Dream it.

Several years ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with the undeniable feeling I needed to check on my teenage daughter, Cleo.  I tossed and turned, but the feeling kept getting stronger until finally I got out of bed and walked to her bedroom. I was surprised to see the light on in her room, and softly tapped on the door, cracking it open to see my daughter curled up on her bed crying.  I hurried to her side, put my arms around her and asked her what was wrong.  Through sobs, she told me that she'd shared with her group of close-knit friends that she liked girls.  I immediately reassured her that everything would be okay, that true friends would be 100% accepting and that I loved her more than anything.  We talked for several hours about how this revelation might alter some of her relationships.  As I went back to bed in the early morning, I was relieved that her father and I had long ago decided that if one of our children was LGBTQ+, our love and support would be unconditional. 

When our daughter brought home her first girlfriend, we were beyond happy to see she'd partnered with a kind, intelligent college student with similar interests, a shared desire to make the world a better place, and most of all someone who saw in Cleo all the wonderful things we did.  With Cleo's permission, we began sharing with friends and family her new status. Most were supportive, but unfortunately not all were.  

This is when I came up with the idea for Swiss Christmas.  Christmas has long been my favorite holiday as I love the togetherness it brings, the ornaments and decorations children made as toddlers, and how each year I'm reminded of how grateful I am to be a parent. I wanted to add to my collection of sentimental decorations something to honor Cleo, thus the Love is Love Glass Christmas Tree.  With Cleo's help, we've been gifting this tree to families and individuals who also have a family member or friend who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.  We hope this tree helps spread the message that kindness matters, diversity and acceptance are noble attributes, and love really is love.