Christmas of 1997 marked a new beginning for Dave and Lynda Ruce. Both divorced, they had married a few months earlier and were spending their first holiday together in Dave's southwest Minneapolis home with their newly blended family.

Dave's two sons and Lynda's two daughters, all between 17 and 21 that year, barely knew each other, but already they could see that they had very different styles of decorating.

"It was an emotional thing, sharing a Christmas tree with a new family," recalled Sara Lazorik, Lynda's youngest. "I remember being very unhappy about the decor," she added with a laugh.

The Ruce brothers were trimming the tree with humble ornaments they'd made as kids. "We had homemade ornaments, but the pretty kind — not the kindergarten kind," said Lazorik. "Our definition of acceptable homemade ornaments was very different."

Lynda, a "Christmas tree perfectionist," was accustomed to decorating multiple themed trees with beautifully coordinated ornaments. She was itching to intervene as lights and decorations went up "willy nilly." But she made herself "sit back and shut up" because she could see "something special was happening."

As the kids unpacked their ornaments and placed them on the tree, they were sharing stories and memories. "We were bonding as a family and creating our own special Christmas tradition," Lynda said.

Lynda and Dave Ruce (seated) knew “something special was happening” when their families blended at Christmas. From left: Bryan, Henry, Sara and Will Lazorik; Kelly Richey and Chris Raebel; Philip and Mary Ruce.

The decorating culminated when Dave's younger son, Charlie, placed his pink construction-paper angel at the top of the tree. It wasn't as glamorous as the gilded angel Lynda had been using as a tree-topper, but suddenly she didn't care. "It was a remarkable night," she said.

The kids found that they enjoyed each other's company immensely. "We were laughing like crazy," Philip Ruce recalled. "When we're all together in a room, it's nonstop."

That first Christmas was the beginning of a family bond that has only deepened over the years, as the "kids" have married and brought new partners, along with two grandchildren, into the fold.

Dave Ruce never doubted that the two families would get along. "But I didn't think it would morph into something as meaningful as it is now," he said.

The combined clan gathers for frequent Sunday dinners, cabin weekends, "game nights" — and an annual tree-trimming event. It's always scheduled when Charlie, who now lives in San Diego, can be there to place his angel at the top of the tree.