Linus Fills the Air With Christmas Cheer

In 2011, Hallmark introduced one of the most charming and ingenious sets of Christmas decorations I have ever encountered. Entitled the Wireless Peanuts Band, this merry group consisted of four beloved characters, each of which played the primary melody on two songs and backup on the rest. As long as they were within close range of each other, the figures interacted with each other without the aid of cords or any other connecting device. We had so much fun with the quartet that we decided to leave them up all year.

We were delighted, then, to discover that a fifth member had been added to the set we’d considered complete. As soon as Mom and I spied Linus, we snatched him up, and he now sits happily on the piano with the rest. Like them, he wears a red Santa hat with white trim. His shoes are brown, while his pants and scarf are red and his pants are green. In his hand, he clutches a trumpet, and unlike the other two characters playing air-powered instruments, he wears a wide smile.

Linus is made of hard plastic and stands about four inches tall. He sways forward and backward at the point of the bottom of his coat when he feels the spirit in the music he is playing. Like the others, he stands flat on a platform made to look like a wood paneled floor. This platform is about three and a half inches long, three inches wide and just over an inch tall. It is the same size as the others in the series, except that Schroeder’s is slightly longer to accommodate his piano. Near the front is the button that you must push to activate each song.

Because Charlie Brown already plays the saxophone, Linus’s trumpet doesn’t add something dramatically different to the group, but it is still a welcome addition. What’s more, he brings with him two songs of his own: Joy to the World and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I find that Lucy’s accompaniment shines most clearly in the first and Schroeder’s in the second, but the group as a whole sounds nice together.

Encountering Linus in December was a sweet surprise prompting me to wonder whether other characters might turn up in future years. Now that we’ve got Charlie Brown, Schroeder, Snoopy, Lucy and Linus, I could imagine them adding folks like Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Sally and Pigpen. While the sound might become a bit cluttered with so many participants, I certainly would snatch up any others they add to the series. I also find myself hoping they’ll do something like this for other sets of characters such as the Pooh gang. For now, though, I am very happy with the five characters I have, and I look forward to them serenading me throughout the year.

Even Without Sunglasses, Snoopy Makes a Mega-Cool Guitarist

Snoopy has got to be just about the most accomplished fictional dog out there. He’s a flying ace. He writes novels. (Granted, they’re fine fireplace fodder, but how many dogs do you know who can type?) His list of unusual skills goes on and on, so it’s not much of a stretch to imagine him playing a musical instrument. In fact, the Peanuts Wireless Band simply would not feel complete if, say, Linus was there in his place. Snoopy is the life of every party, so of course he has to be on hand to play the guitar.

Snoopy is one of four figures in this 2011 Hallmark set that was released one piece at a time between October and December. Snoopy was the last to arrive, perhaps because he is the most popular and Hallmark figured that if he came out first, people might just buy him and not bother with the others. But even if you love Snoopy twice as much as any other character, you’re missing a whole lot of the fun if you only buy one figure. What’s really great about these is the way that they interact with each other.

Press a button on one of them, and after a short time of solo playing, the other figures join in the music, providing harmonies. Among the four figures, there are eight songs, so Snoopy plays back-up guitar for six but takes the lead for two. Of course, a flip of the switch on the bottom of the figure can turn it off, so if you’d rather just hear Snoopy by himself, you can do that. You can also turn off one or two of the other figures to provide a different sound. It’s fun to experiment with different sound patterns; another interesting variable is location, as putting them all in the same place provides a different effect than scattering them around the room.

Snoopy stands on a dark brown platform with a light brown top that resembles a wooden floor. This platform is about three inches wide, three and a half inches long and an inch high. On the platform is a red speaker, and on top of this is Snoopy, who’s rockin’ out - and back and forth - with a green electric guitar in his paws. He also wears a red coat with a matching Santa hat and a green scarf. Like Schroeder, Snoopy is smiling. He doesn’t seem to be stressed out in the least by the task before him. It seems he should be wearing sunglasses; his Joe Cool persona would mesh nicely with this confident musician. But shades or not, he’s looking sharp.

Snoopy’s two songs are Jolly Old St. Nicholas and Silent Night, one of only two religious songs in the repertoire. None of the other characters particularly stands out to me in relation to Snoopy; they all seem to respond to him equally well. This fellow gave me a problem when I first got him; he was a little bit too independent to make a successful band member. When Charlie Brown or Lucy began to play, it was anyone’s guess whether he would join in, and he flat-out refused to accompany Schroeder. A few times, halfway into a performance by the trio, he would launch into a completely different song. Cacophony! But we went back to Hallmark and switched him, and the new and improved Snoopy is a much better team player.

I got Snoopy for $14.95, the same price as the other figures, though technically they were priced at $29.95, and the reduced price was a consequence of buying something else at the same time. If you’re lucky enough to find any at a local Hallmark store, you might even find them for less than that, but they’re also going for considerably more online. Each comes with three AAA batteries, and while you’ll have to replace them eventually, they lasted a season in my house with no problems. I’m sure these figures will make sweet music together for years to come, so it is only right that Snoopy should be a part of a new Christmastime staple.

