The greatest part about having a best friend of 56 years is that you share so many childhood memories. Last month, I met up with my literal BFF at an antique mall, where we spent a few hours sharing in the nostalgia: toys we played with together, jewelry we wore, dishes we ate from, and the knickknacks that filled our houses. When we came upon the Christmas displays, my friend mentioned that the only childhood ornament she still had was a Baby Jesus she had made and that her kids would always make fun of when she hung it on the tree.
I was like, “Wait a minute . . . Is this Baby Jesus in a walnut shell???” We were screaming with excitement inside the antique mall! Unbeknownst to us, we BOTH hang a Walnut Baby Jesus on our tree. We couldn’t wait to get out our Christmas decorations and send pictures:
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My happy Walnut Baby Jesus
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Her happy Walnut Baby Jesus. We tried to figure out when we made them, as she was a year behind me in school and we had never been in the same Girl Scout troop. We concluded that because my 2nd grade teacher had been her 3rd grade teacher, it was this common teacher that likely had her students make them every year. An unlikely craft today!
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While going through my mother's condo last year, I came upon a set of six wooden ornaments I had painted as a child. I remember being so excited about making these! Considering the skill level, I had to have been around 10 or 11 years old. I am proudly hanging them on our tree from now on.
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| My husband's mother was not sentimental, so did not keep many of my husband's childhood projects. This Santa Star is the only Christmas item he has. He's awfully pleased with his handiwork and has hung it on our tree ever since we've been married. |
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| I made this stocking in kindergarten. My mother had me and my brother make one every year after with that year's school picture. Again, I came across these when I cleaned out her home. I threw them all away except for the original. This school picture was taken 3 months after my best friend's family moved into the house behind us in June 1968. |
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Bijoux ~ 56 years later
We were wondering why giant geodes were at an antique mall, but maybe they were just old, like us! |
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My Bestie ~ Sisters Forever!
Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas and an Incredible New Year!Blogger Friends Forever ~ See you in 2025! |
I'm sitting here reading this while having my morning coffee and LOVING everything about this post! The whole Walnut Baby Jesus thing was priceless! I had no idea they made ornaments like that?!? We had one on our Christmas tree too, however, it looked more like Baby Jesus in the manager with Mary and Joseph. Kind of like this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Ornaments-Nativity-Religious-Ornament-Christian/dp/B0CN6QFVD4?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A3OU9NYMROER8F&th=1
I think it's so incredible that you and your bestie had the same type ornament.
Okay, and I gotta' say that the ornaments you painted were so well-done. They look professional!
The ornament of the stocking with your picture on it is so cute. I think I had one of those too, but some where along the line it got lost when we moved.
Love the pics of you and your friend standing in front of the angel-winged geodes.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and an Incredible New Year, my longtime blogging friend! XXXX
Good morning, Ron! That’s a really lovely ornament of the nativity in the link. I remember we had a small plastic crèche with glitter on it, but I don’t think it was hung on the tree. My friend and I made those Walnut Baby Jesus ornaments. We think it was because we had the same teacher, but different years, since she’s a year younger than me.
DeleteThanks for all your thoughtful comments over the years. You make blogging fun, Ron! Have a wonderful holiday! XO
Oh I LOVE childhood ornaments!!! I have never heard of a walnut baby Jesus but I am here for it. My parents have a ceramic ornament I painted that is a couple of mice in a book, and on the back I had written in very careful cursive "Mice In Book by Nicole MacPherson" - not sure if I thought I had a masterpiece on my hands or what. Also, did you ever make those little quilted-looking balls? You'd get a styrofoam ball (hope they do not have those anymore!) and then tiny scraps of fabric, and you'd kind of poke them into the ball. Thinking about it, there must have been some kind of glue or adhesion material to keep the fabric on. Anyway, I used to love to make those. The Santa star - I am SURE we had some of those. I wonder if my parents still have them?
ReplyDeleteIt's so special to have a lifelong friend. What a gift!
I’m cracking up at you writing your last name on the ornament! Hahaha, why did we do stuff like that? Was there another Nicole in your household? 🤓 I did the same thing! I know EXACTLY about those quilted snowballs because my husband’s family had a few on their tree that he or his siblings must have made one year. I had never seen them before, but they were pretty cool. No clue what became of them. His older sister took everything she wanted from the house before inviting the other four siblings to come over and take things before the sale. My MIL had some really neat ornaments that would have been nice for the grandkids to all get one. Oh well! This is why lifelong friends can be better than family 🤣 Merry Christmas!
