This weekend, Hallmark stores around the country will unveil the new
ornaments for 2011. For the next half a year, I will gravitate toward
the cheerful, expansive display every time I enter a Hallmark. I love
those ornaments. However, since there are so many different ones
tempting me, I usually save myself the burden of decision-making by
waiting until after Christmas, when everything is so much cheaper and
it’s all been so picked over that there’s considerably less to choose
from. Plus, I always figure there’s the possibility that I might get one
for Christmas. Rare indeed is the year when I don’t buy or receive at
least one new Winnie the Pooh ornament, but those are hardly the only
ones that catch my eye.
In a post-Christmas Hallmark excursion
in 2007, I was headed out of the store when I spotted an ornament I
hadn’t seen earlier, either that day or in the season as a whole.
Entitled All Atwitter, it featured Thumper, the exuberant rabbit from Bambi,
on the receiving end of an amorous advance. Since Thumper has always
been my favorite character in that movie, I found it hard to resist.
While it didn’t look much like a Christmas ornament to me, I actually
considered that a plus; I figured I would buy it and put it out before
Valentine’s Day and leave it up past Easter. It definitely has a
springtime feel to it.
The name All Atwitter refers to the
notion of being twitterpated, a concept that the wise Friend Owl
explains to Bambi, Thumper and Flower when they express their
bewilderment at the bizarre behavior of their fellow woodland creatures
now that spring has arrived. Rarely has romance seemed so silly as in
that iconic segment of Bambi, and if you were to rank all the
animated Disney couples , something tells me that Thumper and his
unnamed ladylove would come in pretty close to the bottom. Well, they
are rabbits, after all; it doesn’t take a lot of provocation to arouse
interest. But they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.
This
ornament has a flat, circular base that’s about two and a half inch
inches in diameter. The top of the base is fairly rounded and covered
with lush grass and bright pink and yellow flowers. There can be no
doubt that the setting is spring. Thumper stands on the right, a dreamy
look on his face; his eyes are half-closed, and his mouth is open into a
goofy grin that reveals his buckteeth. On the left, the paler female
rabbit with blushing cheeks and lashes on her closed eyes leans in to
plant a kiss on his cheek. This is a magic ornament, with the simple but
charming mechanism of Thumper living up to his name and thumping his
foot at the turn of a small green knob on the side of the base. From ear
tips to the bottom of the base, the ornament stands about three inches
tall.
On the other side of the base is a long brass hook holder.
It arches gracefully over the two, coming to rest with the small loop
dead center. It’s easy to imagine that there is a sprig of mistletoe
there; the placement would be perfect. The ornament isn’t heavy, but
it’s on the large side, so it tilts a bit on the tree, but if you’re
like me, you won’t put it on the tree anyway. I’ve got more Christmassy
ornaments than I have room to hang, so I leave this one for the spring,
and because it sits flat so nicely, I simply put it on the piano or a
nearby shelf.
If you have fond memories of Bambi or have
experienced the peculiar rush of twitterpation yourself, All Atwitter is
an adorable ornament. You just might want to wait until after Christmas
to break it out.
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