A More Cooperative Lucy Than Usual Shows Off Her Artistic Side

In countless Peanuts strips, we see Lucy intently watching Schroeder as he plays the piano. While his musical ability seems to impress her, it annoys her that he pours all of his passion into his instrument and none into her, while he is just irritated by her constant interruptions. Despite the intensity of Lucy’s crush, there never seemed to be much of a spark there. But the 2011 Wireless Peanuts Band, a four-piece set released by Hallmark in the lead-up to Christmas, puts them on more even footing, and I daresay those two make beautiful music together. Maybe this seemingly mellower Lucy has cause for an optimistic outlook in her long-unrequited affections.

The band also includes Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and ideally, when you press the button on the front of the brown plastic platform on which Lucy stands, the other three will join in her song. However, because of their musical history, Schroeder is the band member whose interaction with Lucy interests me most, and of all the instruments in the band, I think his piano and her flute make the most dynamic pair. If I isolate them, turning off certain band members in order to create the impression of duets, Saxophonist Charlie Brown and flutist Lucy almost cancel each other out. Guitarist Snoopy is more defined, but it really is the flute and the piano that stand out most to me in relation to each other.

Lucy, about four inches tall, stands on a solid rectangular platform that’s about an inch high, three inches across and three and a half inches long. It’s dark brown on the bottom with a lighter brown flat top given the look of a wooden floor. She wears saddle shoes, green pants and scarf, a red coat and a traditional red Santa hat with white trim and a white ball at the tip. The expression on her face is one of intense concentration, as evidenced by the lines on either side of her eyes. Her black hair is clearly visible under her hat, and her silver flute is raised to her lips.

Each member of the band plays two different Christmas songs, so Lucy provides harmonies on six of them. Her starring role comes in O Christmas Tree and Up on the Housetop. Press the button on her platform, and one of those two songs will play. After the first phrase, whatever other band members are activated will automatically join in. It’s a pretty cool phenomenon, whether you have them situated next to each other on the piano, as I do right now, or scattered around the living room, as I did a few weeks ago. To add to the enjoyment, in addition to the music, each figure moves as well. Lucy swivels back and forth, a nice complement to the twirling that the much tinier version of her does in the 2011 Christmastime Is Here! ornament.

Lucy, like the others in this series, is one of those seasonal promotional figures that is $29.95 at regular price but $14.95 with another purchase. This is a bit silly, since I can’t imagine why anyone would pay full price, especially since “another purchase” can be something as simple as a birthday card. In any case, though, to get all four I had to cough up $60 over the course of four trips, though perhaps if you manage to find a Hallmark that still carries them now, you will find them cheaper as they clear out the Christmas clutter. When I think about the price tag on this series, I feel a tad extravagant buying it, but we’ve had so much fun with this quartet over the past couple months that I don’t care. These figures are just extremely fun, and they’re well-crafted. The three AAA batteries each one came with are still going strong, and I foresee them bringing Christmas cheer for many Decembers to come. Who knew that a lass as abrasive as Lucy could be so sweetly harmonious?

Super-Cool Saxophonist Charlie Brown Plays a Sweet Serenade

Poor Charlie Brown is the perpetual underdog. His beagle may be Joe Cool, but “cool” is not a word I would usually associate with the round-headed kid in the jaggedy-striped shirt. However, in this year’s Wireless Peanuts Band from Hallmark, he’s lookin’ super-smooth as he cradles his saxophone.

Like the other three figures in this series, Charlie Brown is sturdy plastic, and he stands atop a brown base with a wooden floor pattern on the top. That base is just over an inch high, just under three inches wide and about three and a half inches long. The contrast of the darker brown with the light brown on top adds to the attractiveness of the figure.

Charlie Brown wears brown shoes, but everything else about him is vibrant and Christmassy. His pants and scarf are green, while his coat and Santa hat are red. Against all that bright color, Charlie Brown’s skin looks paler than usual. On his face, two tiny black eyes gaze out, one on either side of his bulbous nose, while the black mouthpiece of his golden saxophone is inside his mouth.

Press the small brown button near the front of the platform, and you will be able to hear Charlie Brown play The 12 Days of Christmas, along with It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, one of only two religious songs the band plays. He bobs forward and backward as he plays, giving the impression that he is putting all of his soul into this performance. If you press the button again mid-song, the music will stop; press it once more, and he will begin to play the alternate tune.

Of course, what makes these decorations so very fun is the fact that they communicate with each other. Charlie Brown can play by himself even if you have all four figures; all you need to do is turn off the power on the other three. You can also turn off the power on one or two of them and experiment to see which accompaniment sounds best with him. I would say the player who stands out least when Charlie Brown is in the spotlight is Lucy, whose flute is higher in pitch but somewhat similar in tone to the saxophone.

If another character is playing, Charlie Brown will jump right in after a few seconds, provided he is on. When we first brought Lucy home, we took her out of the bag and pressed the button. Charlie Brown was in the kitchen, near my brother, and he started playing out of the blue. As he had never seen the interactive quality of these figures before, that startled him. It’s a nifty way to be taken by surprise.

Charlie Brown was the second of the figures that Hallmark released. Like the others, he costs $29.95 if you buy him and nothing else, but I don’t know why anyone would do that. He’s $14.95 with another purchase, and that purchase can be something as inexpensive as a greeting card. He comes with three AAA batteries loaded into the bottom of his base, and unless he’s in display mode, which is activated by holding the play button down for several seconds, he shouldn’t need to have his batteries replaced before the season is over.

