< by Jill >
My great-grandmother had fine taste. When I visited her home as a child, I knew instinctively to look with my eyes and not with my hands. Keeping drool in check, I ogled crystal vases, diamond-encrusted jewelry, and giant, flamingo-pink Christmas ornaments.
When my great-grandmother passed away, all of her things went into boxes. Then, one day, all of the relatives roamed around the house, opening boxes, rummaging through the contents, and laying claim to them. As the youngest of the family, I did not have claiming power. However, my mom did — and my mom also has fine taste.
After moseying through the main floor and into the basement, my mom happened upon a cluster of cube-shaped boxes. Each box had five walls of heavyweight cardboard and one sturdy flap that opened to reveal a giant, flamingo-pink Christmas ornament. With confident pen swipes, my mom labeled each box SJK.
When the day of labeling ended, all the cube-shaped boxes went home with SJK. For many years since, the contents within have decorated our Christmas tree, reminding us of great-grandma, a woman of fine taste.
a breakfast serial 
lovely! I have a few boxes of beautiful baubles which I am trying to create a tradition with. I hope my children feel the same about them as SJK did with her mother’s.
As a kid, I loved the ornaments because they were pink and abnormally huge. It took many years for me to attach memories and significance to them, but that’s sort of how it goes when you grow up. I’m sure your kids will gradually begin to see the baubles for their beauty as well as what they embody.