Garden Gnome Christmas Tree Topper Contest

Dec 02, 2008

Posted by: John Admin

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Garden Gnome Christmas Tree Topper Contest



Christmas at The Burrow had always been a rather crowded, chaotic affair, but now that the family had grown to include spouses and grandchildren, it seemed as if the additional expansions Arthur had made over the years were simply not enough to contain all the love, noise and confusion. Even the ghouls in Ron’s old attic bedroom were complaining.

Late on Christmas Eve after most of the family had retired and the children were settled in their beds, George, Ron and Harry quietly met in the garden as they did every year to continue an event that had become a family tradition of sorts”to catch a garden gnome they then decorated and attached to the top of the Christmas tree in memory of Fred’s first garden gnome angel back in Ron and Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts. Over the years it had evolved into a contest to see who could come up with the best tree topper. They still chuckled about the garden gnome George had turned into a mini-Umbridge holding one of her Educational Decrees. They had tried to convince Molly it was an angel reading a heavenly proclamation but she continued to glance suspiciously at the tree for the remainder of the holiday. They still marveled that this was the one secret the family had successfully kept from Molly all these years.

Sadly, this year our trio has run out of ideas and has asked us here at Contests to extend a challenge to our Leaky Cauldron family to create a garden gnome Christmas tree topper. Ron wants us to remind you not to confuse wizarding garden gnomes with those silly looking muggle gnomes that look “like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods”.

[The gnome] may reach a foot in height, with a disproportionately large head and hard, bony feet. (See book for illustration) (Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, Scholastic, p. 19)

“Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know,” Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn.
“Yeah, I’ve seen those things they think are gnomes,” said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, “like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods…”
There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. “This is a gnome,” he said grimly.
“Gerroff me! Gerroff me!” squealed the gnome.
It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm’s length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet […] (Chamber of Secrets, first Scholastic trade paperback, p. 36-37)

General Rules:

  • All entries must meet PG-13 standards of decency and good taste.
  • All garden gnomes submitted must be created by the contestant. Any garden gnomes not created by the contestant will be disqualified.
  • One entry per person.
  • Anyone over the age of 13 can enter the contest, including staff members who are not involved in the judging process.
  • The first place winner will receive a custom made wand donated by Wizard Wood Wands.
  • Please refer to our FAQ if you are not sure of something.
  • If you have any questions not answered on the FAQ, or would like to discuss this Contest, please come to the Contest Corner Forum of The Leaky Lounge.

Contest Rules:

  • Create a garden gnome Christmas tree topper in any 3-D art medium. Please ensure your garden gnome looks like (or resembles) the ones described in the books (see quotes above).
  • Your garden gnome can be dressed up in an outfit of your choice or can be made to look like any Harry Potter person or creature.
  • You may submit up to two photos of your garden gnome. Photographs may be from digital cameras or scanned “paper” photos, but they must be submitted by email in .jpg, .png, or .gif format. Paper photos are to be 4″ x 6″ or 6″ x 4″ and digital photos of approximately the same length and width (e.g. 1200 x 1800 or 1800 x 1200 pixels for 300 pixels/inch). File sizes no larger than 1 MB, please.
  • Please include a short explanation of your garden gnome (e.g. what 3-D art medium you used, how often do you use this art medium, what is your garden gnome dressed as, etc).
  • All submissions must be e-mailed to [email protected] with the subject line as “Garden Gnome” by Sunday, December 28, 2008 at 11:59 pm (EST). Please remember to include a name to be used for authorship (real name or Leaky Lounge name).


UPDATE: Winners have been picked! Here are the winners:

First Place: fw00per

In honor of Fred, there is really only one way to go with a garden gnome topper, what with dungbombs and stealing Hogwarts toilet seats as some of the highlights of his career. So here it is – an angel gnome with a plunger scepter, toilet seat halo and toilet paper wings, all charmed with a golden heavenly sparkle.

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Honorable Mention: Dulcina Vale

This entry is a model of a gnome/mermaid, made from wire and papier mache and painted.

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