It was a magical wedding weekend in Medora, North Dakota 28 years ago. I was with my boyfriend, now husband, at the time and was more than thrilled to be invited to his sister and future brother-in-law's wedding. They were married in an amphitheater with Elk running in the hills behind them. The September weather was cool during the day but really cold at night for this Southern Louisiana girl! I didn't mind. I was in love and so excited to be part of something really special as Jill and Tom got married. At the end of the wedding, the family asked me to join them for photos. We weren't engaged. We had only been dating 9 months. I knew right then and there I was making a choice to be a part of his amazing life. It was a moment I wanted to remember but how? Surely not with a t-shirt that would eventually get worn out. What about a travel spoon? I'm not one to like clutter so the thought of spoons everywhere made my head spin. It was then I saw it. The store that would make such a difference in my life. The Christmas Store! I knew right then I wanted to collect ornaments from the places I travel as a way to remember them. My first travel tree ornament was a cowboy holding a Medora sign made out of dough.

A travel tree was not quite what I had in mind when I bought that ornament but as the years passed by, the kids came and we traveled to more and more places....well, the travel ornaments started to dominate the tree. The kids, who hated decorating for the holidays, actually helped to decorate this tree because they loved seeing the various ornaments and chatting about the memories. This time was precious in the midst of holiday chaos! Even today as the kids are grown, they enjoy looking at the travel tree ornaments and telling their favorite stories of each trip we took.

There are great benefits to the travel tree. Ornaments are small and easy to store. They don't take up much room in your suitcase either. They represent memories that you can share for generations. You can't shrink or outgrow an ornament! And best of all, since you only see them once a year, you get a lot of joy seeing them even if you've had them for 28 years! Opening the box of travel tree ornaments is like opening the door to an old friend.