DeleteThe walnut baby Jesus is adorable! We have one ornament that Jenn made when she was in kindergarten. It's a snowball, but I always tease her that it looks like a white rock. . . or an albino lump of coal. . . ;)
ReplyDeleteAww, I’d like to see that! Merry Christmas!
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ReplyDeleteI LOVE THIS SO MUCH. By the way, I wear a crossbody purse, so I guess I’m a bestie too now.
Our tree is full of ornaments my husband, kids, and I made in school, and I love that so much. I raise you one baby Jesus in a walnut shell and see you a clothespin reindeer. I also have a picture of me on my tree in an origami star I made in sixth-grade art class. I’ll take a picture and send it to you on Instagram. 🩷
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Blogger Friends Forever! (BFF)
Definitely a Bestie and Blogger Friend Forever❣️ I love our connections and that BF in this post has lived in your hometown since 1989! How crazy is that?
DeleteI love that your tree has so many homemade ornaments. My son and oldest daughter took theirs, so we only have Middle Child’s and the ones above from me and my husband. But I do remember one of them having a clothespin reindeer🤣 I loved your origami star. I’m so happy you shared it with me. That was a creative craft! Merry Christmas!
A best friend of 56 years, that's quite something. I can't equal that, my friends come and go. I like your walnut baby Jesus and your Santa star. That looks like a pair of wings behind you in your photo!
ReplyDeleteI tend to hold onto friends. I’m still friends with many from childhood. They are like my family. Yes, the geodes were shaped like wings, so we are Christmas angels. Merry Christmas!
DeleteI loved reading this post!! My grandfather used to make tiny little baskets from walnut shells. Handmade ornaments from over the years are the best. I treasure all of mine like you do. Life long friends are a true gift and the absolute BEST!! My bff of 40+ years remembers things about me that I don't and vice a versa. I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and that 2025 is the best year yet!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I’d love to see one of those walnut baskets! My grandfather was a folk artist later in life and often made things from ‘trash.’ I don’t have any, but he would take disposable pie plates and cut them to resemble a star and glue a picture cut from greeting cards as an ornament.
DeleteMy BFF also brings up stuff about me that I’ve forgotten. Don’t you love that? Thanks for the well wishes and Merry Christmas to you, too.
No walnut baby Jesus ornaments for me. The only holiday-themed craft project I remember making in school was the ol' Thanksgiving turkey from tracing the outline of my hand. Then again, I never have been much of an artist.
ReplyDeleteHappy holidays to you and your family, and thank you for being my blogging friend for so long now!
I can’t believe you don’t have any Christmas crafts from childhood! I need to bring that up to your mom on your blog🤣 Thanks and have a wonderful Christmas with Tara!
DeleteHaha. I have Christmas crafts from MY kids. Maybe my mom has Christmas crafts from me and my brother!
DeleteMaybe she’s just not ready to give them up? 🤷♀️🤓
DeleteI love this. I don't have any ornaments from my childhood but I love that you do. My parents divorce was very destructive and my dad destroyed pretty much everything in the house when my mom left.
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad, Mary. My bff’s parents divorced when she was only 6 or 7 but her mom was able to stay in the house, so my friend didn’t lose anything.
DeleteAww! I like your little baby Jesus in a walnut shell ornaments! Unfortunately, those would never be made in public school these days! My oldest friend and I have been friends for 60 years. She recently sent me a picture that she had found a Camp Fire Girl hat and scarf from when we were campfire girls together! Such fun! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family! Here's to many more fun posts in 2025!
ReplyDelete60 years is awesome! We did not have Campfire Girls in my area. I did Girl Scouts and 4H though. Hope your Christmas is grand!
DeleteThat is a hilarious realization that you both have the same baby Jesus walnut ornament. Love how you retracted to see what grade you were in when you made them. I have some of my homemade ornaments from grade school and somehow I still know which grade I was in. My memory is weird that way - I can picture which teacher taught me which grade etc. Don't ask me what I need from the grocery store though. My brothers started getting goofy in junior high, they'd take my ornaments and hang them on my mom's macramé (is that the right word) hanging platers in the living room and die laughing when I found them. How wonderful that you've had a friend to be close with and share memories with all these years. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteWasn’t that crazy? Oh, I remember all my elementary school teachers names AND most of my room numbers at that school. Oddly, my memories of junior high and high school are not as clear. I’m glad you still have some childhood ornaments, too. Good memories! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
DeleteI'm screaming over the baby Jesus walnut ornaments too. I love this so much! Oh, and I suppose if someone in school mentioned Jesus now, they'd be in trouble, which is hilarious since it is CHRISTmas. I've got a whole rant in my head about all that....anyhoo, I love that you guys are still best friends! I have long-time friends, (42 yrs) but you beat me at 56 years.
