My halls are decked, my tree is up, my gift-shopping is nearly done. I'm a tad early on all my Christmas tasks this year as Jim and I will be out of town next weekend — sharing Christmas joy with our grandsons! (Woot!)

Because much of my holiday prep is prepped, I've been fortunate to have a few spare moments in the past few days to sit and sip my coffee while adoring my tree. And I do adore it... despite it seeming to look exactly the same each and every year regardless of how many ornaments we put on it, whether sans ribbon or candy canes or a string of cranberry-like beads or not.

As I rocked around, er, nearby the tree Saturday morning, coffee cup in hand, I was compelled to snap a few shots of my tree trinkets to share with you. Because they make my heart smile.

Every ornament we own, not just those above, has a story. Two in particular in this batch are especially meaningful: The tiny stocking marked Jimmy is an ornament from Jim's childhood trees. This is its 35th appearance on our tree. The ornament of three angels in the bathtub is one we gave Jim's mom many, many years ago. It originally had the names of our girls written on it — Brianna, Megan, Andrea — and it hung in a place of prominence on Granny's tree each year. When Granny passed away, the ornament with worn-away names was added to our Christmas-y collection.

Decorating the house at the holidays can be an overwhelming chore now that Jim and I do it alone, without our daughters to help us. Having the many tangible memories of Christmases past on display, though, certainly makes it all worth while.

What ornaments on your Christmas tree bring a smile to your heart?