A few months ago, my Grandma had a brilliant idea for her Christmas tree. She wanted missionary tag ornaments, one tag for each mission served. We brainstormed a bit and finally came up with the final project above. So far, we have 31 missions served on six continents, literally all over the world. These missionary tags include those who have married into the family, couples missions, and missionary presidency callings. I think about half of my cousins are still in high school or younger, so we have many more tags to make over the years. We will keep adding to it and watch it grow. I loved working on this project and am so grateful that my Grandma asked me to participate.
Each tag was printed on photo paper and made using Photoshop, measuring about 2.5 by 3.5 inches. I saved my files, so as new missionaries serve, I just have to edit the text and print more of them out. I cut each tag and mounted them on some thick cardstock using a thin layer of Modge Podge to adhere and seal the top of the tag. The silver twine is attached with a dab of hot glue on the back.
The family's first mission was served in 1899.
Scanned photos of my Grandma's finished tree. I love how it turned out!
When I mailed off the tags to my Grandma, I added a gold starburst (seen on the right hand side of the picture above) to represent my aunt, Mary Ann, who passed away unexpectedly this year. We know that she is serving her own mission now, one that knows no country or city boundaries. A bittersweet Christmas without her here, but we know she would love this tree.
