A hella long time ago, Chatty Cricket asked me what family traditions we were going to pass on to Alliclaus.

Neither my family nor Andiclaus' have a lot of traditions. In Andiclus' family, the birthday boy or girl got to pick the family dinner, but that's about it.

But my extended family, otherwise known as my not-really family, had a tradition that we have adopted as our own.

Meet the family ornament. It's the first one on and the last one off the tree every year. And every family member who can possibly be there has a hand in it. Or on it, as the case may be.

This picture was actually staged. Sarah and Joshiclaus actually helped put it on, but we couldn't take a picture without someone pushing the button.

Our family ornament is made from jewelry that belonged to Sarah's mom (Joy). The year I married was also the year she died. Since it was her family that introduced the tradition to me, I loved the idea of having her ornament be our family ornament.

This also belonged to Joy. We call her the 70s angel. While she is crazy tacky, I love the thought of my kids thinking I'm embarrassing because of this angel.

We bought this (Hallmark) ornament for Alliclaus last year. It was the first in a series they were doing. We'll buy one for her every year, until the series is done. I like the idea of her having some ornaments to take with her when she leaves home.

So there you have it. Our Christmas tradition.