The Good: Well-constructed, Cute, Decent sculpt and coloring
The Bad: Very slight right bias, A little pricey
The Basics: The 2016 "Winter Wonder" ornament is one of the coolest, non-genre Hallmark Keepsake ornament produced this year!
My mother is a huge pain in the butt to shop for. My mother is a wonderful person, but there are so few things in the world she actually likes. She had a rabbit - named Bunny - once upon a time, who she loved more than pretty much any one or any thing in the entire world. She lost Bunny years ago and she still misses her pet rabbit. Outside of Bunny and her gardening, there is very little in the world my mother loves. But, when my wife and I were out recently at a Hallmark Open House event, my wife saw the 2016 Winter Wonder ornament, which features both a bunny rabbit and a hedge sculpted to look like a bird, and my wife thought it would be perfect for my mother.
She was right!
The 2016 Winter Wonder ornament is one of the few ornaments I've ever found for my mother that she has accepted and actually been thrilled by. My wife knows my mother better than I do, it turns out, and in looking over the ornament, it is hard not to see why both would be truly impressed by the Hallmark Keepsake ornament.
Basics
The Winter Wonder ornament is the third ornament in the Marjolein's Garden Series and it depicts a rabbit, standing next to a potted topiary, with a little red cardinal atop the sculpted bush bird. The hedge bird has a real bell around its neck and the potted plant and rabbit are set upon a snowy base. Made of durable plastic and metal for the bell, the 2016 Winter Wonder ornament is a festive, albeit generic, Christmas ornament. Measuring three inches tall, one and seven-eighths inches wide and one and three-quarter inches deep, the "Winter Wonder" ornament is a decent-sized Hallmark ornament. For the size, the Winter Wonder ornament seemed a little expensive to me with an original issue price of $17.95.
The Hallmark "Winter Wonder" ornament is immaculately sculpted. The bunny is absolutely adorable, standing on its hind legs next to the plant's pot. The hedge bird is very clearly supposed to be sculpted and a plant - not just from its coloring, but from the texturing on it. Even the tiny cardinal looks absolutely accurate for a the little bird. The ornament's primary pieces are accented with snow on the plant bird, the plant's base and the base of the ornament. All of the elements for the 2016 Winter Wonder ornament look truly great!
The coloring for the Winter Wonder ornament is accurate as well. The rabbit is brown and shaded for realism and the greens of the plant bird look incredible and realistic as well. One of the coolest aspects of the 2016 Winter Wonder ornament is that the snow has a glitter quality to it, which looks amazing. Similarly, the glossy black of the rabbit's eyes contrasts nicely with the matte brown of the rabbit's fur!
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Winter Wonder" could have either a light or sound effect, but it has neither. This ornament trades on designer Marjolein Bastin's celebrity, without having any additional accoutrements beside the ornament's bell.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Winter Wonder" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas tree. And the "Winter Wonder" ornament is a good generic Christmas ornament. The ornament has the brass hook loop embedded into the top of the topiary bird. From that position, the Winter Wonder ornament has a slight right bias to it.
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!). Within a few years, every major franchise from Star Wars to A Nightmare Before Christmas to Indiana Jones started making Hallmark ornaments. "Winter Wonder" is a non-genre ornament. Given the slightly high release price it is unlikely that this ornament will appreciate in value. Despite that, often if the series becomes popular, the Nature's Sketchbook ornaments might appreciate in value.
Overview
Fans of rabbits, sculpted hedges, Hallmark ornaments, and generic Christmas ornaments are likely to still find the Winter Wonder ornament to be truly incredible and well worth picking up!
For other non-genre Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2016 Frosty Fun For You mini-ornament set
2016 On The Night You Were Born ornament
2015 Big Box Of 64 Crayola Crayons ornament
8.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |
No comments:
Post a Comment