A time capsule Christmas ornament is not a tradition I grew up with. It’s just something I accidentally started one year shortly after I was married and it’s a tradition that my own does carry on and it apparently resonates with others!
Something interesting happened last week. I gave a live tour of my home all decorated for the holidays over on Facebook. And while it was fun to show everyone the pieces of Christmas that are important to me, that wasn’t the interesting part. The interesting part was when I showed this ornament.
I casually mentioned that this was our official First Christmas Together ornament but what made it so special is that it’s actually a time capsule. What was interesting was when I showed my 9 year old son the Holiday Home Tour video and he exclaimed, “That ornament is a time capsule?”
Unbeknownst to me, he went home and immediately found the ornament and read the scroll inside that detailed how we spent our first Christmas together. And then I blew his mind again.
“This one is also a time capsule. Wanna see?”
It was another ornament that we had bought to commemorate 2003 and I wrote a little summary of our year and placed it inside. He loved hearing our history and I loved sharing it with him.
I love ornaments that tell a story or share a memory. It’s part of what makes our Christmas tree so special every year. We often collect ornaments from places we’ve traveled: Haiti, Paris, Disney, Solvang (you’ll have to Google that last one!). And this year we’re bringing a piece of Rwanda to our tree.
This beautiful Limited Edition ornament comes from Macy’s Gifts That Give Hope line (which has sadly been discontinued). I’ve long been a supporter of their Heart of Haiti and Rwanda Path to Peace, usually including one of their artisan crafted products in my Gifts That Give Back gift guide.
Years ago, I had the chance to interview Willa Shalit, the woman who has helped make this program possible. In 2005, Shalit showed the baskets to executives at Macy’s who committed to sell them and to go into business with the weavers in Rwanda. Macy’s offered them a hand up, not a handout.
By supporting products like these, especially at the holidays, you’re helping artisans learn to compete in a global marketplace. Call it purposeful gifting. Over the years, we’ve purchased many of the hand woven and colorful baskets from Rwanda as well as the hand-hammered and carved, repurposed steel items from Haiti to complement our home decor.
Because this one is an actual working basket, it’s the perfect container for this year’s time capsule Christmas ornament. Here’s how you get started.
How to Start a Time Capsule Christmas Ornament
Make sure it’s dated!
You can make your own time capsule Christmas ornament or simply buy an ornament that has some sort of commemoration of the year that it was purchased. I love the beautiful red ribbon on our ornament that not only tells the year, but also the country of origin.
Make sure it has a secure place to store your time capsule note.
Believe it or not, this is a working basket! You’ll see that it has small threads that keep the lid attached to the basket so that the two can never separate but it also opens and closes securely (even when it’s hanging on the tree).
Add a note and hang on the tree!
I recommend using a small piece of paper (maybe post-it note size). In your own handwriting, add a summary of the year. Some things to include:
- How old are your kids and what grade are they in? What did they achieve this year?
- Where did you travel as a family or even for work?
- Were there any major life changes? (e.g., new baby, new dog, new house, job change)
- What was the pulse of the country and what were the big stories in the news?
Read and reminisce!
Once you’ve started the tradition, you can add to it every year! I like the idea of a buying a new ornament commemorating the year and since Macy’s is celebrating 10 years of success with their Rwanda program, it’s a pretty safe bet that you can get your next ornament there next year.
Just remember that every time you make a purchase, you have an opportunity to make a difference. Buying products like Macy’s Rwanda Path to Peace that give hope and employment to women is a way to make sure your hard-earned dollars are making a difference!
***
Meet some of the women behind this program, see the weaving process, and learn more about Macy’s Rwanda Path to Peace here.
1 comment
I love the idea of using my Rwanda ornament as a time capsule! Each of our ornaments hold special memories from the places we got them but jotting down a little bit about this moment in time and putting it inside my Path to Peace ornament is such a great idea! And I totally know where Solvang is! We used to stop there often during our drives to and from Southern CA as a family and always buy cookies from the amazing bakeries in town!