Well, we did it. We made it through to another year. I hope you got something wonderful to add to your personal collections this year. I did something for my daughter this year that would have made my mother proud, it made my daughter cry. I gave my daughter my mother’s shoe collection to her for Christmas.
My mother was an avid collector. I’ve talked about my mother’s angel collection, but one of the other things she collected was tiny shoes. I don’t mean the kind you can actually wear on your feet. My mother had a knack for finding trinkets that looked like shoes. She had crystal high-heeled shoes, a pin cushion that looked like a Victorian boot, a shoe-shaped soap from Avon that came out in the 1970s, and even a tiny replica of a shoe worn by ancient Chinese women. My baby girl (she’s 32) bawled her eyes out.
One of the things I’ve realized is that children have a fascination with the things collected by their elders. As a child, my grandmother had a thing for bud vases. She had some of the most beautiful bud vases I’d ever seen. To this day, whenever I see one, I think of her. I actually have one of her vases in my china hutch that I’ll pass on to one of my children someday.
Another thing I did this year, that I’ve only done a couple of times before, is to crochet little keepsakes for my co-workers and a few friends. I love to crochet, but it’s very time-consuming. I found a pattern for a tiny Christmas stocking tree ornament. They’re so easy to make and it’s something that everyone can hang on their trees for years to come. I think I’m going to make that my new Christmas tradition.
I also managed to get my son-in-law something for his collection. He is a huge fan of the original Star Wars movie. In the past five years, I’ve managed to find him something for his collection that blew his mind. The first year he came to Christmas, my daughter told me he was a Star Wars fan. I looked everywhere for something, anything, that would make him smile. I didn’t have much time, a couple of days at best, but I did it. I went into one of our local pawn shops and found an old, Darth Vader bank made back in the late 70s/early 80s. He was in shock. This year, I found him a Star Wars beer stein still in the box. I thought he was going to cry too.
Though I didn’t get anything to add to any of my collections, I still had an amazing holiday season. I got to watch my kids cry and smile at the same time. I got to make my co-workers and friends little things that will stay with them for years to come, and I got to pass on memories that will live on for another generation.
I can’t wait to see where this year will take us on our collective journeys. I’m hoping to share more of my collecting ideas and habits as this year wears on. What do you collect? Did you get anything for the holidays that was meant for your collections? I’d love to hear about it.
This new year, I hope you all embark on your own collective journeys. I hope you find joy in both the collecting and the hunt as well.
Until next time,
Happy Collecting!!!
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Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs two blogs, Graves Publications and Collected Keepsakes. She currently writes for a platform called Medium.com and runs several publications through them.
Christine is also an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she’s opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past.
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