Hobbits
Hobbits might be my favourite fantasy race. Like, if I could be any fantasy race, it would be a hobbit. They're a simple people, good natured and unconcerned with the great complexities of the universe. They are quite content in their little gardens, eating good fresh food, talking with friends, having a drink in the pub and falling asleep by the fire. They have got it figured out better than anyone.
No surprise then that my main character from my D&D days was a Halfling Rogue, not too far off ol' Bilbo the burglar eh? I also really enjoy being around plants and nature. I am a terrible gardener and would need more than a few lessons from Samwise, but I am definitely most content in a good little woodland. I'm even from a shire! I'm also guilty of eating like a hobbit and my feet are hairy but the less said about that the better, I think.
Anyway, here's a big page on why I love hobbits so much.
Culture
This is perhaps the one point where hobbits and I disagree. Hobbits are naturally social creatures, and often enjoy inviting others round to their home for a spot of tea and biscuits. I do not know why, that sounds terrible. If it were me, this sign would be up year round.
Parties and social events are plentiful, and you'll always find a throng of hobbits making merry at The Green Dragon. Just don't tell them about pints. They get really, really excited if you mention pints.
"It comes in pints!? I'm getting one."
Interestingly when it comes to parties, particularly birthday parties, you do not give the birthday hobbit a gift, rather they give everyone else a gift. It means that nearly every hobbit in the shire will receive a small gift or trinket almost every week throughout the year. Mostly simple little wooden things, unless you happen to be as wealthy as Bilbo Baggins and you can afford to show off for your eleventy-first birthday.
Fond of lounging around getting drunk but also not afraid of hard work or sport, the game of golf was actually invented by a hobbit (an ancestor of Bilbo no less) when he cleaved the head off a goblin in a single swing. The hobbits enjoyed it so much they made a game out of it, but to simplify the tidying up they switched out goblin heads for little balls.
Fashion
Hobbits wear lovely tones of green, yellow, beige, brown and burgundy.
I would describe their fashion sense as "mostly old-fashioned" with a little bit of "rolled the dice in a charity shop". I mean that in a good way. Look at Bilbo there, he looks fabulous in that jacket. They typically wear capri-style trousers rather than full length ones, perhaps to better show off their extraordinarily hairy feet. Mine are not that bad, I swear.
Food
How could I write about hobbits and not mention food? Yes, this is definitely where I agree with them. Hobbits have seven meals a day if they can get hold of it:
- Breakfast
- Second Breakfast
- Elevenses
- Luncheon
- Afternoon Tea
- Dinner
- Supper
Aragorn has famously only heard of about two of these. Three at a push.
Hobbit food is nice, hearty homemade food, fresh dairy, cured meats and sweet treats. A single day might consist of eggs, cheese and radishes. Toast with jam and butter, bacon, strawberries and crumpets. Croissants, lemon tarts, more eggs. Cured ham, scotch eggs, and cabbage. Seed cake, hardboiled eggs, and apple pie. Roast beef, carrots, sprouts, potatoes and crusty bread. And finally perhaps a creamy leek soup, salad, and maybe a bit more cheese. And to wash it all down through the day expect tea, coffee, and beer.
Ironically* both Bilbo's journey and Frodo's journey frequently have them starving, poor things.
*Somebody probably wants to tell me how this isn't ironic at all, but I'm afraid you'll have to deal with it because we're at the end of the page. So nyerh.