we carry in our hearts, and it’s the memories we make throughout the years that I cherish the most.
Here’s to full tables, full hearts and another season of little moments that turn into big memories.
Happy Holidays, y’all.
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Written by: Amy Whidby
Creative Director, A. Marshall Hospitality
Amy has been part of the AMH family since 2004, when she first came on board as a freelance designer. When she’s not bringing our brands to life, she’s likely playing with her golden retrievers or planning her next camping trip with her husband, Joe.