Thursday, December 10, 2009

The Great Ornament Debate

So I joined Kate's ornament party on Tuesday and it was so much fun to share some of my favorite ornaments with you all. I'm linking to Rhoda's "Home for the Holiday's" party this morning.

Today, I will be sharing an ornament with you that has caused a great deal of controversy in the T household.

When T and I were married a little over 8 years ago, his mother was kind enough to gift us with a Tupperware bin of ornaments that belonged to T.

T had several elderly relatives who gifted he and his siblings with an ornament each Christmas. I'm sure that as a child, T would have appreciated a new He-Man action figure more than a silver-plated choo-choo train ornament.

As his new wife, that year I greatly appreciated having a whole tupperware box of beautiful gold and silver ornaments like this one for our first tree:

Until I got to the bottom of the box and found this:
Yeah, that's right. A crocheted Big Bird head as big as the palm of my hand. Highly visible from anywhere in the front of the tree. With giant googly eyes that follow you around the living room like some sort of strung-out Mona Lisa.

T could care less about anything I put on the tree. In fact, he makes sure to take a lazy and indifferent casual approach to Christmas decorating. Pregnant or not, every year for 7 years, I brave the rickety attic stairs and lug boxes and boxes of decorations down to the first floor of our home. This year was the first year T did that for me...I think he sensed a blog post with his name in it coming on.

Anyways, he makes a studied attempt to ignore me as I string lights on the tree, muttering to myself. He looks around me to see Monday Night Football as I gingerly hang some of our my cherished ornaments on the tree. He does his best to ignore the festivities...

Until he notices that the Big Bird head is conspicuously absent.

"Hey! Where's my Big Bird ornament?" he demands indignantly.

"Um, I don't know." I reply, studiously averting my gaze from the storage box in which I buried BB beneath some old tissue paper.

You see, BB is (unfortunately) T's most favorite ornament and the only ornament he is even remotely interested in.

BB is always found and triumphantly waved over T's head like a banner of Christmas hideousness while I cringe and plot its demise.

Then the Great Ornament Debate begins.

T always argues that BB deserves a place of honor front and center.

I am of the opinion that as I am the one who does all the decorating, gift buying, gift making, baking, and general holiday merriment-making, I should get to decide where BB will spend December...the back of the tree, near the bottom, where a small child or dog might be tempted to carry him off.

One year, T and I spent each day on secret missions to covertly move BB to various locations on the tree. I came home from work to find that T had wired BB to a branch near the top of the tree.

No matter...I found a pair of scissors and cut the branch off. Oh, it was on.

And it's still on.

BB is currently resting at the front of the tree near the bottom. He doesn't know it yet, but he has orders to move today while T is at work. I'm thinking somewhere in the back near the closed-up heating vent.

Can someone "tell me how to get to Sesame Street," 'cause I think Big Bird needs to head on over there?
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25 comments:

  1. LOL! I love the way you told the story! We have a few ornaments that have significance to one of us, and the other doesn't care for ... but none of them are quite as big. Or YELLOW. Can you leave BB in front but somehow camouflage him? Tuck him into a loop of garland or hide him behind another ornament?

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  2. haha.....we have some of those types hanging around here, too.....makes it a fun month, doesn't it??? :)
    Suzanne

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  3. Hahahaa oh this cracks me up b/c J and I do this every year over his Star Wars ornaments UGH. They are always hidden at the back of the tree but he always puts forth a good argument for the front...my argument is just better!

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  4. Oh, how funny. My dad had an ornament like that, except it was this resin bunny playing a fiddle. My mom hated that thing! I will take your side on this one! Maybe you can get a small tree for the kids and it can go on there? Good luck!

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  5. Hilarious!!! That is one ugly bird, maybe one of the girls will fall in love w/ it & demand to have it thus keeping it off the tree & eventually forgotten in the bottom of the toy box somewhere, haha!

