The Pickle Present and Propsal

Today over at The Webbisodes the ever-festive queen of all elf bloggers, Shannon, is hosting a little tree trimming party. You'll find it not at all shocking that I couldn't get my act together to take appropriate photos of my trimmed tree to share the way all the other bloggers are, but I'm particpating, still, by showcasing not all of my favorite ornaments, but the most favorite and most significant one that hangs on my tree. 

The pickle...

Before meeting Mr. W  I never knew the story of the Christmas Pickle - how German families would give a special gift to the child who found the pickle hidden in the Christmas tree. On the first Christmas we celebrated together when we were dating, I'd hidden the pickle ornament and left a gift for Mr. W to open on Christmas morning while I was away in Tennessee. The next year, it was his turn to hide the ornmanet for me to find.  One night, two years ago, while watching It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. W paused the movie and told me if I could find the pickle in the tree, I could get an early gift. When I finally found the pickle, a diamond ring was hanging on it!

This Christmas, the pickle has yet to be hidden - it's Mr. W's turn again - but it's hanging by this year's new addition to our tree - our monogram (I picked those up at Hobby Lobby while shopping with the fabulous Whitney and Sarah Beth). 

What is the favorite thing hanging on your tree?