Hallmark The Golden Snitch Harry Potter 2011 Keepsake Ornament

Although I have been looking for this ornament for a while. I was disappointed it is made of plastic. Made in china, the hallmark way.

One of the reasons I think the Harry Potter franchise has caught on is because of the many whimsical and just plan fun elements that author J. K. Rowling put in the universe. Of those, my favorite is Quidditch, the sport wizards play. It reminds me of a cross between basketball and soccer in three dimensions. The Golden Snitch is the ball that ends the game and Harry spends his time playing the game seeking it. And it's also now a limited edition ornament from Hallmark.The Golden Snitch is a small golden ball with feathery wings. When released, it flies around on it's own.And the ornament is really that simple. (Well, almost, but we'll get to that in a few minutes.) The main part of the ornament is a round gold ball. There is a pattern on the ball that is raised from the ball, giving it some texture. The paint around the raised part is slightly darker, giving the color some variety and helping the pattern stand out even more. The ball itself looks very nice even if it is larger than the "real" life size of a walnut.It's the wings I have the biggest problem with. They're made out of plastic and sort of looks like wings. If you look too closely at them, however, they start to look like a grill. They are gray, and each slat is pretty much straight. They also seem a bit too big to me. They stick out a good two or three inches from the ball, making this ornament much larger than it needs to be.My other problem with the wings is the space between them or lack there of. In the pictures for this ornament, the wings go straight back from the ball. My ornament, however, has them bent together with their tips touching. When I took this ornament out of the box, I found it really wrapped in tissue paper. Part of me wonders if that means they got smushed that way and I could pry them apart a little. However, since they are just plastic attached to the ball, I don't want to try for fear of snapping them off.As much as I enjoy the Harry Potter universe, I haven't read the books or seen the movies enough to have all the details down. When I bought it, I noticed an inscription on it: "I open at the close." Imagine my surprise when that popped up in the final Harry Potter movie later that day. That prompted me to do a little research and remember that this isn't just any ordinary snitch but was the first Golden Snitch that Harry over caught. It plays an important part in the final part of the saga. That actually makes it more special to me.Even though this is a ball, it actually stays in place when you set it down. Why is that? The wings stabilize things. It would actually look fairly good if you set it out year round to be enjoyed.It looks even better while hanging, however. The little brass ring is located on the top of the golden ball. While it hangs level, any little movement really makes it look like it is alive and hovering before it takes off again.This ornament was a limited edition release as part of Hallmark's ornament premier in July of 2011. It came out the same weekend the final movie opened in theaters. I don't know if that had anything to do with its popularity or not, but it was gone almost immediately. I barely got one, and most places seemed to be sold out by the end of the day of release, making this as hard to find one for Harry Potter fans as the real one is to capture in a game for Harry. And that's why I don't know more about how far apart the wings are supposed to be on this ornament. I feel lucky to have one at all. It was impossible to look at more than one to compare them.Even with the wings the way they are, I like The Golden Snitch. It's not perfect, but since it does represent one of my favorite aspects of the Harry Potter series, I'm quite glad to snagged one.

gave it to my sister she loved it