25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - Day 13

Today's ornament has a story and is a perfect example of why I wanted to record the stories behind our ornaments.
I remember watching Home Alone 2 in high school and hearing Mr. E.F. Duncan, Owner Duncan's Toy Chest tell Kevin to take two turtle doves. "I'll tell you what you do: you keep one, and you give the other one to a very special person. You see, Turtle Doves are a symbol of friendship and love. And as long as each of you has your Turtle Dove, you'll be friends forever.

I bought a pair of turtle doves that year and gave one to my friend Becky. Now every year I put my white turtle dove on the tree, I think of her and the years and years of memories we share.

Fast forward a decade and I bought a second pair of turtle doves. On one of them I replaced the string with an orange ribbon before placing it in the box to give to my friend Jennifer. I have been blessed in my life to be surrounded by great friends and these two ornaments symbolize that.

Speaking of friends, I've had several requests to see pictures from the night I had a group of friends over to decorate gingerbread houses.

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked because of how busy I was constructing a house for my kids to decorate and getting dinner on the table, but I won't soon forget how much fun it was to have a house full of friends, their kids, and a whole lotta candy!