11/12/2025
I made the mistake of watching one reel in bewilderment and now my algorithm is flooded with carefully not-too-polished women telling me we need to "normalize" not buying a whole new set of ornaments every year for Christmas to have a fully new coordinated tree based on that year's trends. Uh.
Can ... we go a step farther and say that buying a whole new set of ornaments for your tree each year is BANANAS AND NO ONE DOES THAT?
Let's normalize half your ornaments missing appendages/heads/definitely at least 1 wing, being covered in glitter glue and pieces of felt, being from your childhood and your spouse's childhood and whatever scraps you're picking up since moving in together and along your children's childhoods. Let's normalize Christmas trees being magpie nests of our unpredictable pasts, full of "other man's trash" but our treasures.
My three favorite ornaments, for the record: a small wooden nativity scene, but the cradle and baby Jesus came unglued sometime in the last 40 years and are just missing, so all the wise men and animals are kneeling in a circle and staring into a void; a grimacing plastic Santa who is terrifying and the butt of many family jokes growing up; and a giant, heavy glass purple blow fish that makes zero sense as an ornament (it slowly bends any branch it hangs on and is an incredible eyesore) that my husband got for me from Pier 1 after we saw it in a window display walking by and cracked up over its accompanying hot tip "cool gift idea!" giant tag. (We obviously incorporated the tag permanently with the ornament.)
Anyway here's the first session I shot for Cambridge-based, mom-owned kids' clothing company .lane at . I just fricking LOVE the colors and materials of everything they sell, it is a dream to photograph.
