The Good: Cute, Generally decent sculpt, Well-painted
The Bad: Noticeable seam, Poor balance
The Basics: The 2014 "Kisses For Kacey" limited edition ornament is a generally good generic holiday ornament that is a hard sell for ornament investors, though it is a cute ornament!
As a huge fan of Hallmark Keepsake ornaments, I was pretty excited to spend last Saturday out and about hunting down some of this year’s new ornaments. Because I started checking out some of the non-genre ornaments with last year’s Mint Chocolate Chipmunk ornament (reviewed here!), I thought it would be fun to start 2014’s ornament reviews with some of the generic holiday ornaments included in the mix. I decided to start the non-genre ornament reviews with the limited edition 2014 Kisses For Kacey ornament.
My wife loves the holidays and after the Mint Chocolate Chipmunk ornament I picked her up, I thought one of the limited edition cute ornaments might enhance her collection nicely. Kisses For Kacey is that type of generic, cute ornament that is fluffing out her collection nicely . . . except that the ornament has some faults that make it much more average than in any way extraordinary.
Basics
The Kisses For Kacey ornament is a gingerbread man holding a gift box, out of which a little reindeer is popping! The tiny reindeer is looking lovingly at the gingerbread man who seems excited by the gift pet. Honestly, I’m not sure if Kacey is the gingerbread man or the reindeer, but because Hallmark is housed in Kansas City, I assume Kacey is a reference to Kansas City. The ornament, released in 2014, is a limited edition ornament that was released during Ornament Preview Weekend and it did not sell out at any of the Hallmark Gold Crown stores I went to.
Hallmark made a decent effort to make a good ornament with the Kisses For Kacey ornament, but the ornament is very simple and clearly assembled; there is an unfortunate seam that goes around the base of the reindeer in the box. The seam is really the only problem with the ornament’s construction, outside the fact that the gingerbread man is walking in such a way that the legs are curved. Measuring two and one-half inches tall, one and five-eighths inches wide and one and one-sixteenth inches deep, the "Kisses For Kacey" ornament is a small-sized Hallmark ornament. This is also one of the least expensive Hallmark ornaments, especially for the limited edition ones. Originally, it retailed at $12.99, which is actually near the bottom dollar for Hallmark ornaments these days.
The Hallmark "Kisses For Kacey" ornament is made of a durable plastic, but the coloring is done entirely in monotones, which is fine. Most of the gingerbread man is a slightly pearlescent tan color. The raised portions of the gingerbread man, like the icing hair and buttons, are painted perfectly. The painted details are rendered without flaw on this, which is wonderful. This is a very cute ornament and well-colored.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Kisses For Kacey" could have a sound effect, but it does not. Instead, this is a less-expensive option that are just the cute animated characters.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Kisses For Kacey" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas tree. And the "Kisses For Kacey" ornament is a great option for anyone who wants a family tree or who loves animals. The ornament has the brass hook loop embedded into the top center of the gingerbread man’s head. Unfortunately, because the curved legs go back and the box is high in the hands of the gingerbread man, being held near eye level, it makes the ornament front-heavy. The result is that Kisses For Kacey is poorly balanced. The ornament looks like the gingerbread man is tripping and about to put the poor, helpless reindeer into mortal peril!
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 (click here for that review!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "Kisses For Kacey" is a non-genre ornament that is limited edition, which leads buyers to hope it has an inherent collectible value. Honestly, it is too early to tell if that is going to pay off with this ornament. Kisses For Kacey is hardly a sell-out, so limited or not, demand might have already been met on it. With the obvious seam, it might actually fail to hold its value. Over the next two to six months, the market will determine if this becomes an overpriced peg warmer or if collectors find its charm worth clearing the shelves for. At this point, I would bet against it being a worthwhile investment piece.
Overview
Fans of cute food, reindeer, Hallmark ornaments, and generic Christmas ornaments are likely to find the Kisses For Kacey ornament worthwhile, but not one they will pull out of storage off-season.
For other Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2014 All Eyes On Belle Beauty And The Beast ornament
2014 Vina Star Trek ornament
2013 Mockingjay The Hunger Games ornament
5.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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