A MUM spent several months and £600 decorating a Harry Potter-themed Christmas tree – she said it’s an investment and she wants to make it even bigger next year.
Kemi Anderson (mum of four), is obsessed with Harry Potter, as are her children.
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Kemi, who lives in north east Scotland, decided to celebrate the Harry Potter films’ 20th anniversary by collecting £600 worth of decorations from retailers like Aliexpress, Amazon, and eBay.
Though she altered some of the decorations herself, Kemi said the majority of them can be sold on in the future, so they’re really an investment.
Plus, she said she’ll add to the tree in years to come.
She said LatestDeals.co.uk: “My kids just love it and I think we will upgrade to an eight-foot tree next year and keep adding decorations.
“There are still things that I would like to add from the film to the tree so I need something bigger!”
The Grinch-themed Christmas tree was made by the mother last year. Her children were obsessed with it. But this year, she wanted something more magical.
She stated that the children took an interest in Harry Potter this year and enjoyed watching them. I am also a Harry Potter fanatic. We love the magic of it.
“I’m a very creative person. When I have an idea in my head, I give it 110%.
“It makes it even more wonderful seeing my children’s eyes light up and just be in amazement with our tree.”
All together, the decorations cost £600, but Kemi doesn’t regret her purchases at all.
She explained: “It cost about £600 to buy all of the decorations, some being more expensive than others but if you buy bits and bobs over the year that would be the best way to tackle it.”
She started to plan the decorations for the tree in the summer.
She stated that she began planning the Harry Potter tree in July 2021. I knew that I had to have a backdrop of Hogwarts castle to give it the WOW factor.
“I managed to get the background from Aliexpress for £25 which was a great price as it is 3m x 2m and nearly covers the whole wall.
“I started by writing down important elements from each film that I wanted to incorporate into the tree.”
Then, she made specific purchases to ensure that each film was represented. She recommended watching all films and taking notes so you can get the most out of each one.
She explained: “For Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, I got Harry’s letter from Amazon, Harry’s trunk from Amazon and the Hogwarts Express from ebay.
“I got the train trolley from Argos, spray painted it gold and turned it into our hot chocolate station.
“The chocolate frogs were key rings I bought from Aliexpress and glued them to baubles.
“The Philosopher’s Stone was a necklace from Aliexpress, the Sorting Hat was from Amazon, the floating candles were from Amazon, the three-headed dog was secondhand on ebay, the Golden Snitch was from Amazon and the flying keys were bought from ebay and glued to baubles with wings attached.
“For Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we bought Ron’s flying car from Amazon, the Mandrake Root ornament from Aliexpress, the Cornish Pixies from Amazon, the Dobby cut out from Amazon, Tom Riddle’s diary from Aliexpress, the Aragog spider from ebay and the Sword of Gryffindor from ebay.
“For Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I bought the Knight Bus from Amazon, the Knight bus ticket from Aliexpress, The Book of Monsters second-hand from ebay, the Hedwig Owl from Amazon, Scabbers from Amazon, Crookshanks second hand on ebay, Buckbeak second-hand from ebay, the Marauders Map from ebay, the Time Turner Necklace from Aliexpress, and the wanted posters from Aliexpress.
“For Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I got the Triwizard cup from Amazon, the polyjuice potion from Etsy and the Nagini toy snake from ebay.
“For Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I bought the room of requirement sign from Amazon.
“For Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, we got the liquid luck from Etsy and the gaunt ring from Aliexpress.
“Then for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I got the Salazar Slytherin locket from Aliexpress and the deathly hallows symbol necklace from Aliexpress and I glued it to a bauble.
“For Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, I got the Hufflepuff Cup from AliExpress, the Ravenclaw Diadem Tiara from Aliexpress, and finally Harry Potter glasses to represent Harry as a Horcrux.”
Kemi and her kids are happy with the tree, and their mum says it is all worth it.
“It was a lot of planning but so worth the outcome, I couldn’t be happier with our tree”, Kemi said.
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