Whether Charlie Brown is the lead instrumentalist or the beguiling back-up, he is an undeniably awesome part of this quartet, which is one of the cleverest promotions I’ve ever seen from Hallmark. I always thought Charlie Brown was a jolly good fellow, and it’s great to see him here as a nice guy who doesn’t finish last – except when it comes to providing that long, last note that lingers in the ears when the song concludes.

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!

Stopping in the Wood on a Snowy Evening With Pooh and Piglet

Every year, I add at least one or two Winnie the Pooh Hallmark Christmas ornaments to my collection. I usually wait until after Christmas to buy any for myself, but this year I decided to go ahead and splurge on Hello, Snow!, my favorite of the 2011 Pooh ornaments.

This ornament, crafted by Hallmark artist Tracy Larsen, is a magic ornament, and it truly has a magical quality about it even before you activate the light and sound. Pooh, clad in a turquoise scarf and festive Santa hat, is trekking his way through the Hundred-Acre Wood, lantern in one orange paw. The other holds a string, which is attached to a sled on which Piglet, all bundled up in a sea green scarf and hat, is taking an exuberant ride. Pooh obviously does not mind tugging his very best friend along; both of them wear enormous smiles.

Pooh’s ear almost brushes one of the limbs on the stately birch that takes up a good portion of this ornament. They stand on a platform that is flat on the bottom and mostly flat but somewhat lumpy on the top, to give the appearance that they are walking in freshly fallen snow. The front of the round platform reads “So much Christmas wonder to discover!” in blue, with blue snowflakes as accents, and the ground up top is dazzling white and covered with glitter, as are the birch branches.

The tree has five main limbs, each of which has two or three branches forking out. This makes Hello, Snow! an especially delicate ornament, and given how nicely it stands on a shelf, I won’t be taking the chance of one of those branches breaking by hanging it on the tree. However, for those inclined to try it, there is a brass ring on one of the limbs, roughly in the middle of the tree.

Meanwhile, hanging from a branch on each of the limbs is a small plastic snowflake attached with thread. These are cute and covered with glitter. Four of the snowflakes, at least on the one I have, look very similar to each other, while another is quite distinct from them, which makes me wonder why the others aren’t more strongly differentiated. They’re so tiny, though, that you don’t really notice what they look like unless you examine them closely.

Having these tiny dangling objects also makes me reluctant to hang the ornament on the tree, where it would be easier for one of the flakes to come off and get lost. While I love the snowflakes, I’m also enchanted by the cardinal who perches on a branch directly above Pooh’s head and gazes down at him. This handsome red bird stands out particularly well against all the white branches with their occasional black stripes.

I love the little poem printed on the box here. Its eight lines capture the wonder of a wintry landscape combined with the warmth of friendship. I especially love the last three lines of the eight-line poem: “The friends kept gazing at the sky, / So warm with wonder and delight, / they didn’t feel the time slip by.” When you’re a bear of little brain and a plush pig, chances are that you have neither promises to keep nor miles to go before you sleep, so there’s nothing to deter you from stopping in the Wood on a snowy evening.

Once the three button batteries have been inserted in the bottom of the ornament, pressing the small white button directly in front of Piglet will activate the “magic,” which means the lantern lighting up and a lush, flutey orchestration of Let It Snow playing. The music and light goes together; both end at the same time, and the lantern light seems to ebb and flow with the melody. It’s really quite lovely, especially in a darkened room.

I know not everybody finds snow as magical as I do, but on an ornament like this, where its beauty can be enjoyed with no plunging temperatures, it’s easy to get caught up in the enchantment of a winter wonderland, especially in the company of such grand pals as Pooh and Piglet.

Bask in the Geeky Glow of the 2010 Hallmark Light Cycle

Up until last year, I had only a passing familiarity with TRON, but as the release date of the sequel neared, I was persuaded that the time had come for me to fill in that gap in my geek cred. While my feelings about the movie itself are somewhat mixed, I've developed a deep affection for the franchise, particularly for the light cycle, the vehicle that served as my entry point into that world. That's why I ended up buying the 2010 Hallmark light cycle ornament when I spotted it on sale after Christmas.

Crafted by Hallmark artist Orville Wilson, this is a sturdy black ornament that has a very sleek look to it. It's actually inspired by TRON Legacy rather than the original TRON, so the character astride it is Sam Flynn, son of Kevin Flynn, the main character from the first movie. Not that you can really tell what he looks like in that black bodysuit. His face is somewhat visible behind the plastic visor, but basically, he is one with the light cycle here, and together they are zooming across the grid.

While the outer part of the light cycle is smooth black plastic, parts of the tires are visible, and the rough tread makes it fairly easy to stand the cycle up on a shelf. I'm undecided whether I'm going to hang mine on the tree this year or just leave it in its current perch on the bookshelf. While it wobbles a bit when I pick it up and set it down again, I don't have much trouble getting it to stand straight.

One problem I did have was upon lifting the ornament out of the box. I was taking a closer look at it, and one of the pedals on which Sam's foot rested broke off. Later, my brother was looking at it, and the other one broke off. I don't know if we just got a flimsy ornament or what, but I'd advise you to watch out for those pedals and be extra careful not to bump them.

