Christmas In July

By Mark

Merry Christmas! It is July 25th and exactly six months until Christmas. Christmas here in Florida is pretty much the same as it is in December, just a touch warmer.

But, our favorite part of Christmas is something that happens all year for Chuck and me.

We have a nine-foot Christmas Tree that we decorate with ornaments we have collected from all over the world.

We LOVE pulling out all of our decorations, fixing a cocktail and some snacks and decorating the tree. We pull out each ornament and talk about where it came from and things we experienced while there.

Several people we have met traveling started the same thing.

Ornaments are small enough to work into your luggage while traveling. They don’t take up much space in your home, are relatively inexpensive souvenirs, and are pretty easy to find.

There have been places where we didn’t find anything that the city we were visiting. So, a few times we have resorted to key chains and bracelets (they hang nicely on the tree) or smaller decorations we can easily slip a hook through.

This year in Kenya, we found some beautiful pieces that reflected our travels, nearly all were key chains.

We found this piece at the Kazuri Bead Factory, where single Kenyan mothers make amazing hand details and painted beads for jewelry.

We also found a unique rainbow-colored beaded giraffe in the Great Riff Valley and a red, white blue and black beaded keychain.

I think our favorite from this trip would have to be this adorable leather, hand-tooled elephant.

We’ll be adding them to the collection and reminiscing about our incredible trip to Kenya.

What is it that you collect when you travel?