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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Blessed Yule! and Welcome, Witches Yuletide Ballers

Rather than a Yule tree, I like to put up a large wreath, wrapped in lights and garlands, then suspended from the ceiling. I have a theme to many of my Yule ornaments. Many of them have to do with my favorite children's books.

First, there's Hedwig. She was a gift from the aunt and uncle who got me started on Harry Potter in the first place.


Did you know that J.K. Rowling chose the name Hedwig for the beautiful white owl because St. Hedwig is the Catholic patron saint of orphans?

Here are a few of my many Alice in Wonderland collectibles. I have many different editions of this book, one of my all-time favorites. I even brought back Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas from Madrid.


A couple of my ornaments are from Dr. Seuss stories. The little bell has The Grinch and his dog Max on it, and the silver one is either Thing One or Thing Two from The Cat in the Hat. I've also included the adorable Pat the Bunny ornament - this was quite possibly my first favorite book.


I actually don't have a lot of my childhood Dr. Seuss books anymore - I donated them to a school where I used to work. I do have I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today, which wasn't originally mine, but which resided at my grandparents' house, in a book box on the enclosed front porch, for years. I have many pleasant memories of Christmas Eves at that house.

Next, we have Rainbow Brite. Okay, she's really more of a cartoon character than a book character, but as you'll see, I also have a Rainbow Brite book. (The read-along cassette went missing years ago.)


What girl doesn't want a horse with a rainbow mane and tail?

My newest acquisition (thanks, Mom!) is Hallmark's Twilight Eclipse ornament, depicting Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black.


If I could have an ornament from any kids' book in the world, I'd like to have one from Dianna Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle. They could be the anime versions of Howl and Sophie from the Studio Ghibli film, but preferably it would be right after Sophie cleaned up in Howl's bathroom, he tried to dye his hair blonde and it came out slightly pink. He's so vain about his hair!

But Howl and Sophie are the cutest fictional wizard-witch couple this side of Ron and Hermione. I want her power to make things happen to inanimate objects by talking to them. And he saw her once (on May Day) and fell in love with her - so romantic. Cheesy fan video? I think so.



My Yule wreath will look stylish and well-read this year. Thank you to the gracious hosts of the Witches Yuletide Ball!

http://witchofhowlingcreek.wordpress.com/
http://onthebroomstick.blogspot.com/

18 comments:

Abigail-Madison Chase said...

I love wreaths during the holidays....Hope you have a Blessed Yule

Willow said...

I love all your ornaments except the Twilight one. Haha! Sorry, not a fan. =P

Have a Happy Yule! The idea of suspending a wreath instead of having a tree is so unique. Love it!

Kat of EmKatCreations said...

Super fun ornaments!

Happy Yule

Erin O'Riordan said...

Thank you, Abigail-Madison!

Thank you, Leslie. We enjoy the wreath. I respect non-Twilighters, even if I don't quite understand y'all. (Whaddaya mean you don't want a sparkly vampire boyfriend?!)

Thank you, Kat!

As I visit the other Witches Yuletide Ball posts, I'm tweeting them with the hashtag #WitchesYuletideBall, in case anyone wants to follow/share these posts on Twitter.

Nora B. Peevy said...

I love your ornaments. I am a ornament fanatic. My tree isn't up this year because I am going home for the holidays.

I also like your wreath idea. Might do that next year. How big is your wreath?

-Nora
http://erinoriordan.blogspot.com/2011/12/blessed-yule-and-welcome-witches.html

Steph from fangswandsandfairydust.com said...

I love that you have tied ornaments to the books you love. That's commitment! Steph
New Follower
Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust
@fangswandsfairy
steph@fangswandsandfairydust.com

Anonymous said...

your hanging wreath sounds like an interesting idea. Hope to see a photo of it. I like the Twilight ornament....my daughters and I have made a tradition of going to see the movies. Like most women my age that I know...Team Jacob. LOL

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Thanks for sharing your ornaments with us. It was a great visit. And speaking of which, thanks so much for your visit to mine Ye Olde Crones Gazette. Yule Blessings, Oma Linda

AutumnWind said...

What a great post! I love all of your ornaments. Thanks for sharing. If you get a chance, hop on over to my place :0) Have a lovely Yule
http://beneaththewitchesmoon.blogspot.com/2011/12/witches-yultide-ball-2011.html

Anonymous said...

What a great idea - my niece would love all the book themes! Thanks for participating - Dana and I really appreciate it!

Susan said...

Merry meet!
that was an interesting post! My son loves howl's moving castle...i bought him the movie years ago.
Blessed Yule to you and yours!
love n light,
Susan

come see my post

Erin O'Riordan said...

Hi, Nora. The wreath is about 3 ft. in diameter. It's pretty big.

Thanks, Steph! I'm a book nut.

SophiaDawn, I've seen all the movies with my mom. Team Edward for me, though.

Thank you, Oma Linda. Your blog post is absolutely beautiful.

Good morning, AutumnWind. I've just been to your blog, another wonderful stop at the Yuletide Ball.

Thanks for hosting, Witch of Howling Creek! This has been one of the funnest blog hops I've done!

Thank you, Susan!

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous post. I love your idea of hanging a wreath and the enchanting way you decorate. Have a blessed holiday season.

Little Gothic Horrors said...

Love the idea of your Yule wreath, and that you decorate it with items that have special meaning to you!

Anonymous said...

I like the wreath idea and what an interesting idea for the ornaments. Will you be posting a picture of the wreath? The video was so cute-I had not heard of that movie/series.

Wishing you a wonderful season!
Chrislyn

Erin O'Riordan said...

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and have a blessed Winter Solstice!

Rue said...

Aww - your ornaments are fabulous! Love the Pat the Bunny bitty book ornament!

Erin O'Riordan said...

Thank you, Rue. It's one of my favorites. It's soft inside, just like the real book.