While this is a cool ornament on its own, with its iconic look and the white accents on a sheer black surface, what makes it really neat is the fact that it lights up once you put the button batteries in it. You press the black button surrounded by a white circle on the top of the ornament, just ahead of the hook, and it glows a pale blue. While there is nothing Christmassy about this ornament, the blue is a wintery shade that feels festive.

Additionally, this ornament is slightly smaller than the front portion of a typical pair of glasses. While the holes in the wheels are certainly on the small side for lenses, I find it fun to hold the ornament about an inch away from my face and peer through them, especially while it's lit up. That's probably a very dorky thing to do, but I get a kick out of it.

In January, I started watching Chuck, which has further cemented TRON in my mind as an icon of geek pride since the title character's original movie poster is prominently displayed in almost every episode. As a self-proclaimed geek, then, I am glad to let this ornament light up my living room.

The Peanuts Gang Has a Snow Day in the Christmastime Is Here! Ornament

A Charlie Brown Christmas, the first of many Peanuts specials, includes plenty of iconic moments: the kids dancing as Schroeder debuts Linus and Lucy, Linus explaining what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown bemoaning the apparent demise of his bedraggled Christmas tree. Before any of that comes along, however, we have the blissful scene of the children basking in the pristine beauty of a winter wonderland to the tune of the wistful Christmastime Is Here.

That scene is the subject of the 2011 Hallmark ornament of the same name. One of this year's most expensive ornaments at $35, it is also one of the largest and most complex. On a circular sky blue base about 1.75 inches high and 3.75 inches in diameter, a scene of glittery enchantment unfolds. "Christmastime is here!" declare the words on the base, making it obvious which way the ornament should be turned, though the placement of the landmarks suggests it as well.

In the back, we have Snoopy's red doghouse, its roof covered in snow, toward the right and a snowman in a green scarf toward the left. Snow-covered trees rest to both the left and right near the front, and an especially tall one stands directly in the middle with the loop for the ornament hook at the top, looking almost like a traditional tree-topping star. The snow is white and thick, with a generous sprinkling of sparkles.

Five characters appear on this ornament, none of them standing much more than an inch in height. On a round track circling the central tree, we have Charlie brown in his brown cap, red coat and black pants stretched out on a wooden toboggan. In front of him is Linus in a green cap and black sweater, happily seated inside a cardboard box, and leading the procession - at least, depending how you look at it - is Snoopy cruising along in his red supper dish, with Woodstock perched on the fuzzy brim of his Santa hat. Finally, Lucy, clad in a pale blue dress and matching cap, has a tiny pond to herself, and she looks uncommonly graceful as she stands poised with one white skate on the ice and another in the air.

Each of the characters is smiling, though Snoopy and Woodstock's cheerful expressions are difficult to decipher under their large snouts. Clearly, though, this is a very placid scene, and it becomes even more charming when you pull the string dangling from the bottom of the base with a small plastic snowflake at the end. At this point, Lucy twirls in place, while the four characters surrounding her circle her as the first verse of Christmastime Is Here plays. The string lasts longer than the song does, so after the children's voices fade, you will most likely still see some movement before it winds down entirely.

Each of the figures is intricately detailed, making this ornament gorgeous to look at but not one that is ideal for tree-hanging. The ornament on the whole is heavy and bulky, likely to weigh down a typical evergreen branch, while the tiny figures might get dwarfed or damaged as they hang on the tree. This battery-operated ornament created by Hallmark artist Tracy Larsen seems much more suited to shelf-sitting; while you will have to pick it up in order to pull the string and get the magic going, it works fine if you immediately set it down on the shelf again afterward.

Every year, Hallmark releases oodles of ornaments that I would readily snatch up if I had an inexhaustible supply of money and tree space. The Peanuts ones are harder for me to resist than most, and Christmastime Is Here! is one of the most enchanting of those ornaments yet.

Embrace Contentment With the 2011 Happiness Is... Ornament

Happiness Is a Warm Puppy is one of the most iconic books Charles Schulz ever created. A compact celebration of the many different ways in which people find happiness, it includes a series of “Happiness is…” statements, each accompanied by a drawing of one or more Peanuts characters. This year’s Happiness Is… Hallmark ornament celebrates that book and the general feeling of contentment that goes along with it.

This sturdy ornament features Charlie Brown lounging cozily in a bright blue beanbag, reading the book whose title has been shortened to Happiness Is… On Charlie Brown’s head rests Snoopy, his faithful white beagle with the black spot on his back, and plucky yellow bird Woodstock perches on Snoopy’s head. All three wear wide smiles. They make a lovely little tower, and the beanbag, which is flat on the bottom, gives them a very sturdy base. The bag is two inches long and just under two inches wide, and from its bottom to the top of Woodstock’s head, the ornament stands slightly less than four inches tall.

The colors on this ornament are very vivid. I would describe the blue as cerulean, a cheerful color that is fairly light but very bright. Charlie Brown has flesh-toned arms, hands, legs and face, while his shirt is bright red with a jagged black stripe, his shorts are black and his shoes are brown. Snoopy is blazingly white except for the black spots and the red collar, and Woodstock sports a sunny shade of yellow. Meanwhile, the book in Charlie Brown’s hands has a lavender cover. The pages are white on the edges, but the left page to which the book is open is red, while the right is orange.

