A Very Harry Potter Christmas

Harry Potter is by far one of the best books series. I have ever read as a kid. The magical world that J. K. Rowling created still resonates with me today. I identify as a Slytherin, which is a good thing because green is my absolute favorite color. I decided to go with a homey, simple and curated green Christmas theme for 2022. The color palette I had in mind was different shades of green, white and little touches of brown.

I already had the most beautiful, wrapping paper that I had bought from Target probably seven or eight years ago. This green wrapping paper was one of my favorite shades of olive green and it had “Merry Christmas” written in cursive. I purchased some precut wrapping paper sheets from Zazzle this year. A lovely female artisan from the UK had sets of three wrapping paper sheets. I had never done pre-cut sheets for Christmas before and I knew it would be a challenge. each set of precut, wrapping paper sheets, came with a mint, emerald and olive green. I decided to order eight sets. That way I would have a shot at wrapping all of my Christmas presents this year. I had so much fun finding different boxes and wrapping with these uniquely sized pre-cut sheets. I thought it was really clever how Zazzle had paper cutting guide lines on the back so you can see where to cut your sheet perfectly. Not an ounce of paper goes to waste. I loved the mat sleekness of the Zazzle paper. It’s always a fun time mixing and matching different colors to create a theme.

I typically wrap 60 to 80 presents every Christmas. I’ve got some big families to shop for! To garnish each present I used small little pinecones, a plethora of unique ribbons, fo, greenery, leaves and little paper snowflakes.

I also chose to buy my holiday cards from a lovely brand called Moglea. Moglea is a small company in Iowa that hand creates each of their paper products. They make a plethora of stationary items. I have a few of their planners and journals, and I absolutely love how unique and special they are. However, their cards are absolutely amazing. I went with the stunning and holographic “happy holiday” cards that have a painted brush strokes across the front of each card.

This year‘s tree it was really fun to decorate because I went all out with the Harry Potter ornaments. Pottery Barn Teen has a lovely collection of curated Harry Potter home decor and Christmas ornaments. My favorite ornament being the Nagini snake and or the Hedwig ornament.

I also had to stop downtown at the Christkindl market at Daily Plaza. My favorite ornament stand in the whole wide world is called Sarah Boo Creek. It’s a lovely little shop out in Naperville Illinois and they laser cut, absolutely adorable, wood Christmas ornaments. They have such a unique and curated selection, and you can actually customize any ornament you purchase from them right there on the spot. I dream of going to the store in Naperville one day. This year, the star ornament of my tree was the Slytherin Harry Potter ornament from Sarah Boo! This Slytherin ornament was the crown jewel of this year‘s theme. I always place the best ornament at I level at the front of the tree. I curated all of my Harry Potter ornaments around the Slytherin Harry Potter ornament to truly bring the theme to life.

I had accents of velvet green ball balls, and white ball balls to contrast the emerald green of my tree. Big shout out to my mom for going to Menards and finding the most perfect velvet green ball balls one could ever need. Menards is actually very underrated for accent ball balls.

I went with a wooden tree topper star this year to bring in the warmth and forest aesthetic to my Christmas theme. It usually takes me from November 26 -December 15 every year to curate my Christmas theme. I try to buy wrapping paper in advance and nail down my theme before December. I always shop in advance or on Black Friday so I can have everything shipped to me or purchased before Christmas. It’s a lot of prep and organization. I have to have a lot of faith in the delivery companies around Chicago to make sure I get my gifts delivered in time. I absolutely loved how this year‘s theme turned out. It was so warm, inviting, magical, and green of course!

Shockingly a gift I didn’t know it was under the tree was my very own set of Harry Potter books. My mom gifted me a first edition set of Harry Potter in a cute little Hogwarts trunk. I had no idea, and I was so surprised to receive such a special gift. The books I dreamed of owning were from a company called Juniper Books. They have these special book covers or wrappings with each set they sell. The collection I’ve been obsessed with was the white and grey Hogwarts covers. this set features crisp white sleeves with a small image of Hogwarts with Hedwig flying over. My mom even had each book inscribed with one of my favorite characters quote. Sirius Black is such a special character to me. The quote my mom chose was:

“We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are” -Sirius Black

I’ve dreamed of owning these books for years. I just never got around to taking the time to purchase and pick a unique set. I’m definitely going to have to curate a beautiful shelf in my room with these books as the crown jewel. I have a cute little brass skull from Borgen and Berks from my last trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Orlando. I also have two wands to lay on the shelf. When I was in New York, I luckily got to purchase the signature Slytherin house wand that is a beautiful green snake at the base. The Harry Potter store in New York is such a dreamy place to shop! I also was gifted Hermione’s wand from my boyfriend I Eliott, I can’t wait to find an curate this beautiful vignette in my room. 10-year-old Alex would be so excited to own the set of books. Happy Christmas 2022!