ReplyDeleteI love the old ornaments and I had a flashback of those painted wooden ones; I did those at some point, but had forgotten about them. I have my kids 'home made' ornaments on a small tree that I will always love.
The geodes might be old, but ya'll look amazing. Merry Christmas!!
Can you imagine a kid making a Baby Jesus in school today? When Middle Child was going to college for Early Childhood Education, she had to plan holiday activities that were inclusive (Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa) BUT they couldn't do anything that had to do with the actual REASON for Christmas. It was truly insane!
DeleteI can't believe you painted wooden ornaments, too! They are really nice! I went to Hobby Lobby to get something like that for my grandkids, but the quality was just not there. It was like the thinnest balsa wood you could imagine. My kids (except Middle Child, who lives with us) took their homemade ornaments, except for the ones they made specifically for us. I'm glad that they were proud to display them on their own trees.
Thank you for the kind words and Merry Christmas!!! XO
I love the baby walnut Jesus. What a great friendship. It's good to see a photo of you Bijoux. Merry Christmas🧑🎄
ReplyDeleteThanks, Polly! I hope you enjoy your day tomorrow!
DeleteDid you ever think when you were that little kid that you would be OLD and day LOL. And look back with all these fond memories? The is a crazy story about the Baby Jesus in the walnut shell. I have some Christmas decor that was my moms. I also have some of her furniture.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful you daughter sang at St John the Divine. I sang at similar events when I was a teen as my mother was the choir directer at a church and my sister and I were drafted into the choir. But I always looked forward to the weekly practices and singing I always felt better afterwards. Like dancing I think it releases endorphins.
Allie of
www.allienyc.com
Nope, I never thought I’d be old! 🤣 People in their 50’s-60’s don’t seem old now! 🤣
DeleteI think you’re right about the endorphins while singing. I hope you’re having a wonderful week. XO
So great! Hilarious you both had the walnut ornaments. I'm so glad you figured out their likely origin. What a lucky girl you both are to have had each other all these years! Wonderful. And keeping the childhood ornaments is adorable and sweet. I kind of wish we had some of those too. We have a "My first Christmas" ornament for each of our kids with their pictures in them. I imagine we'll pass those along to them and hope they keep them forever too. ~Betsy/Ilsa
ReplyDeleteAwww, we also have the My first Christmas ornaments for our kids with their pictures. I did not give them those to take! I’m still enjoying them. Happy NewYear!
DeleteOh yeah. You've gotta hang on to those until your dying breath. :)
DeleteOr at least until I no longer have a Xmas tree!
DeleteHow beautiful that you keep a childhood friend, and also the decorations that you made when you were little, it was a very emotional post, Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and Happy New Year, Rebeca! Thanks for commenting.
DeleteBijoux and her Bestie .... Well, that's fantastic. You two look great. I loved reading this post. You sure put a smile on my grumpy face. Thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteThe year 2025 is knockin' on your door. Can you believe it?
Blue
I’m very glad you stopped by, Blue. And how has a quarter of a century passed by since Y2K?
DeleteWhat a fun little memory of those baby Jesus ornaments! I think it's impressive that you've both save them all of these years. I don't think my mom has any of our ornaments left. Maybe she tucked them into some baby books or something and I'll find them after she's gone. I do have a few that my daughter's made in school and think they are so fun to hang up year after year. The ones that have memories connected to them are always the best ornaments on the tree!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, my dear bloggy friend!
I agree that it’s the memories associated with the ornaments that make them so special. We have many from our travels. And yes, I did find so many of my childhood things when I cleaned out my parents’ condo last year. Wishing you a happy, healthy new year! XO
DeleteThat's wonderful that you're still besties after all these years! And that's so sweet that you have ornaments from childhood like that.
ReplyDeleteWe truly value our lifelong friendship.
DeleteWhat a great post about not only long lasting friendship, but also about sharing special memories. We also have some vintage family ornaments that are proudly displayed on our tree every holiday season. It was nice to see the photos of you and your bestie as well.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy seeing the pictures of your seasonal decor and that you have vintage items on display. Great memories!
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