“Happiness is getting together with friends,” the page reads, and that seems wonderfully appropriate for this ornament. The unspoken sentiment that goes along with it here would be something along the lines of “Happiness is curling up with a good book.” Because it so effectively conveys the joy of reading, this ornament would make a wonderful shelf sitter in a book nook or on a home library shelf. I’ve decided to keep mine out year-round; after all, there is nothing inherently Christmassy about it.

If you do want to hang this one on your Christmas tree, the ornament hook is at the back of Snoopy’s head, where you barely notice it from the front because Woodstock is standing directly in front of it. There’s a slight tilt to the way this hangs because of the heaviness of the beanbag, but it’s nothing very dramatic. It’s just enough to enhance the illusion of reclining.

While this is well-crafted and appealing from a purely visual point of view, one thing that makes this battery-operated ornament so fun is the button you push to make Charlie Brown talk. Located on the side of the beanbag and colored to blend in with the rest of the material, it runs through a series of statements about what happiness is. There are enough that at least one should apply to whoever happens to be listening, especially since one of the statements is about how different things make different people happy. The list of quotes is as follows.

“Happiness is getting together with friends.”
“Happiness is an A on your spelling test.”
“Happiness is finding someone you like at the front door.”
“Happiness is walking on the grass in your bare feet.”
“Happiness is one thing to one person and another thing to another person.”

I’m not sure who recorded the voice for this, but he sounds Charlie Brownish to me, and he does a nice job with the statements, though his inflection on the third is a little wonky. It’s fun to press the button multiple times and listen to each in turn.

This is an excellent ornament for fans of Charlie Brown and his pals, and it can bring a smile no matter what the season is. If you think happiness is a warm puppy, a beloved book or devoted friends, then you will probably also find that happiness is a 2011 Hallmark ornament featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock.

Belle Sparkles in the Hallmark Ornament The Enchanted Rose

Belle, the brave bookworm at the heart of Beauty and the Beast, is my favorite Disney princess. While I tend to gravitate more toward representations of her in her peasant dress, when I saw the 2011 Hallmark ornament The Enchanted Rose, in which she wears the elegant golden ball gown featured in the iconic scene accompanying the title song, I couldn’t resist snagging it.

This ornament, about two inches wide at the bottom and standing just over three inches tall, shows Belle gazing curiously at the rose that the Beast keeps under a glass dome in the west wing. It’s a little odd in that it doesn’t exactly capture a moment in the movie. It’s more a mash-up of two moments. While Belle is within proximity to the enchanted rose immediately after her idyllic dinner and dance with the cursed prince, her focus is on the mirror and she barely gives the drooping flower a passing glance. Hence, although her costume is from the latter part of the movie, this hearkens back more to her first night in the castle when her inquisitiveness got the better of her and she tiptoed up to the forbidden room to investigate its contents.

Despite that incongruity, I really like this ornament designed by ornament artist Katrina Bricker, and I’m not the only one. I bought it along with several ornaments that I lined them up on the shelf for my parents and brother to look at, and Nathan’s eyes immediately fell upon Belle. While he liked the others, he couldn’t stop looking at this Disney heroine. “It’s just so pretty,” he said.

Belle certainly looks elegant in her golden gown, which is accented by glitter, mostly on the shoulders and the looping bits of fabric about midway down the skirt. Of course, there’s no actual fabric here; it’s just plastic. But it’s a very nice replica of that dress, with the slender gloves to match. She presses one hand against herself just below the neck, while the other is poised to remove the glass covering on the rose. So close they practically brush against the clear plastic, her gloved fingers practically seem to tingle with a sense of mystery.

The rose we see here is hunched over, with the front facing away from Belle. Although it hangs down on the bright green stem, it is in full bloom without any sign of wilting. Belle’s heart-shaped face is slightly cocked under her brown hair, and there seems to be a direct line between Belle’s chocolate eyes and the majestic rose, which rests upon a white pedestal with a flat green surface on top. She is standing so close to it that her dress enfolds half of the pedestal at the base.

It’ll be another several weeks before we pick out a tree to put in our living room, so I haven’t been able to test Belle’s hanging ability on an actual branch, but I tried dangling her from a basket handle, which seemed to work well and didn’t seem to result in any tilting. The small golden loop in her hair is well placed for hooks. Still, I’m undecided as to whether I will hang this on the tree; while I think it would look very nice against those dark green needles, the flat bottom makes it ideally suited to placement on a shelf. I might just decide to leave this one on elsewhere in the room.

This is not a magic ornament, and because Hallmark has so many of those now, I get a bit spoiled and can’t help craving those elements a bit when they are absent. Still, I can’t really think of anything that the Enchanted Rose should have incorporated, and because it isn’t “magical,” the price is more manageable. If you too were swept up in the enchantment of Beauty and the Beast, it shouldn’t be hard to see the beauty of this ornament.

