As a child, I recall one of the first traditions of Christmas that my family would always celebrate was the ornament tree.

It seems like such a simple thing now, but that piece of cloth with its 24 pouches at the bottom each holding one of those ornaments was the highlight of the month. Every day I came home from school with the anticipation of putting up the next ornament.

Everyone in the house would also use the ornament hanging as a chance to come together and talk about our day and share the feeling that one has of community and family during the holidays. That’s the tradition that has always stuck with me no matter how old I get.