When October arrived, Elodie dragged her dusty box of decorations from under the bed—not for Christmas, but for something... far more mischievous. With a flick of her wrist and the thud-thud-thud of baubles hitting carpet, she crowned her artificial Christmas tree in Halloween glory.
Orange pumpkin ornaments swung from its branches, bats fluttered between tangled strands of warm fairy lights, and at the top, a skull grinned wickedly in place of a star. Beneath it sat five carved pumpkins, watching the fireplace crackle with eerie delight. Her flat smelled of cinnamon and candle wax—part party, part potion lab.
Friends who visited gasped. “You’ve gone mad,” they said. “That’s a Halloween Christmas tree.”
“Exactly,” Elodie winked. “No one said magic had rules.”
October bled into November. The pumpkins softened and the trick-or-treat candy vanished. But the tree remained—half-haunted, half-hungry for change. On the first frosty morning, Elodie made her move.
She swapped skulls for stars, bats for baubles. The pumpkins stayed, now nestled beside sprigs of holly. A velvet ribbon curled around each branch like snow-dusted ivy. Fairy lights still twinkled, but now they danced to carols.
The tree hadn’t chosen a side. It had evolved.
By December, Cake Pops Parties was selling bundles named after Elodie’s creation—Spooky Sparkle, From Coven to Claus, The Dual-Season Pop Box. Her blog post, “From Bats to Baubles,” had gone viral. Influencers copied her. Hosts styled their parties with witch hats in one corner and candy canes in the other.
And somewhere in Coventry, Elodie poured mulled wine into her cauldron mug and smiled at her ever-changing tree. The magic had worked—two holidays, one narrative, endless charm.