Schroeder's Piano Playing Helps You Deck Those Halls and Jingle Those Bells

If there is one set of characters I identify most readily with Hallmark, it’s the Peanuts gang. Every year, Hallmark releases all sorts of cute Peanuts figures – plush, ceramic, plastic, you name it. It happens throughout the year, but it’s always most pronounced at Christmastime. This year was no exception, and it brought a charming quartet I found it impossible to resist.

The Wireless Peanuts Band consists of four Peanuts characters, each resting on a brown plastic platform, the top of which resembles a wooden floor. The figures were released gradually, the first in October, the last in December, encouraging multiple visits to collect them all. Each is priced at $29.95, but that cost is cut in half with the purchase of another item. I can’t imagine that anybody would buy one for regular price; even a single greeting card is sufficient to bump the price down to $14.95.

The first figure in the series was Schroeder. His base is three inches wide and four inches long, making him take up more space than any of the others. That’s because he’s seated at his baby grand piano, and the elegant instrument is rather large. Like the rest of the figures, he is dressed in red and green. Specifically, he has a green sweater, while his pants and scarf are red. He also wears a traditional red and white Santa hat. The only part of his attire that is not particularly festive is his footwear, which is brown.

Schroeder is seated with his pudgy hands poised over the keyboard. A shock of yellow hair pokes out from under the white brim of his hat, and he wears a big smile. He doesn’t even seem to mind that he is performing in the same band as his abrasive admirer Lucy. In fact, they sound smashing together as a duo. With him on the piano and her on the flute, it’s a nice blend of earthy and celestial sounds.

It’s the interactive nature of these figures that makes them so fun. Play one, and everyone else joins in – unless you’d rather they didn’t. Hence, Schroeder can play alone or with one, two or three bandmates. If you don’t want to hear a particular character, just flip that switch on the bottom to OFF. It’s fun to experiment with different sound combinations and move the figures around to determine what placement will produce the most pleasing effect.

Schroeder plays jazzy versions of Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells. Naturally, these are fairly short, basically combining the beginning and end of the verse or chorus. He slows the tempo down a bit to allow his fingers the opportunity to roam freely. Of course, they’re not actually touching the keys, but they hover so close to them as he rocks back and forth that it’s easy to maintain the illusion.

To activate this, simply press the brown button near the front of the platform. Once the song is finished, press the button again to hear the other one. If you only want to hear the other song and are impatient, press the button as soon as the song starts. This will stop the song. If you press it again, it will start over with the other song.

Meanwhile, if Schroeder is on but is not the primary musician, he will chime in with his piano accompaniment after a few seconds. For instance, after Lucy plays the opening phrase of Up on the Housetop, Schroeder jumps right in and tickles those plastic ivories, making it sound considerably livelier than it would if Lucy were playing alone. Among the four musicians, there are eight songs, and Schroeder plays back-up on six of them.

These are much heavier than ornaments and are best suited to sitting on a shelf side by side, though if you place them in different corners of the room, they will most likely still work together. Mine have worked at distances exceeding 20 feet. Each comes equipped with three AAA batteries; if you need to replace them, you can do so via the bottom of the platform.

While Schroeder isn’t quite as integral a character as his bandmates Lucy, Snoopy and Charlie Brown, he is the first character I associate with music, so it makes perfect sense to feature him. Right now, I have this little pianist sitting on my piano, leading his friends in a celebration of Christmas cheer. “Oh, what fun” indeed!