Celebrating My Love Affair With Galveston Island . . .
Christmas on The Strand - Where It's Always Christmas
I began collecting Christmas tree ornaments when we got married – almost 27 years ago.
Each summer, I make a stop at Christmas on The Strand located on The Strand and hunt for new treasures. Always top of my list are black dogs, pirates, nautical, and of course, firefighters.
The shop, which has been around about 30 years, is family owned. I like that.
Our tree’s decorations are made up almost entirely of glass ornaments, and it takes me roughly 11 hours to put up (that doesn’t include the unboxing and sorting I do the night before). Our tree is an annual giant breakable scrapbook of our life together. Everywhere we’ve traveled, we have an ornament commemorating it. Seriously, one can only have so many T-shirts.
There are ornaments celebrating milestones in our lives, our individual interests, and some we just thought were pretty. There are also ornaments that were gifts from family and friends.
When our grandchildren came along, ornaments were added to celebrate their births, then as they grew, their interests. There are also ornaments honoring every pet our family has had.
I couldn’t begin to guess how many ornaments I’ve bought at Christmas on The Strand over the years, but I’m not done yet! Here's a look at our Christmas tree.
