2020 Christmas Ornament

In our household, it has become a tradition for my kids to receive ornaments at the beginning of December to represent the year in some way.

I saw a tiny, fluffy white owl that I immediately knew my daughter would love. It really didn’t have much to do with 2020, but I didn’t want to look for a Covid-19 ornament, as festive as that might have been.

Like so many of us can attest to, what we see on a store website does not always translate into what actually appears at our doorstep in a box. This tiny, fluffy white owl ended up being GINORMOUS (the size of a large hand) with wide, somewhat disproportionate googly eyes, giving it the overall appearance of a very anxious if not clinically crazed large owl. The picture below fails to do it any justice.

I considered tossing it and ordering something else for my daughter, but I knew she would appreciate it. She loves all creatures no matter what they look like, and when she saw this not-so-little white ball of fluff with huge googly eyes she said: “It’s perfect for 2020.”

After my initial shock over its appearance faded, I took some time to look more deeply at this ornament and started to empathize with this poor creature. I think it reflects what we all feel, deep down, which is wanting to display some semblance of put-togetherness while feeling a bit unhinged, anxious, and confused.

I definitely feel your pain, Christmas ornament!