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  6. Oh my word... you are such a crack up!!! My hubby and I do things like this to each other too... love this post.

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  7. Oh my gosh that is too funny! - thanks for sharing

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  8. So funny!
    My husband is the same way about Christmas decorating - he says nothing until he realizes I haven't put any of his (ugly) ornaments on the tree. Then he's suddenly all about decorating the tree ;)

    I have a BB on my tree - but he's part of really cool, really old set of Sesame Street ornaments from my childhood, and I adore it :)

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  9. My dad has an ornament like this-- an old, log cabin looking thing that is falling apart and actually smells like rotted cedar. He makes my mom put it on the tree every year. I usually hide it when I come to visit, but somehow, he finds it.

    ~Elizabeth
    http://confessionsfromaworkingmom.blogspot.com

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  10. That is hilarious! My hubby gets just about as involved {NOT} as yours with the decorating but I'm actually thankful for that. :-)
    Love the BB ornament war going on, too cute.

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  11. LOL! What a fun post...
    There was a Strawberry Shortcake figurine last Christmas that all my 20 something nieces moved around to a new spot. Fun times. Enjoy the tug of war...

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  12. That's hysterical! It makes me very happy that my husband didn't have any ornaments left to him LOL

    rue

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  13. Too funny! To us though, not to you, huh!!? :)
    Fortunately my hubby doesn't care how I decorate for the holidays and although he came in to marriage with more collections than anyone I know!, at least it didn't include ornaments!!
    How 'bout hanging it off of his side of the bedpost, maybe you could hang BB in the middle of a wreath and hang it off of the back/front of a door in the house -does he have a "man room" or maybe the inside garage door...
    Hope that helps :)

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  14. Hilarious! Now I'm definitely going to have to post a pic of the "Santa Bodybuilder" figurine that I just HAD to put out on display (again) this Christmas...I kid you not ;)

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  15. what is it with men and ugly ornaments? i asked sam to help me pick one when we went to gatlinburg. In the midst of all thse beautiful things - he picked this God-awful circle made of bark with two anorexic bears on it. the only reason he put it back is because i said for the rest of our lives i was going to pull it out and show him the heinousness that he chose to symbolize our trip haaahahaha i'm horrible!

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  16. So, so funny. Oh, my goodness, you made me laugh.

    Sounds like one of your favorite Christmas traditions is the great Big Bird Ornament "Exchange." To tell the truth, it sounds like a fun fight!

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  17. hahahaha, FANTASTIC story. I started cracking up at the office. Couldn't help myself.

    Hope that you and T have a wonderful holiday!

    If you get a chance, stop by my blog today and enter my children's Christmas book giveaway.
    http://smallhomebigstart.blogspot.com/2009/12/gift-ideas-for-kids-gift-of-reading.html

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  18. So funny! I agree with you...if you decorate you get to decide EVERYTHING. Also, if you do laundry, you make decisions too. Oh so we want to wear those ugly 1994 umbro shorts that should have died many moons ago? Oh I dont know where they are! Merry Christmas!

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  19. I gasped when I scrolled down as I was reading this! Actually for real out loud gasped......girl,I am so on YOUR side!

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  20. Now that's funny! I must say, that's a pretty bad rendition of BB! My MIL made me some plastic canvas ornaments our first year...luckily, Craig thought they were as ugly as I did. Of course, his mom puts up a 2 ft cheap fake tree on top of a speaker, with some of said plastic canvas ornaments and calls it Christmas. That's the extent of her decorating. Oh, did I mention that the tree SPINS?!

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  21. Amanda, how cute!!! ANd funny, I'm with you, move that ole' big bird out of there in a less conspicuous spot. He wouldn't make it on my tree either! THanks for joining the party. Merry Christmas to you & thanks for being such a faithful reader!!

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  22. ROFL!!! That is all I have to say
    teri

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  23. LOL. I am so glad you made your own family tradition by a traveling BB (true love still exists) Many more happy Christmass to you both!

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