John -- in some folk traditions, having a bird in your Christmas tree brings good luck for the next year... Most people (my mother among them) opt for bird-shaped ornaments, but if you've got the real thing, so much the better ... I guess.

(an old bird's nest, from the previous spring, is also considered good luck).

And just something that came into my head, the other day, regarding whether to actually call your celebration "Christmas," or not.

Some people I know (usually Neo-Pagan, or atheist) actually have the solstice eve as their primary day of celebration, and although they borrow Christmas traditions (or Hanukka traditions) from their childhoods, many (if not most) also deliberately add new traditions specifically designed to focus attention on the astronmical event. In that case, I think it's simply a case of accuracy to call it something other than "Cbristmas," and not just political correctness...