Enjoy an Old-Fashioned Bell Choir Concert With Pooh Bells

Every year, I get a big kick out of checking out all of the new Christmas ornaments at Hallmark. I ooh and aah over them, but I rarely buy them before Christmas. Afterward is another story, as I have a long-standing tradition of buying ornaments in the days after Christmas when they’re on sale and when I usually have a bit of money that relatives have advised me to spend on something fun. Back in 2006, I happened upon something at Hallmark that I really wanted, but I took my chances, especially since it was quite pricey, and planned to get to Hallmark on 26th in hopes of snatching one up. By December 26th, however, they were gone. That’ll teach me to be a cheapskate. Then, last year, I discovered the website Hooked on Hallmark, where just about every ornament I’ve craved for the past couple of decades is readily available for purchase. So far, I’ve mostly kept temptation at bay, but I knew that I would have to buy Pooh Bells, the decoration from a few years back that I so admired.

I guess “decoration” would be the best word for it. Pooh Bells is far too big to be considered an ornament. It’s meant to be placed on a table or other flat surface, someplace accessible to human hands but not in danger of being damaged by careless passersby. It’s fairly heavy duty and intricately carved, and its bulk is taken up by a large, boxy structure. There’s a flat platform about ten inches in length and close to four inches wide. This is green, as are the walls on either end. It rests atop a red stand that is thicker and slightly wider. The top part is flat on the bottom but looks as though it is covered in clumps of snow on the top. The red, green and white look very Christmassy together.

Running between the two green end pieces is a purplish bar, and on that bar is a series of gears. These are bookended on the outside by a crank and another gear, both bright yellow with tiny bees on them. Turn the crank, and this decoration begins to do its magic. The pieces on the top will move, and the music box, easily visible as it rests against one of the green walls, will play its snippet of Carol of the Bells. It’s a rather repetitive song, and the snippet we get is just the same four notes over and over, but it’s still really cool. What makes it even neater is how old-fashioned it is. This looks like something that could have been around in the 1800s, if Pooh and pals had been around back then. You don’t have to worry about batteries; all you do is set Pooh Bells down, and whenever you want to get a little movement, turn the crank and watch it spring to life.

This decoration features a four-member bell choir. Having watched my parents in a bell choir when I was little, I suspect that there’s not really all that much you could play with four bells. But if you just need these same four notes again and again, then this little choir is the perfect size. It consists of Tigger, Piglet, Pooh and Eeyore, and each character is manipulated differently when the crank turns.

Tigger, the tallest member of the group by a considerable margin, is understandably exuberant. His tail is scrunched, ready for a pounce, and when the crank turns, the tail straightens up as he rises into the air, giving the impression that he is bouncing. The tail is cloth, as is the purple scarf he wears, and although his hat is hard and carved, the white ball at the tip is fuzzy. One hand holds a gold bell with a brown handle, while the other holds a lyric sheet.

Piglet is next, and he wears a red cloth scarf. He sits on a stump, which helps him to not look quite so tiny against his friends, though you can’t help but notice that his bell is about the same size as his head. Piglet swivels, while Pooh, beside him, shakes his head back and forth. Pooh wears his typical red shirt, and he too has a song sheet. He has a green cloth scarf, and like Tigger, he has a Santa hat with a fuzzy ball at the tip, but unlike Tigger, he has holes in his hat where his ears poke out. And since all this bell-ringing Is such hard work, there is a small pot of honey just in front of him so he can have a snack when he’s done.

Eeyore, the only member of the group who isn’t wearing anything aside from the ever-present pink bow (an actual ribbon) on his tail, is also the only one not smiling. I wouldn’t exactly say that he’s frowning; his face is really more of a blank slate, as though he can’t decide whether or not he’s having a good time. His ears look a little droopy to me, and he presents the appearance of rolling his eyes, but his bell is firmly clutched like the rest of them, and on the whole, he doesn’t seem all that put out as he raises and lowers his paw.

All of the colors have a sort of muted flavor to them, but there’s still a certain vibrance that shines through, and the dark orange, pink, light orange and bluish-gray of Tigger, Piglet, Pooh and Eeyore complement each other well. I think the only thing that might make this cuter would be if Eeyore had phony antlers on his head. But I won’t hold a grudge if he doesn’t want to be subjected to that kind of indignity.

This is a really handsome decoration that is both expensive and fragile, but if you’re as big a Pooh fan as I am, neither of those drawbacks will be enough to deter you. I’ve collected enough Pooh ornaments over the years that I could probably fill a tree with nothing but the Silly Old Bear and his friends. If I ever did that, I would make sure that I set Pooh Bells up on a shelf nearby, where these merry revelers could supervise the tree-trimming while furnishing a festive tune sure to remain firmly fixed in my mind for days to come. If that sounds like a good plan to you, perhaps you might consider letting Pooh and his pals ring in the Christmas season yourself.