Witch Christmas Ornaments: Hats, Brooms, Cats and La Befana

Witch Christmas ornaments cover pointed hats, broomsticks, black cats, cauldrons and crescent moons, plus the witch herself in glass, felt or metal. Mouth-blown glass suits a keepsake tree, felt and wood suit low branches, and a flat silhouette witch on her broom reads best in front of lights. Italy’s Befana gives a witch on the tree a real Christmas link.

Why a witch belongs on a Christmas tree

A witch on a Christmas tree has a real holiday precedent in Italy, where La Befana arrives at Epiphany. The Italian National Tourist Board describes her as an old witch who flies on a broomstick on the night between January 5 and 6, filling the stockings children hang by the fireplace. Good children get sweets, and naughty ones get coal.

National Geographic calls her a kindly witch who leaves gifts for Italian children.

That makes a witch ornament less of a Halloween leftover and more of a seasonal guest. If you keep the tree up until early January, she stays relevant right to the end.

Types of witch Christmas ornaments

Witch Christmas ornaments come in more shapes than the witch alone, and the smaller pieces often do the most work on a crowded tree.

Glass is the pick for a keepsake. Old World Christmas, for example, mouth-blows its ornaments into its own carved molds and paints them by hand. Its Halloween collection lists a Witch On Broomstick, a Witch’s Hat, a Witches Shoe and a Witch Kitten, so check makers’ Halloween lines as well as their Christmas ones.

Styling witch ornaments on a dark tree

Witch ornaments look best as small scenes rather than scattered singles. Hang a witch on a broom near the top, a crescent moon just above her and a black cat a branch below, and the group tells a story from across the room.

Flat silhouettes need light behind them. A black cut-out witch disappears against a black tree, so hang her in front of a cluster of warm bulbs, or on a tree near a window where daylight picks out the hat and broom. Glass witches have the opposite problem: the bright paint can look busy, so give them plain black or silver neighbors.

Felt witches and cats mix easily with the soft pieces in our black cat Christmas ornaments guide. For a darker base, start from black Christmas ornaments and let the witches be the color. If you put the tree up in October, our Halloween Christmas trees page covers the switch to December, and old-world glass witches sit well beside Victorian Christmas ornaments.

Keeping glass witch ornaments safe around kids and pets

Glass witch ornaments belong on the upper branches in homes with small children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises avoiding sharp, weighted or breakable decorations where small children live, and keeping trimmings with small removable parts out of their reach. It also warns against trimmings that look like candy or food, which matters for witches holding tiny sweets or cauldrons of fake candy.

A tree that a cat climbs needs the same plan. Put felt or wooden witches low, glass ones high, and use closed hooks or tied thread so a swat does not send a figure to the floor.

Wrap glass witches in tissue before you pack them away. Broomsticks and hat points are the parts most likely to snap, so store them upright in a divided box rather than loose in a bag.

For the rest of the tree, how to decorate a goth Christmas tree covers layering and lights, and goth Christmas decor carries the look to the mantel and door.