The Great Ornament Wars

Too bad, Marilouise, Your Mother Gave Them to Me

Around Mother's big, old kitchen table they'd sit,
Armed with beads and pins and crafting wit,
Sisters who could've led armies to war,
With needles flashing and pins galore!

Mother wielded scissors like samurai blades,
Aunt Emma’s precision pins never strayed,
Aunt Maymie's beading strategy divine,
While Aunt Katie's sequin work would shine.

"Your pearls are crooked!" one aunt would cry,
While another would dramatically sigh,
"Those sequins are placed completely wrong!"
As the crafting battle trudged along.

They'd trained for years in crafting combat,
Each sister a general, fierce at that,
Their weapons: needles, thread, and paste,
In this yuletide arms race!

Sister Elizabeth Jane with her perfect crystal chains,
Cousin Mabeline counting everyone's mistakes with pains,
"You're doing it wrong!" "That's not the way!"
"Your satin wrapping's gone astray!"

Strategic alliances would form and break,
Over whose design took the Christmas cake,
"I learned this technique in '42!"
"Well, I perfected it in '52!"

The dining room table: their battlefield vast,
Where heated glue pots were steadfast,
Each sister defending her crafting throne,
In tones that could chill right to the bone!

Pricked fingers, tears, and scattered beads,
Tales of sabotage and crafting misdeeds,
"Someone switched my gold for silver!"
As tempers rose and voices quivered.

Mother's secret weapon: her glue pot brew,
Aunt Bethanne's specialty: the perfect blue,
Aunt Marijane's beading put stars to shame,
While Aunt Kitty's designs brought her fame.

Year after year, the drama grew,
Each ornament sparked a family coup,
These sisters, fierce as generals true,
Fighting wars with pearls and blue!

Till one clever cousin (that would be me),
Plotted the greatest heist to be!
Through bribes and trades and cunning deals,
Each precious bauble I'd quietly steal.

Now they're mine, these spoils of war,
These beautiful baubles I so adore,
Each one a battle trophy bright,
From years of family crafting fights!

Don't ask to touch them, don't even try,
Each one holds a memory, a tear, a cry,
Of kitchen table battles long ago,
Where sisterly love mixed with Christmas glow.

These satin-wrapped orbs of family lore,
Tell tales of Christmas battles galore,
And though they sparked such wonderful strife,
They're now my treasures, locked up for life!

P.S. - No, Joyce Louise, you still can't have them back!
P.P.S. - And yes, I know exactly which sister made which one!

Dear Friends who've stopped by to read this tale of familial warfare and crafting glory - thank you for joining me in this celebration of vintage Christmas crafting. Whether you come from a family of traditional artisans yourself, or simply enjoy watching others' loving chaos from a safe distance, I hope this brought a smile to your face. These aren't just decorations - they're family history wrapped in satin and suspended by thread, crafted in an era when making something this beautiful required true skill and patience.

May your own holiday traditions be equally memorable, though perhaps with fewer singed fingers from those treacherous glue pots. And if you happen to see any vintage Herrschners ornament kits at garage sales... no, don't tell me. I absolutely do NOT need to start another collection! Sequins, Gloria