Bonbon Charms Photo Ornament Giveaway

Updated one more time to announce Sarah from themommylogues is the winner! Congrats Sarah. And thanks to Erica at Bonbon Charms for providing such a beautiful and elegant prize. Remember: The 20% code (LOVEWELL) is good through Friday.

Updated to add: It seems like traffic has been extraordinarily light over Thanksgiving weekend, so I'm leaving comments on this giveaway open until 7:00 PM Central tonight. Winner will be announced shortly thereafter. So you still have time. Tell your family! Tell your friends! Merry December!

The last few years, I've fallen out of love with Christmas kitsch.

That's saying something, because when we moved from California five years ago, I had at least four huge tubs of Christmas paraphernalia. Mismatched stockings, ceramic snowmen, Christmas dishes, the cheese knives that looked like pine cones, I had everything Target had ever clearanced. Most of it wasn't even my style anymore -- if it ever had been. It was just clutter I had accumulated, which I was then obligated to scatter around my house each December.

So I got rid of it.

Not all of it. Not immediately. But slowly, each year, a few more trinkets made their way to the Salvation Army or the dustbin.

The only box unscathed during the purge was the gigantic box of Christmas ornaments. My ornaments aren't just decorations to me; they are cherished memories.

I believe I mentioned last year during BooMama's Christmas Home Tour that my Mom started a tradition when my siblings and I were young; she gave each of us a personalized ornament each Christmas to commemorate a significant event that had taken place in our lives the previous 12 months. (Examples of what I'm talking about are halfway through that post.) The beauty of this particular tradition is that, when the child grows up and moves out, the ornaments go with them -- a sweet reminder of their childhood and a treasure trove for their own kids each year when it's time to decorate the tree. "What's this one, Mom?" "Well, it's from the year we got our dog...."

And that's the rather long back-story to the fabulous giveaway I'm doing this weekend. (It's my own contribution to Black Friday.) Perhaps you've heard of Bonbon Charms. Erica's day-to-day business is designing vintage, silver charms for bracelets and necklaces.

This year, she's also handcrafting Christmas ornaments, including personalized ones and -- my favorite -- photo ones. And because she's awesome (and the sister of one of my BBFF), she's agreed to give a photo ornament to one lucky reader of this blog.

To enter, you need to go to Bonbon Charms, do a little shopping and then come back here and tell me about your favorite Bonbon. And do it fast, because I'm choosing a winner on Monday, December 1 (which is supposedly the Internet's version of Black Friday, only without the insanity).

If you love what you see -- and you will -- you can also get 20% of your order by using the discount code LOVEWELL when you checkout. But be aware -- to get it delivered by Christmas, you'll have to place your order no later than Friday, December 5. That's not much time. Order early. Order often.

Personally, I can't wait to add a Bonbon ornaments to my collection. Unlike the faux bronze decorative reindeer and the music box carousel, this is one piece of Christmas that will be treasured for years to come.