I've been collecting Christmas decorations since I was a teenager. I was so excited when I got my own place in Hawaii, because I got to get out the decorations for the first time. (That is, I was busy being a pediatrics intern, so Mom visited a month before Christmas and got out all the decorations for me.) I didn't realize how many knickknacks and whatnot I had accumulated over the years, and putting them away was such a daunting task that the decorations were not taken down and boxed up until I moved from Hawaii two and a half years later.
And put out 100 nativities.
Answer: You open a box from nativity storage and you don't recognize the nativity. The box was opened but the figures had never been unwrapped. I swear I have never seen this one before. I don't know where it came from. I don't know if it was a gift or if I bought it or if the Magic Nativity Elves made it one night when I was sleeping. Regardless, I love it and so I put it out this year. (BTW, if I received it as a gift from someone reading this, I'm sorry I didn't remember the wonderful gesture. It's one of my favorite gifts ever. Thank you.)
This one I bought as a gift for someone else but I loved it so much I kept it for myself rather than exemplify the true meaning of the season. Merry Christmas to me.
I think one of the reasons that I love decorating for Christmas so much is that every decoration brings back a flood of memories. This one I got last year when Mom and Dad visited me over Dad's birthday:
We found it at a cute little Christmas store overlooking Puget Sound in Gig Harbor. It was such a fun weekend and I loved that they would drive up to see me for just a weekend.
I'm excited to see what memories will be associated with these decorations in the future. It's one of the many reasons that I love the Christmas season.