Welcome to the January issue!

Happy 2016! I hope your holidays were filled with peace, love, and laughter – and some great family stories. In fact, if you celebrate Christmas with a tree, then I know you had memories hanging from each branch. What do I mean? You’ll find out below.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the Family Legacy Video® Producer’s e-Newsletter. Please e-mail me at steve@familylegacyvideo.com or phone toll-free (888.662.1294) with any questions or comments you have.

Cheers! – – Steve Pender
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Preserving evergreen Christmas memories.

It never ceases to amaze me; every year, no matter how Halina and I arrange the ornaments on our Christmas tree, the results are always beautiful!

Our collection of ornaments (like most, I suspect) is pretty eclectic. They range from childhood craft projects, like a faded glass ball featuring my name in glue and sparkles, to handmade and store-bought decorations acquired throughout our lives. Halina and I add one new ornament each year, usually one we find on vacation, like the wooden carving we bought years ago in a temple in Japan (see photo).

As we decorate our tree each year, I feel like I’m visiting with old friends. Each bauble rekindles memories – of times, places, people, events, sights, sensations, and feelings. More than just mere decorations bathed in the glow from the Christmas tree lights, they’re touchstones illuminating life stories from the past.

Wouldn’t this be a great subject for a legacy video? If your tree is still standing, you can set up a video camera and record yourself, or other family members, describing the stories attached to your ornaments. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you remember! If the tree is down and the trimmings are already packed away, plan on recording remembrances next year. When you eventually hand down some of your ornaments to your children and grandchildren, I’ll bet they’ll appreciate understanding the history behind your Christmas decorations – and appreciate them all the more for knowing.

– Steve Pender