Baubles and gifts

Sphere and box: two basic forms

A bauble is usually a rounded form, so it looks much the same from whichever side you approach it. A gift has flat faces and edges, and therefore a clear front — set at an angle, it shows two sides at once and gives the display a direction. The gift motif also goes further than the box itself: this subcategory includes sacks, boots and crates with their contents spilling out.

Designs that people can walk into or sit on

Some designs are more than a plain shape. A bauble can have a walk-through opening or a built-in bench, and a gift can take the form of a crate with a seat. A decoration like this is no longer something people simply walk past: it holds them at one point and gives them somewhere to sit. Shapes with a walk-through opening count twice over, because the sphere and the crate also appear as arches in Arches and tunnels, and one of them is the tallest design in this range.

Groups rather than single pieces

Spheres and boxes bear repetition better than figures of characters do. Several baubles of different sizes standing together look like a single composition rather than three separate ornaments, so smaller designs work well in groups, while larger ones are best used on their own: at the foot of a cone Christmas tree or beside the entrance to a building.