Our Christmas Travel Tree

When Garrett and I got married and went on our honeymoon to Gatlinburg, Tennessee we bought an ornament. Ever since we bought that ornament we talked about buying an ornament on every trip we go on so we can remember all the places we have been. Out of those ornaments we have made our travel tree!

While we don't have too many ornaments yet, we still have a good amount that I would love to share with you. Watch my video below and read on to learn more about our travel Christmas tree and ornaments.

Smoky Mountain Park - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

• This is the one that started it all! We were in Gatlinburg together for the first time (on our honeymoon) and saw a bear when we were in Cades Cove. When we saw this ornament at the Cades Cove gift shop (after seeing the bear) we thought it was the perfect one for us.

Wood Bear Outline - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

• We went into our second trip to Gatlinburg knowing that we could find another fun and cool carved wood ornament at Cades Cove. So on the day, we visited Cades Cove, we stopped at the gift shop and agreed that the bear is just so cool (plus, Garrett really loves bears). The Smoky Mountains are known for bears so this one just made sense.

Hiking Boots - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

• These hiking boots were bought the day we went on our surprise hike at Abrams Falls. That morning we left for Cades Cove and took our unexpected hike to the falls. That night we came back to the room, took showers, and then went out to eat that night. When we were looking around the Paula Deen restaurant gift shop we were looking at ornaments, Garrett and I saw this one at the same time and we knew this was the ornament for this trip.

Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh, Scotland

• The beautiful silver ornament has the Edinburgh Castle on it for the perfect memory. We visited the castle on our first day in Scotland and because we were going to be on tours the next days, we wanted to make sure we got an ornament to commemorate our visit here.

Mailbox with birds - Scotland/London

• This one might be my favorite! This ornament has a cool story behind it. When we were in Europe we had to take multiple covid tests, The one we took in Scotland had to be mailed out once we were done taking it. So the morning of our Outlander tour, we had to find a mailbox to mail our tests. I was freaking out that we would be late for the tour so we were running all around Edinburgh to find a mailbox (it's harder than you think). We finally came across a mailbox and got our tests out with time to spare. Then on the Outlander tour, we saw these cute little birds that looked like the ones you see here. These cuties were so photo-worthy but every time I went to snap a photo they would fly away. Even though we found this one in London, it is really for Scotland.

Big Ben - London

• Our Big Ben ornament was found in London at the gift shop right by the Westminster Abbey. This provided a great little piece of London! When we did see the real Big Ben it was covered with scaffolding and we didn't get to see Big Ben in whole. So even though we were a little disappointed we are still happy to have seen it and have an ornament to remind us of what it really looks like (haha).

German Santa - Schwangau, Germany

• So you probably don't know this but I collect Santas! I have some that I sit out at Christmas that I have bought from antique stores on trips we have gone on. So when I saw this little German Santa Claus in a small gift shop near Neuschwanstein Castle I had to get him. He is an adorable woodland Santa and it is a great addition to our travel tree.

Hohenschwangau Castle - Schwangau, Germany

• The carved wooden ornaments are some of our favorites because they are so simple but they provide a perfect memory. We found this ornament in a small gift shop after we took our tour through Hohenschwangau Castle. This was on our last day in Germany and probably our favorite day in Germany!

Wooden Matterhorn - Zermatt, Switzerland

• It's hard to go to Zermatt Switzerland and not see the Matterhorn (and fall in love with it). So when we found this little wooden carving of the Matterhorn, we knew this would fit perfectly on our tree.

• Fun Fact: The Matterhorn was the inspiration for Mount Crumpit in The Grinch (if that doesn't say Christmas, I don't know what does).

• Fun Fact: Suisse on the bottom of the ornament is actually the French term for Switzerland.

Lets Go Camping- Caesar Creek Camping Trip (Ohio)

• Even though we didn't take a big trip this year, we did take our first (my first-time tent camping ever) camping trip together. We camped at Caesar Creek State Park and had a great time. While they didn't have ornaments in the little camp store we found this one at Meijer and it took us back to this trip. We decided it had a spot on our travel tree.

A travel tree is a great way to remember the places you have been and can be a fun bonding project for you and your family. It's cool to find ornaments that have the year and place on them but if not you can always write it on the back or bottom of the ornament.

I highly recommend having a travel tree but you can always add your travel ornaments to your normal tree and still enjoy them!

Read More: Visit Whispering Christmas This Year