Let John Denver Fill Up Your Senses With the Annie's Song Ornament

Over the years, I’ve embraced thousands of songs by various artists, but I think no single musician has had a more powerful impact upon me, both through his music and his life, than John Denver. Granted, the Western singer-songwriter didn’t always live up to the squeaky-clean image he presented to the world, and his intense dedication to music and humanitarianism ultimately came at a cost to his family life. Nonetheless, his gentle ideals and homespun melodies have permeated my consciousness for as long as I can remember.

I was delighted, then, when my brother pointed out the John Denver Annie’s Song ornament to me when we were browsing our local Carlton Cards back in 2004. Because the store was in the last stages of clearing house before closing, I bought the ornament, third in a series honoring country singers, for a song, which is appropriate given its theme.

John rests on a rocky base of about three square inches, with the back portion creeping up to form a boulder on which he can comfortably rest. One of his brown cowboy boots is firmly planted in the moss that covers the rocks up to the edge of a tranquil mountain stream. The scene looks so picturesque that I would love to step into it. He sits in a casual pose, his other boot resting on a small rock so that it is slightly elevated. He’s in definite cowboy mode here in his blue jeans and his cream-colored shirt with the snazzy brown Western design around the collar. While he’s not wearing a cowboy hat, I think that’s mostly because his head makes a sturdier perch for the loop for those who want to suspend it from an evergreen branch.

John’s hair is brown and fairly short, and wire-rimmed glasses cover his eyes. On his face is a wide smile. He has a brown guitar strap slung over his shoulder, and he holds a shiny silver guitar that he is meant to be in the midst of playing. His right hand strums from above, while his left hand, on which his wedding ring is clearly visible, reaches up from below to handle the chord changes. It’s a very good likeness that really captures what Denver was all about. As a nice bonus, the light gray base has his distinctive signature scrawled across the front in black. Of course, this ornament came out several years after he died, so he didn’t actually put his stamp on it, but I’m sure he would have approved of this keepsake.

One of the best aspects of the ornament is the music. In the back you have a tiny knob that you press in to hear the clip, and just above that is a little speaker. What you’ll hear, naturally, is a snippet of Annie’s Song, and a pretty generous one at that. In fact, you get the whole first verse, complete with strummed guitar accompaniment. One of his earliest and most popular songs, it was written for his wife and was one of those gifts that come in a single flash of inspiration. A celebration of simple but profound joys like the beauty of nature and the love of a kindred spirit, the song has been a centerpiece at countless weddings in past three and a half decades, and many consider it to be him at his most romantic.

You fill up my senses / Like a night in a forest, / Like the mountains in springtime, / Like a walk in the rain, / Like a storm in the desert, / Like a sleepy blue ocean. / You fill up my senses; / Come fill me again.

It’s sad to listen to this song and realize that the marriage it celebrates didn’t last, but it doesn’t diminish the sense of euphoria encapsulated in its few short lines. While it can go on the tree, the ornament, at over five inches in height, is a bit on the large side for hanging. However, its flat, sturdy base makes it ideal for placement on a surface such as a desk or a side table. I keep mine out all year in a little corner of the piano dedicated to musical inspiration; accompanying him are a small headshot of Art Garfunkel clipped from the paper when he was in Erie in 2000 and a statue of Schroeder playing the piano. They make a merry trio. The ornament takes three AAA batteries, and in all these years I’ve never had to change them. If they ever run out, though, I will be sure to switch them out; there’s nothing like a few lines of Annie’s Song to provide a quick pick-me-up on a gloomy day.

Spring Is In the Air For Thumper in the All Atwitter Ornament

This weekend, Hallmark stores around the country will unveil the new ornaments for 2011. For the next half a year, I will gravitate toward the cheerful, expansive display every time I enter a Hallmark. I love those ornaments. However, since there are so many different ones tempting me, I usually save myself the burden of decision-making by waiting until after Christmas, when everything is so much cheaper and it’s all been so picked over that there’s considerably less to choose from. Plus, I always figure there’s the possibility that I might get one for Christmas. Rare indeed is the year when I don’t buy or receive at least one new Winnie the Pooh ornament, but those are hardly the only ones that catch my eye.

In a post-Christmas Hallmark excursion in 2007, I was headed out of the store when I spotted an ornament I hadn’t seen earlier, either that day or in the season as a whole. Entitled All Atwitter, it featured Thumper, the exuberant rabbit from Bambi, on the receiving end of an amorous advance. Since Thumper has always been my favorite character in that movie, I found it hard to resist. While it didn’t look much like a Christmas ornament to me, I actually considered that a plus; I figured I would buy it and put it out before Valentine’s Day and leave it up past Easter. It definitely has a springtime feel to it.

The name All Atwitter refers to the notion of being twitterpated, a concept that the wise Friend Owl explains to Bambi, Thumper and Flower when they express their bewilderment at the bizarre behavior of their fellow woodland creatures now that spring has arrived. Rarely has romance seemed so silly as in that iconic segment of Bambi, and if you were to rank all the animated Disney couples , something tells me that Thumper and his unnamed ladylove would come in pretty close to the bottom. Well, they are rabbits, after all; it doesn’t take a lot of provocation to arouse interest. But they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.

