This small piece of paper was the only object that came to mind for this week’s post. The small yellow paper was and still is a nametag that identifies which of the Christmas presents or Easter baskets belonged to me. On one side, there is a personalized sticker that has my name on it.
My grandmother made one of these for each of her children and grandchildren to make sure that everybody got their respective gift. She cut each square out with those designer crafting scissors that leaves the edges wavy looking. Then she personalized eighteen different stickers with each of our names and put them on one side of the square. My sticker has snowflakes on it because she could use it for both Christmas and my birthday. The other side of the tag was always blank or would say something generic like Merry Christmas. This allowed her to reuse the tags over and over again for each Christmas and Easter instead of making new ones.
All of us Seipps have this money saving trait that we like to thank our grandfather for. My grandmother’s recycling of the nametags was the last great example of our frugal ancestry. Each year after we finished unwrapping all of our gifts we would have to return the tag to her to make sure that none of them were thrown in the trash or lost under mountains of wrapping paper.
Last Christmas was the last time we got those nametags. Our Christmas last year was after my grandmother had passed away. Our aunt handed each of us our present and my eleven cousins and I took a collective breath. Some of the younger cousins decided not to open them; while us older ones felt that opening it anywhere else would only make it harder. For a while I just played with the nametag. Its ownership had changed right then. Finally, we didn’t have to hand back the tags.
That’s when I realized the other side of my tag wasn’t blank. In her scribbled handwriting it read: “Love Always – Gma S”. I checked the other tags as my cousins took them off of their presents, but only mine had a message on the blank side. Later my aunt told me that she didn’t have enough time to write on everybody’s tag. A lot of the presents were not even wrapped yet. Now instead of being Grandma’s nametag, the little yellow piece of paper is my last note from her. It now stays taped to a picture frame and serves as a daily reminder that somewhere an angel still loves me.
The Materials of History, Thought, and Art 
Shelby, your description of how your grandmother hand crafted the nametags is great – you convey the way that the nametag was made (each step) with detail and just the words illustrate the craft (the picture is informative, too). I like how you narrowed in on the actual moment that you felt it became yours, especially with the details you include about spinning it over in your hands.
This is a really beautiful piece about the memory of your grandmother, and the changing of ownership. As the previous comment says, it really struck me when you finally realized the name tag was now yours. It’s a really beautiful memento you now have.
Your post brought up a lot of memories of my own grandmother, and the feeling of suddenly owning a part of her that was once somewhat distant is something I know well. I was too young for Christmas cards when we would visit my grandmother, and because my dad’s job cut his Christmas vacation, we didn’t get to see her during her last couple of holidays. I imagine that your gift tag serves a similar purpose as my necklace does, and I understand very deeply the connection that such objects make to the memories of the people who owned them. You’re lucky to have something that was not only owned, but made by your grandmother–more of her “essence” is in it, I would
think, than my grandmother’s is in my necklace because of its being handmade.
I thought this object was really sweet and thoughtful! Even handmade items can hold a lot of value…I loved reading how you turned it over and realized she had written you a special note.