Every ornament tells a story: Valentine family’s scrapbook Christmas tree
VALENTINE, Neb. - Gone are the days when Christmas trees sparkled solely with classic baubles and tinsel. Younger generations are decking their halls with creativity and self-expression.
For Tyler and Andrea Brown of Valentine, their tree is more than a decoration—it’s a scrapbook, strung together with love and laughter.
“This ornament is from when I made my first sugar cookies with my grandma,” said Tyler and Andrea's oldest child Ellie.
The ornaments document everything from the couple’s first date 15 years ago to their children’s favorite foods.
“I have this anchovies ornament because I used to love to eat anchovies and sardines,” said Tyler and Andrea's son Weston.
“It was weird,” said Ellie.
It’s not just ornaments rocking the tree. A turkey feather hangs in honor of the “one that got away”-a turkey that Andrea just narrowly missed shooting.
“There’s a lot of random things on here, like the baby bottle on top,” said Andrea.
A baby bottle, chewed up by their cat, once belonged to Ellie.
“It just became an opportunity to talk about fun things that happened and remember all of the little things, like the kids’ first words are on there,” said Andrea.
The Browns are not the only ones embracing an untraditional tree. According to Good Housekeeping, “Kitschmas” is the biggest Christmas trend of 2024, stating that when it comes to baubles, the quirkier, the better. Just scroll through social media. One of the celebrities with the most Instagram followers, Kylie Jenner, shared her assortment of ornaments, along with her daughter Stormi’s tree, packed with pink and personality.
“It’s just a little bit different than putting on garland and baubles that have no meaning. At least we can talk about places that we went to together, like ball games and hunting trips and camping," said Andrea.
“We have laughs finding all these ornaments and memories,” said Ellie.
Every year new memories mean new ornaments.
“All of these have a purpose and a memory, and there’s a lot of them,” said Ellie.
This year the Browns had to buy a bigger tree to showcase all of their milestones.
“I think we would forget a lot of it if we didn’t have an ornament,” said Andrea.
Andrea hopes to pass down these memories to the next generation, by gifting her children their ornaments once they leave the house.
“It’s too easy to forget things when you’re running around and rushing. It’s difficult to take a moment and really be grateful for what you have and what you remember and the times you spend together,” said Andrea.
Because it’s not just about a decorating a beautiful tree, but making a memorable home for the holidays.