This ornament has a flat, circular base that’s about two and a half inch inches in diameter. The top of the base is fairly rounded and covered with lush grass and bright pink and yellow flowers. There can be no doubt that the setting is spring. Thumper stands on the right, a dreamy look on his face; his eyes are half-closed, and his mouth is open into a goofy grin that reveals his buckteeth. On the left, the paler female rabbit with blushing cheeks and lashes on her closed eyes leans in to plant a kiss on his cheek. This is a magic ornament, with the simple but charming mechanism of Thumper living up to his name and thumping his foot at the turn of a small green knob on the side of the base. From ear tips to the bottom of the base, the ornament stands about three inches tall.

On the other side of the base is a long brass hook holder. It arches gracefully over the two, coming to rest with the small loop dead center. It’s easy to imagine that there is a sprig of mistletoe there; the placement would be perfect. The ornament isn’t heavy, but it’s on the large side, so it tilts a bit on the tree, but if you’re like me, you won’t put it on the tree anyway. I’ve got more Christmassy ornaments than I have room to hang, so I leave this one for the spring, and because it sits flat so nicely, I simply put it on the piano or a nearby shelf.

If you have fond memories of Bambi or have experienced the peculiar rush of twitterpation yourself, All Atwitter is an adorable ornament. You just might want to wait until after Christmas to break it out.

Piglet Is On His Way to Deliver A Friendly Sort of Gift

In my house, we’ve accumulated so many Christmas ornaments that one Christmas tree is nowhere near sufficient to contain them. The theory is that eventually, my brother Nathan and I will leave home with a hefty collection of ornaments in tow, just as my brother Benjamin did, but right now, we’ve got enough for three trees. We don’t have room for more than one full-size tree, but several years ago, Mom got each of us a small artificial tree where we could hang especially small ornaments.

Every year since, she’s tried to find us Hallmark Keepsake Miniatures to hang on our individual trees. For some reason, these seem to be harder to come by nowadays than when we began our collections. Nonetheless, I can pretty much always count on finding a tiny, adorable ornament in my stocking. This year’s was A Friendly Sort of Gift, from the Winnie the Pooh Collection. Like other ornaments of its size, it fares best on a small tree just because it might get lost on a tree of typical size, but as long as you’re careful about retrieving it when the time comes to undecorate, it does hang nicely from a normal-sized branch.

I have more Winnie the Pooh ornaments than anything else, and this little Piglet is a welcome addition. I’ve always felt a great affinity for Piglet, being of a rather skittish nature myself. Piglet’s a nervous little fellow, but overpowering his jitters is his capacity for friendship, particularly with his very best friend Pooh. In this year’s Hallmark miniature ornament, it’s the friendliness and not the anxiety being emphasized.

Piglet stands about an inch tall, and in his hands he holds a cheerfully wrapped present that is nearly an inch tall itself. The wrapping paper is blue with a pattern of yellow stars and bound with a yellow ribbon, and it’s fun to imagine what might be in there. It’s a very tall, skinny package, so it doesn’t seem likely to be a honey pot, the stereotypical present for a Pooh Bear. It seems that Piglet put on his thinking cap and got his friend something very creative. (Not to worry, though; I’m sure Christopher Robin has a honey pot or two with his name on it!)

Piglet is all smiles here, with one foot down and the other at a 90-degree angle just below the package. The coloring is just right for Piglet, with light pink limbs and face and a magenta jumper with black stripes. He also wears a vibrant green scarf. Attached to the top of the mystery gift is a sprig of holly, complete with berries, and a tag that says ?”. This is also where you’ll find the tiny ring for the hook.

Piglet is starting his year off right. If the weather in the Hundred-Acre Wood is anything like it’s been on the East Coast, he probably had to brave a bit of a blizzard to get his gift out to Pooh, but he’s not letting that stop him. When faced with the right motivation, Piglet tends to find that he is more courageous than he gives himself credit for. Christopher Robin has been known to tell Pooh, “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Something tells me he passed that message on to a Very Small Animal who needed the encouragement.

“Piglet’s on his way to Pooh / with a biggish sort of gift – / there’s so much friendly packed inside, / it’s rather hard to lift.” So goes the rhyme on the back of the box containing this very festive miniature. Hard to lift? Maybe. But I suspect that Piglet doesn’t mind in the slightest.

Enjoy an Old-Fashioned Bell Choir Concert With Pooh Bells

Every year, I get a big kick out of checking out all of the new Christmas ornaments at Hallmark. I ooh and aah over them, but I rarely buy them before Christmas. Afterward is another story, as I have a long-standing tradition of buying ornaments in the days after Christmas when they’re on sale and when I usually have a bit of money that relatives have advised me to spend on something fun. Back in 2006, I happened upon something at Hallmark that I really wanted, but I took my chances, especially since it was quite pricey, and planned to get to Hallmark on 26th in hopes of snatching one up. By December 26th, however, they were gone. That’ll teach me to be a cheapskate. Then, last year, I discovered the website Hooked on Hallmark, where just about every ornament I’ve craved for the past couple of decades is readily available for purchase. So far, I’ve mostly kept temptation at bay, but I knew that I would have to buy Pooh Bells, the decoration from a few years back that I so admired.

I guess “decoration” would be the best word for it. Pooh Bells is far too big to be considered an ornament. It’s meant to be placed on a table or other flat surface, someplace accessible to human hands but not in danger of being damaged by careless passersby. It’s fairly heavy duty and intricately carved, and its bulk is taken up by a large, boxy structure. There’s a flat platform about ten inches in length and close to four inches wide. This is green, as are the walls on either end. It rests atop a red stand that is thicker and slightly wider. The top part is flat on the bottom but looks as though it is covered in clumps of snow on the top. The red, green and white look very Christmassy together.

