One of my favorite things about Christmas at Perch Home is watching families pick out ornaments. There is something about that part of the season that feels especially personal to me. People slow down. Kids take their time. Parents point things out. Everyone has an opinion.

And there is one tradition I especially love: letting each child choose one ornament every year.

Not the ornament you think is the prettiest. Not the one that matches your tree. Not the one you would have picked for them. Let them choose.

Sometimes they choose something beautiful. Sometimes they choose something completely ridiculous. A hamburger. A dinosaur. A dog wearing a sweater. Something covered in glitter that you would never, ever have brought home yourself.

Those are usually the best ones.

Write their name and the year on the box or tag, pack it away after Christmas, and then do it again the next year.

Over time, you end up with this funny little collection that tells the story of who they were at every age. There is the year they loved horses, the year they played soccer, the year they became obsessed with baking, the family trip they never stopped talking about, the first dog, the first apartment. And there is always that ornament they chose when they were seven that everyone still laughs about when it comes out of the box.

I love a beautiful Christmas tree. Obviously. I own a home store.

But the trees I really love are the ones that tell you something about the people who live there. The ones where everything does not match. Old ornaments are mixed with new ones. Handmade ornaments hang next to beautiful glass ones. There are a few slightly battered things that no one is ever allowed to throw away.

That feels like Christmas to me.

And here is the part of this tradition that gets me.

Someday, your child is going to have a Christmas tree of their own. And you are going to hand them a box.

Inside will be all those ornaments they chose over the years.

Their ornaments.

They will not be starting their first Christmas tree with a box of brand-new decorations from a store. They will already have a little bit of home with them. Maybe fifteen or twenty years of Christmases in one box.

I think that is such a lovely gift to give someone without really realizing you are giving it.

We see families do this at Perch Home every Christmas, and I never get tired of it. Kids take the decision very seriously. Parents sometimes try to gently steer them toward something a little more tasteful. The child ignores them completely. As they should.

One of the things I am most grateful for, though, is when someone tells me that coming to Perch Home is how they kick off the holidays. Or they say, “Christmas doesn’t really start until we come to Perch.”

I cannot tell you how much that means to me.

After all these years, knowing that Perch has become part of someone else’s family holiday tradition is incredibly special. Maybe they come in every year to choose an ornament. Maybe they bring their children. Maybe they meet a friend, have a coffee, wander through the store and just let themselves get into the Christmas spirit.

That is exactly what I have always wanted Perch to be. Not just a place where you come to buy something, but a place connected to the little rituals and memories that make the holidays feel like the holidays.

We fill the shop with hundreds of ornaments every year because I want there to be something that feels like you. Something beautiful, something funny, something nostalgic, something a little strange. Something that reminds you of a person, a place, a pet, a hobby, a trip, or just a particular moment in your life.

That is also why I think ornaments make such wonderful gifts. They are small, but they can be incredibly personal. A new baby, a first house, a favorite dog, a newlywed Christmas, a big trip, a new hobby — there are so many moments you can mark with one little ornament.

And then, unlike so many other gifts, it comes back every year.

If you do not already have this tradition in your family, start this year. It does not matter how old your children are. It does not even have to be for a child!Pick one with your husband, your sister, your best friend, your grandchild. Buy one to remember a trip. Buy one because it makes you laugh. Buy one for yourself.

Put the year on it.Someday, you will be very glad you did.

That is what I love most about ornaments. At first, they are just little things hanging in a shop. And then somehow, over time, they become part of your family.And if Perch Home gets to be a small part of that story, I am very grateful.

— Michele
Owner, Perch Home