Harry Potter Loot Crate Unboxing (January 2017)

Welcome back, my little muggles, witches, and wizards! It's time to open our second Harry Potter Loot Crate! Again, this is a bi-monthly service you can order via lootcrate.com. 

This month's theme: TIME.

Funny thing, time. It is also EXTREMELY ironic that this crate came late. On January 6th, I received the following email from LootCrate:

Now, this could have sent a fangirl into a panic, however, I let it slide, since obviously the Ministry was not going to help with the time turner issue regardless of how many howlers I sent. Fortunately, the crate was not terribly late, I received it today (Friday, January 27th, 2017), with only minor delay from FedEx Smartpost - it was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday, but alas muggle postage can be finicky at times. I digress...

This afternoon after a long day of work, I returned to my domicile to find my "muggle worthy" package sitting outside my front door. Quicker than you could say "alohamora" I let myself in and took to opening this much-awaited crate.

First impressions were great. Two of my very favorite characters were staring right at me! The box was lovely and time-themed. As you can see, the lid is decorated with a time turner, and the grey objects are also time-turners that create this beautiful pattern!

My first thing to grab is my very own Luna Lovegood POP! Vinyl figure.

       


I've started collecting these, and Luna is one I do not have. So, I'm excited to take her to work and put her next to Dobby and Bellatrix on the bookcase in my office!

The next item up is this lovely shirt:

Why oh why didn't this crate come with tissues?! Alan Rickman's passing is still a tender topic in this household, and this shirt does him (and Snape) justice. This beautiful quote is Snape's from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the full conversation in which Dumbledore and Snape are discussing Harry and Snape's protection of him is as follows:

I have spied for you, and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter—’  

‘But this is touching, Severus,’ said Dumbledore seriously. ‘Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?’  

‘For him?’ shouted Snape. ‘Expecto patronum!’ 

From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: she landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.  

‘After all this time?’  

‘Always,’ said Snape.

This exchange reveals Snape's unending love of Lily Potter, Harry's mother, is what has motivated his protection of Harry throughout his life. It's a beautiful moment in the book, and a moment by which most of us were very moved.  

Having peeled myself off of the floor, drying my tears, and blowing my nose, I moved on to see what mysteries lay beneath these two wonderful items.

Next up were these awesome Platform 9 3/4 socks. Hopefully, they'll keep my tootsies warm while I think about making it through the wall. One would look rather funny just running head-first into a wall at the train station. 

What better way to DEFINITELY make sure you make it through to the platform than making sure you are on time! You can definitely be sure this next item, a beautiful Deathly Hallows pocket watch, will help with that!

And if for some reason, your watch is running slow or some Niffler pilfered your beloved watch, maybe, just maybe, the next item can help...

Yes! A time-turner! Now, I'm 100% certain this is Ministry approved, or else I'm sure it would have been confiscated along the shipping route. 

We also got this lovely Harry Potter Prophecy Pin - here's hoping I don't drop and shatter it while in a fight for my life with Death Eaters. 

And, as usual, I save my item list for last (I like to be surprised), but again, it was in this really awesome scroll that I am going to keep and create a mini ancient library in my study with the ones I receive. 

All-in-all, I LOVED this crate just as much as the first crate. 

I will use every single item that was sent, and this is a definite value and a fun gift I gave myself that keeps on giving throughout the year. I can't wait to see what March's crate holds, I'm super pumped for it's arrival, because the theme is....

HOUSE PRIDE!

Now the countdown begins...

Harry Potter Loot Crate Unboxing (November 2016)

If you know me, you know I am HUGE Harry Potter fan - so huge that I have the Deathly Hallows tattooed on my wrist. Yes, a big enough fan that I will eternally be marked as such. I. LOVE. HARRY. POTTER. So, the moment someone on Facebook tagged me in a post about the newly revealed Harry Potter official Loot Crate box, I WAS IN. I was on www.lootcrate.com faster than you can say "Accio wallet!".

       Fortunately, I was there early enough that I was able to snag one of the box subscriptions - apparently, they sold out pretty darn fast (not surprising). I usually don't like to make large purchases, but I had been perusing for a subscription box to try out for quite some time. It was October (my birthday month), and I figured why not get myself the gift that keeps on giving (every other month... for a year.). After ordering this subscription box, I was very impatient. I scoured the internet looking for dates they would ship, and when I would be able to tear into this lovely, magical box! It looked like they would ship mid-November for those who were within the first batch purchased - THAT WAS ME!  When I finally received the "shipped" email notification, I went off the chain tracking my little box of wonder's journey to me.

There was a mild freak-out moment when my Post Office held onto the box for a whole day instead of dispersing it with the mail the day it was receivied - I was afraid either someone had stolen my goodies or they had found some sort of magical creature and had it detained. Fortunately, neither was the case, and the very next day, I had this waiting on me when I got home from work:

It was even "Muggle Worthy", which is probably what saved it from being discovered!

Upon opening it, my face was aglow from the magic inside. 

I do! I want to be a wizard (or in my case witch). This box gets me - things are starting out excellent already! As you might be able to tell, on top was a lovely folded t-shirt with a New York newspaper printed on it. It detailed all of the disturbances that were apparently being caused by wizarding exposure, fantastic beasts, etc. I was VERY pleased.

Next there was a scroll! The scroll was shipped wrapped in a small rectangular box to keep it's shape and prevent crushing. It was really fun to see it, and I particularly enjoyed the "wax seal" (it was a sticker, but I'm going to pretend it was wax). It unrolled to tell you a little more about the goodies within the box itself, however I didn't unroll it until the end (I like to be surprised with every treasure I find).

My first find was this adorable Bowtruckle Lapel Pin. If you haven't seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, you should. These little guys steal a part of your heart, so now that I have my very own bowtruckle friend, I'm never truly alone.

The next item I happened upon in the box was a POP! Vinyl figure of Tina Goldstein. Again, if you haven't seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them - GET ON IT A.S.A.P.! Before this box, I only had 1 POP! Vinyl figure - Garrus Vakarian - but I might try and snag all of these Fantastic Beasts one's!

The next thing in the box was this BE-A-UTIFUL Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA)leather journal. On the front it is embossed with MACUSA's crest and has gold flake, and the back is just as beautifully embossed. I love journals, I love to write. I have meant to pick back up journaling more often, and I think this will help start me off wonderfully!

The next two things stashed away were a Pigwidgeon plushie and this awesome Hedwig//Owl Post key chain. The Pigwidgeon plush is right up my alley. I love pig, I love Ron, and I love the Weasleys. If I had an owl, Pigwidgeon would be him! As for the key chain, I was SUPER stoked for that. I had been looking for a new key chain for my work keys - I had migrated my key chain from my old job to my new job and the old key chain was stretchy and had gotten all stretched out and floppy and unmanageable. This is sturdy, snaps perfectly onto my purse, and holds my keys in style! 

So, basically Loot Crate knocked this one out of the park. THIS Potterhead is very pleased with every single thing she received in her box (and even with the box itself). I can't wait to see what comes in the next Wizarding World crate - ACCIO JANUARY!