The Good: Good detailing for the fur
The Bad: Left bias, Seems pricey, Coloring contradictions
The Basics: The 2016 "Foxy Pair" ornament is inconsistent, which undermines its cuteness.
Ever since my wife started getting into collecting Hallmark ornaments, I have started to pay attention to the non-genre ornaments. Every year, Hallmark Keepsake produces a number of ornaments that trade on being cute and largely, they succeed. Unfortunately, the 2016 Foxy Pair ornament is not one of the successes.
The 2016 Foxy Pair ornament is an ornament with a pair of foxes, wearing scarves, which seems like an initially cute concept. But, the contrast on the ornament - combined with a balance issue and an original price that seems a bit high for the size and quality - between realistic-looking fur and cartoonish scarves undermines the ornament and guts the adorability of the ornament. For a piece that is trading on cuteness, that is something the ornament cannot recover from.
Basics
The Foxy Pair ornament is a standalone ornament of two foxes and the scarf with writing on it. Made of durable plastic, the 2016 Foxy Pair ornament is a cute, generic, Christmas ornament. Measuring two and one-half inches tall, two and three-eighths inches wide and one inch deep, the "Foxy Pair" ornament is a medium-sized Hallmark ornament. For the size, the Foxy Pair ornament seemed a little expensive to me with an original issue price of $15.95.
The Hallmark "Foxy Pair" ornament is well sculpted. The foxes are instantly recognizable as foxes and include cool details like the animal's tails wrapped together to form a heart shape. The foxes have their noses close and their eyes closed in a loving way. The foxes wear scarves, but the high water mark for the quality of the sculpt is the fur. The fur on the foxes for the Foxy Pair ornament is sculpted with an incredible sense of texturing that is impressive!
The coloring for the Foxy Pair ornament is average, but is the source of the ornament's fundamental contradiction. The fur has fairly impressive depth and shading to it. The foxes look almost real with their coloring and the separation between the reds and browns and the whites of the fur is well-handled. Unfortunately, the contrasting green scarves look comparatively simple and cartoonish. The result is an appearance that does not entirely land.
Features
As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Foxy Pair" could have either a light or sound effect, but it has neither. This ornament is simply the two foxes wearing scarves that trades only on the cuteness of the subjects.
Balance
As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Foxy Pair" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas tree. And the "Foxy Pair" ornament is a mediocre generic Christmas ornament. The ornament has the steel hook loop embedded into the top of the left fox's ear, as near as is reasonable to the center of the ornament. From that position, the Foxy Pair ornament has a noticeable left 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. "Foxy Pair" is a non-genre ornament. Given the comparatively high release price and the sheer volume of these ornaments I was able to find after the season was over, it seems highly unlikely that it will appreciate in value, in the near or long term. This ornament seems like a terrible investment for ornament collectors and investors.
Overview
Fans of foxes, adorable "lovey dovey" things, Hallmark ornaments, and generic Christmas ornaments are likely to still find the Foxy Pair ornament to be entirely underwhelming, especially for the price.
For other 2016 non-genre Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
Season's Treatings ornament
Winter Wonder ornament
Frosty Fun For You mini-ornament set
4.5/10
For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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