Our Holiday Table Cloth

This is a labor of love that turned into a family tradition in our home. We use this table cloth for every Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving dinner. I bought a single sheet back in 2000 and from then on everyone who ever sits at our table for a holiday dinner has to write a little something, even if it's just their name and the year. We use a fabric pen because after I've embroidered it, it washes the pen marks away. I wanted to have something that would keep the memories alive and have a holiday heirloom to pass down through the years. It's been wonderful to read what everyone has written through the years and to see my children and their cousins hand prints grow. My only regret was not having started it when my oldest was younger and the biggest sadness of all is not to have my Dad's handwriting down on it. I lost my Dad March 28th 2000 and I started the table cloth Christmas 2000. My Dad and I spent almost every holiday together and I miss him as though it were only yesterday when he left me alone. My Dad's name is on the table cloth a lot though because so many people have let him know how much they miss him too. Someday I will get my Sister Kansas or my Aunty Bub to sew a nice hem around the bottom or add a crochet lace but for now it's our treasure just the way it is.