Christmas Tips

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to touch your life in a very special way? They are the people that from the first time you meet them you know that you have just made a friend. I was blessed with this kind of relationship with one of my dearest friends. She is very giving and caring. It is no great surprise that one of her hobbies is making and also collecting angels. The first year I knew her she gave me an angel Christmas decoration that she had made. It was made with wooden beads and buttons and had a very sweet cherub face. She had made several of the beautiful decorations for a craft sale fund raiser we had at church. It was helping at this fund raiser that I found out that she collects angels.

As I was helping set out the donated craft items for display I mentioned to another church member that my friend had given me an angel Christmas decoration. This other women mentioned that my friend makes a different angel Christmas decoration each year. These ornaments are usually the first things sold at the craft sale because several people in our parish collect them. The craft sale went very well. We made money that is used for various parish functions throughout the year. My friend donates two full days for running this bake and craft sale.

A few days after the craft sale I went Christmas shopping. I came upon a kiosk that was selling crystal ornaments. They had a beautiful angel Christmas decoration. The angel was clear with gold edging along the wings and halo. She was holding a candle. The flame of the candle was also edged in gold. The crystal sparkled and refracted what ever color was near it. I decided that I would buy the angel Christmas decoration for my friend from church. It would be a nice thank you gift for the amount of time she donated to our fund raiser.

The worker at the kiosk wrapped the ornament beautifully in gold gift wrap and embellished it with sparkly ribbon that had starts on it. The name of the shop was gifts from heaven, which I thought was very fitting for this wonderful friend of mine.

I stopped at her house on my way home from shopping to give her the angel Christmas decoration so she could put it on her tree for the season. She cried when opened it and put it on a display hook among her angel collection. I left her house feel warm and happy about the gift I had presented her.

When my mother first told me that she wanted a table top Christmas tree this year I was a little surprised. I immediately imagined a miniature holiday tree with miniature decorative ornaments sitting about one or two feet in height. While this seems like a great thing for a child I was a little taken back that an adult would want such an item.

Mom’s hints kept getting a little more and more obvious as the weeks went by. Her birthday is right after Thanksgiving and she usually wants at least one of her kids to give her a holiday-related ornament or decoration for her home. She has a great collection and I just figured that the unusual hint for a table top Christmas tree was just the beginning of a new menagerie of Christmas decorations for the home.

That was until I discovered what exactly she meant by a table top Christmas tree. I was thinking of the traditional holiday evergreen but she was talking about something entirely different. Once she brought the famous artist Thomas Kinkade into the conversation about her table top Christmas tree I began to think that I had the wrong idea.

I know that she is a big fan of Thomas Kinkade but I had no idea what he had to do with her recent mentioning of the table top Christmas tree. Once my visit at my mother’s house was over I decided to check out what was available on the Internet. I was really surprised and pleased by what I discovered.

Thomas Kinkade has a line of different products available during the holiday season. His art is of timeless beauty. His work always reminded me of Impressionist paintings but with a country charm that can not be reproduced. In his new holiday collection is a selection of table top Christmas trees that are truly remarkable.

I knew from the moment that I saw them that they must be the items Mom has been going on and on about. There are quite a few to choose from but I think that I have the table top Christmas tree that I am going to purchase for my mother narrowed down to just three. This was not an easy task by any means. Each table top Christmas tree is lovely.

The trees are made of porcelain and each has beautiful detail that tells a story. I probably will choose the nativity theme for my mother’s first Thomas Kinkade table top Christmas tree. I guess that I shouldn’t worry about which one I choose. No matter what she will love it and I’m sure that this table top Christmas tree will be the first of many in the years to come.