I Want a Hippopotamus Christmas Ornament

~:: by Lisa Longley of Wine & Glue ::~

Five years ago, I was SUPER pregnant with my first kiddo.  I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl.  And I was  sooooooo happy to be having a baby, but I was feeling awful for this poor child that they were going to be born around Christmas.  I envisioned years and years of building resentment from this poor baby turned child turned sulking teenager from their birthday getting shelved so that Christmas could be celebrated more fully.  I started to wish, pray, desperately hope that this baby not be born on Christmas.  I figured that was the least I could do.  And with my due date being December 28th, I felt like it was a tall order to avoid the 24th and 25th.

I vividly remember driving to and from work in the month of December, and each time Mariah Carey’s song, All I Want For Christmas is You! came on, I would start singing it to my unborn babe.  As in, “Come on out before Christmas!  We’ll both be happier!”  It became my anthem.

And now, five years later, we will be celebrating Gavin’s birthday a full FOUR days before Christmas. It’s about as far away from Christmas as I could get him.  And my sweet little boy loves Christmas.  He loves the whole deal.  And it seems like he thinks having his birthday around this magical time of year makes it even more special.

And each time that Christmas song comes on, we point to each other and sing it at the top of our lungs.

You know what other Christmas song we love?  LOVE?

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!  Love it.  We created a whole Pandora station around it, and we all kind of freak out when it comes on.

So for this year, my kids are getting hippopotamuses.  In the form of ornaments.  (Because honestly, we can barely keep hermit crabs alive.)

Grab your supplies and make one too!

A hippo found in the dollar bins of Michael’s, a simple eye screw from the hardware store, a mini Christmas bow from Michael’s and a teenie tiny gift label.

I printed and cut mine using my Silhouette, but you could just as easily print off the tiny lettering in any word program and then carefully cut a label shape around it.

 

Drill a hole into your hippo.  He’s hollow though, so just keep that in mind and try not to go through his belly.

Now, just hand screw in your screw.

Cut the ties off of your mini ribbon.

Grab some super powerful E6000 glue and add your ribbon and your tag.

Stand back and admire his beauty.

Add an ornament hook, and hang him and his buddy on your tree for all to enjoy!

 
ABOUT LISA: Lisa, from Wine & Glue, prides herself on being a wannabe of every kind. Chief on her wannabe lists are chef, baker, seamstress, party planner, and photographer. Well, maybe not a wannabe of every kind. She is a very real mom to two crazy and wonderful little monkies. Check out her wild wannabe adventures at Wine & Glue or follow along on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

 

This piece was written by Lisa Longley of Wine & Glue exclusively for Bonbon Break Media, LLC.

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