Oliver the Ornament

 

If you read my blog on a regular basis, you might recall a family tradition that I have written about before pertaining to our Christmas tree ornaments.

When I was a young girl we had an artificial Christmas tree that was set up in the formal living room (a room that the kids were not meant to be in EXCEPT Christmas morning). My sister, who is 8 years old than me, was in charge of setting up the tree and decorating it. I was never able to help out. It was “her” tree and she got to take care of it.

One year my mom decided that I could have my own tree to decorate, and that we could put it in the playroom/family room so that the kids can enjoy it. From that year onward, until I got married and moved away, my mom would take me to the tree lot to pick up a new, real, tree for the playroom/family room. In addition, she’d let me pick out a new ornament each year to hang on that tree.

The tradition of me receiving a new ornament for the tree carried on through adulthood, up until my mother passed away almost 16 years ago.

One year my mom was in the hospital for Christmas. So as not to take a break from tradition, my uncle let me pick out an ornament for the tree that year.

My mom even gifted both of my kids new ornaments each year up until she passed away. I even carried this tradition on with my kids. Each year we let the kids pick out a new ornament for the tree.

The “new ornament each year” tradition serves two different purposes. For one, it lets us reflect upon the ornaments as a family and share any special memories we have about it. It’s also a great way for your child/grandchild to build up their own ornament collection so when they grow up and move out on their own they have a nice set of ornaments to decorate their own tree.

We have ornaments on our tree that have seen better days, but we still hang them up because they are special to us. It doesn’t matter if the reindeer our son made out of Popsicle sticks is missing an eye, or that the flocking is rubbing off on the reindeer ornament my uncle let me buy that one year, or even if the ornament my 4th grade teacher gave me has been glued together more times than I can count – they are all special to us no matter how perfect, or imperfect, they are.

That is the premise behind a sweet story called Oliver the Ornament. The tag line for the story is that “Every ornament tells a story.” That is exactly what I was talking about earlier in this post. That is why each and every ornament that hangs from our family’s Christmas tree is special to us.

The book is written by  Todd Zimmermann and illustrated by Teddy Lu. 

Oliver the Ornament is a tale of one family’s cherished Christmas ornaments. The story centers on Oliver, who has been with this family since Mom and Dad’s very first date.Years later, Oliver, now injured and bullied, still has the magic of Christmas in his heart. The story follows Oliver’s excitement for Christmas, his heartbreak, and his determination to overcome all odds to save the day. Oliver, along with his friends, will warm hearts with his kindness, humility, and love for his family and friends.

This is a beautifully written story that can be enjoyed together as a family or as a bedtime story. It’s an easy reader so older children can read it on their own as well.

I love the whole story and how important special ornaments are to a family. It’s the kind of story that truly makes your heart smile.

The illustrations are beautiful and really bring the story to life. They way it’s illustrated make the story a bit “dreamy” (in a good way).

Oliver himself is SO CUTE. He’s such a darling little ornament. I can see why the mom and dad in the story wanted to make him a part of their Christmas tree.

Oliver the Ornament is sold on Amazon, as well as on the official Oliver the Ornament website. The story is sold as a gift set which includes a hardcover book and a super adorable Oliver the Ornament that you and your family can hand from your Christmas tree.

There are also other Oliver the Ornament products available including a book to record the memories behind the ornaments on your tree (to preserve those memories for generations to come), snow globe, puzzle and more. There is even another book available in the series. The series of books will focus on different ornaments on the tree and the stories behind them.

To learn more about Oliver the Ornament, visit OlivertheOrnament.com. The website also tells you about the other ornaments in the story (mini-biographies), which is a cute idea.

Oliver the Ornament can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. Those links are available on the official website (look at the bottom of the website).

What do you think of Oliver the Ornament? Do you have special ornaments on your family’s tree? Feel free to comment and share those ornament stories with me.

Kimberly

*I received a free product sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.