Sunday, December 16, 2012

Even More Impressed With The Detailing, The 2012 Black Celebration Barbie Hallmark Ornament Is Worthwhile!


The Good: Good sculpt, Cool gem accents, No cloth, Decent balance, Great skin tones!
The Bad: No flexibility
The Basics: For it final Barbie Celebration ornament, the black version of Hallmark’s 2012 Celebration Barbie Hallmark is the way to go!


Every year, when Hallmark releases its Christmas-themed Barbie ornaments, the only one it replicates for different ethnicities is the Holiday Celebration Barbie. This year, the final year Hallmark will be making Barbie Christmas ornaments, is no different. However, this year’s black Celebration Barbie has skin tone highlights that make it the superior Celebration Barbie ornament to pick up!

For those unfamiliar with them, Barbie dolls have been a leading trademarked doll (and model for unrealistic female bodytypes!) from Mattel for over sixty years. Hallmark Keepsake picked up the Barbie license in order to produce Christmas ornaments and black Celebration Barbie is one of several Barbie ornaments produced for 2012! It is worth noting that there are two versions of the Celebration Barbie, a Caucasian (reviewed here!) and a black Barbie. The black is the exact same sculpt as the Caucasian, but with different color skin, eyes, and hair. Both wear the same festive red dress and the black Celebration Barbie is one of the highlights of the 2012 ornament line.

Basics

The black Celebration Barbie ornament recreates the black Celebration Barbie doll with Barbie in her rich red Christmas dress. The ornament features the ethnic version of Barbie with black hair, smooth chocolate-colored skin, and vibrant brown eyes. She looks like a glamour model and in pretty much any toy store in an integrated neighborhood, the black Celebration Barbie may be easily found (before it sells out!). The Celebration Barbie is the latest in the series that replicates the popular doll in ornament form.

The ornament has Barbie wearing a flowing red Christmas gown with silver jeweled accents to her dress and neck. This Barbie ornament is 4 1/16" tall by 2 5/8" wide and 2 1/2” deep because of the solid bell form to the dress. The Hallmark Celebration Barbie ornament is made entirely of durable plastic, save the faux-fur stole on her biceps and has the feminine icon standing alone, with her arms out at her sides, slightly raised, as if she was caught in the first movements of a hug. Her dress is colored two very close shades of red and has a front panel on the skirt that has jeweled accents. The slightly different shading and texture to the dress makes it look like real fabric and that is pretty impressive! She does not have feet molded on, so the bottom of the ornament is a single, flat piece.

This Barbie has less make-up than the usual doll or ornament which makes her look less garish and more natural. However, the black version of the Barbie Celebration ornament features highlights to the cheeks that make her look slightly flushed. This has the effect of giving the ornament startlingly real fleshtones and makes the ornament look less doll-like and more realistically fabulous. The contrasts of her skin tones set off the different reds in the dress as well and that looks great!

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Celebration Barbie could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for fans of Barbie. I think it's disappointing that Celebration Barbie does not have any articulation to her limbs. It was well within the abilities of Hallmark to make the ornament articulated at least at the shoulders or neck, but they opted for a boring statue look for the ornament and that is disappointing.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Celebration Barbie ornament is to be hung on a Christmas tree. For those creating the ultimate Barbie Christmas Tree, the black Celebration Barbie ornament is the superior addition for 2012. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top back of the character's head. From there, one hangs the ornament and this Barbie ornament is fairly evenly balanced.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have branched out into every major franchise from Barbie to Gone With The Wind to Twilight. The Celebration Barbie ornament is selling fairly well, probably because it is the last of the line. I suspect that this will be a strong investment piece and the Celebration Barbie ornaments are a Christmas-themed line, with all thirteen (or, is it 26?) pieces being reasonably obtainable. That none of them have exploded in value is an enticement to collectors and first and last in a series have a tendency to appreciate faster than most, so this should be a strong “buy” to anyone looking to complete the set or invest after the holidays!

Overview

If you’ve never added some diversity to your Barbie ornament collection, there is no better time to start than now with the 2012 Celebration Barbie Hallmark ornament!

For other Barbie ornament reviews, please check out:
2012 Matinee Fashion Barbie - Final In The Series!
2012 Tweed Indeed Barbie
2011 Celebration Barbie (Black)
2011 Campus Sweetheart Barbie
2011 Prima Ballerina Barbie ornament
1996 Enchanted Evening Barbie ornament
1994 Barbie Debut ornament

8.5/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Toy And Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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