My Christmas Tablecloth - and the story behind each square

This is my Christmas Heirloom Tablecloth. It is a large piece of Charles Craft Aida that I won on ebay in 2004 and arrived in the mail about Dec 30. I still can't believe I won this large a piece for $15 (aust) including postage - bargain!!!

I choose a square to stitch by placing the cloth on the ground and tossing a coin or token - whichever square it lands on is the one for that year. the main squares in the middle will now be reserved for milestone years...

The first square - 2004 - well the week before this fabric arrived, had been the first Christmas Day that I had hosted my parents and the In-laws at my house. To symbolise the circle of family, I felt the wreath was the perfect choice. All that were at the Christmas table that year are present on the square. My hubby and boys in the centre and the immediate family encircling us.

The next year - 2005 - we celebrated Christmas Day at the BIL's - in Ocean Grove. Harry had drawn a lighthouse for a charity square earlier in the year, and I chose the same design to symbolise the beach (although Ocean Grove does not have a lighthouse....) and once again, stitched the names of the family members around the table.

The next year - 2006 - Was the first year in our very own house. Our new home had a green roof and cram brick walls. A very generous stitcher in the USA helped me find a chart of a Gingerbread House, and I adjusted the charted colours accordingly. As it turned out, that Christmas Day was one of the coldest on record, with near to snow temperatures on nearby hills.... so the snow on the ground in the chart fitted right in.

The next year - 2007 - well I made myself unpopular with the In-laws that year, because I had a gut feeling that being on the road on Christmas Day in the evening - driving to Ocean Grove - would be very, very bad. So I dug in my heels and refused to travel that far on that day. We celebrated at lunchtime instead, at the closer MiL's in Mordialloc and then in Ocean Grove a few days later during the day. - This is why the three kings are spaced the way they are. I charted this from a scrapbooking stamp I saw.
The star they are following represents my Mum, who I lost that year.

Last year - 2008 - I'm frantically stitching that now - I have plenty of time....18 days or so...to stitch 3 Christmas baubles...
It's only going on my Christmas table - and it's only my own deadline - I'm the only one that considers it important to have finished in time.

I have plenty of spaces to fill and I hope that in time, the wife of at least one of my sons (and they both better marry somebody who is craft minded !!!) will help me stitch this and cherish it for years to come. I'm hoping that the small rectangular sections between the squares will be used to record marriages, births & deaths over the years to come.

I hope you enjoyed the journey across my tablecloth. Do you have anything similar?
What are your Christmas Stitching Traditions?