For photographer Jenn, the holidays begin with a search. It’s the familiar, comforting ritual of her family walking together among the pines, debating which Christmas tree will be the one. It’s a memory woven from shared time, from the simple, essential flavors of the season — like warm chocolate chip cookies and the sound of a favorite carol — and, most sweetly, from the childhood pride of hanging her own handmade ornaments on the family tree.

She calls those early crafts “questionable,” but their place among her parents’ finer collection was never in doubt. That acceptance — of the imperfect, the heartfelt, the personally made — is where the season truly took root for her.

This sense of thoughtful intention guides her through the season. It appears in small, meaningful acts — like carefully saving the silk ribbon from a LILYSILK package. It waited, and then found its purpose as the final touch on a new handmade ornament. In that moment, it was no longer just a ribbon, but a thread connecting those cherished childhood creations to the present — a quiet testament to the enduring beauty of making things with care.

The season is as much about the journey as the destination — the careful selection of the tree, the little imperfections in each ornament, the moments spent together creating and observing. It’s in these small, deliberate choices that the essence of the holidays is truly found.

Jenn’s holiday story is a gentle reminder: our most meaningful traditions are often shaped not by what is grand, but by what is saved and kept — a ribbon given new purpose, a memory made tangible.