Inspired by my attempt last December and from my friend Stephanie, I’m going to try blogging each day in December — holiday themes, of course! I’m calling it “31things.” Click here for more details. Read below for today’s post.

We have a variety of Christmas ornaments — from Pittsburgh stuff, to children’s show characters, to festive things.

But out of the hundreds of ornaments it seems we have, my favorite are the ornament balls from my grandmother.

She died in the mid-90s, so these ornaments help to keep her memory alive in our hearts.

They’re showing their age — some of the lettering and decorations are coming off. But others look great.

None are too flashy. All are simple, yet festive.

One in particular has a sleigh with deer and simply says “Merry Christmas.”

I don’t reach for these ornaments first. I wait until others are on the tree so that these ornaments find just the right place to hang.

My mom used to put them near the back, but a few years ago I moved them up. They now hang right in the center near the top.

I love these ornaments. If we put no other ornaments up, I’d be fine with that.