Running between the two green end pieces is a purplish bar, and on that bar is a series of gears. These are bookended on the outside by a crank and another gear, both bright yellow with tiny bees on them. Turn the crank, and this decoration begins to do its magic. The pieces on the top will move, and the music box, easily visible as it rests against one of the green walls, will play its snippet of Carol of the Bells. It’s a rather repetitive song, and the snippet we get is just the same four notes over and over, but it’s still really cool. What makes it even neater is how old-fashioned it is. This looks like something that could have been around in the 1800s, if Pooh and pals had been around back then. You don’t have to worry about batteries; all you do is set Pooh Bells down, and whenever you want to get a little movement, turn the crank and watch it spring to life.

This decoration features a four-member bell choir. Having watched my parents in a bell choir when I was little, I suspect that there’s not really all that much you could play with four bells. But if you just need these same four notes again and again, then this little choir is the perfect size. It consists of Tigger, Piglet, Pooh and Eeyore, and each character is manipulated differently when the crank turns.

Tigger, the tallest member of the group by a considerable margin, is understandably exuberant. His tail is scrunched, ready for a pounce, and when the crank turns, the tail straightens up as he rises into the air, giving the impression that he is bouncing. The tail is cloth, as is the purple scarf he wears, and although his hat is hard and carved, the white ball at the tip is fuzzy. One hand holds a gold bell with a brown handle, while the other holds a lyric sheet.

Piglet is next, and he wears a red cloth scarf. He sits on a stump, which helps him to not look quite so tiny against his friends, though you can’t help but notice that his bell is about the same size as his head. Piglet swivels, while Pooh, beside him, shakes his head back and forth. Pooh wears his typical red shirt, and he too has a song sheet. He has a green cloth scarf, and like Tigger, he has a Santa hat with a fuzzy ball at the tip, but unlike Tigger, he has holes in his hat where his ears poke out. And since all this bell-ringing Is such hard work, there is a small pot of honey just in front of him so he can have a snack when he’s done.

Eeyore, the only member of the group who isn’t wearing anything aside from the ever-present pink bow (an actual ribbon) on his tail, is also the only one not smiling. I wouldn’t exactly say that he’s frowning; his face is really more of a blank slate, as though he can’t decide whether or not he’s having a good time. His ears look a little droopy to me, and he presents the appearance of rolling his eyes, but his bell is firmly clutched like the rest of them, and on the whole, he doesn’t seem all that put out as he raises and lowers his paw.

All of the colors have a sort of muted flavor to them, but there’s still a certain vibrance that shines through, and the dark orange, pink, light orange and bluish-gray of Tigger, Piglet, Pooh and Eeyore complement each other well. I think the only thing that might make this cuter would be if Eeyore had phony antlers on his head. But I won’t hold a grudge if he doesn’t want to be subjected to that kind of indignity.

This is a really handsome decoration that is both expensive and fragile, but if you’re as big a Pooh fan as I am, neither of those drawbacks will be enough to deter you. I’ve collected enough Pooh ornaments over the years that I could probably fill a tree with nothing but the Silly Old Bear and his friends. If I ever did that, I would make sure that I set Pooh Bells up on a shelf nearby, where these merry revelers could supervise the tree-trimming while furnishing a festive tune sure to remain firmly fixed in my mind for days to come. If that sounds like a good plan to you, perhaps you might consider letting Pooh and his pals ring in the Christmas season yourself.

Sherlock Snoopy and Watson Woodstock Are Ready to Solve a Mystery

I’m a movie buff, and as a result, the December crop of movies has me a bit stressed out. How, oh how, am I going to make it to the theater for The Princess and the Frog, The Lovely Bones, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes? I may have to wait for Netflix, but at least with the last one, I have Snoopy to help tide me over. That’s because several years ago, while browsing around in a local thrift shop, we found The Detective, the third ornament in the Spotlight on Snoopy series. It’s always a bit of a chore to locate this ornament come Christmastime, since it came packaged in the box of an entirely different ornament, something to do with giving a gold star to a worthy teacher. But that makes its arrival all the more welcome once we do find it.

Like the other Spotlight on Snoopy ornaments, this Snoopy is fairly small at just over two inches high. From the back of his head to the front of his nose, there is about an inch and a quarter, and that is the thickest point of the ornament. Snoopy stands flat on his two white feet, and Woodstock, on his tiny yellow feet, stands flat as well. Leaning up against Snoopy, Woodstock is dressed in drab black. He seems to be holding a legal pad, perusing notes pertaining to the case at hand. On his head is a jaunty derby.

Snoopy, meanwhile, is garbed all in red augmented with green and yellow stripes that intersect and go both horizontally and vertically. From the colors to his oddly-shaped hat to the magnifying glass he holds in the hand that stretches out from underneath his cloak, it’s clear that Snoopy is emulating Sherlock Holmes, making Woodstock Watson. The two are a perfect pair. Clearly visible is Snoopy’s entire head, with his squinty eyes, round nose and black ears; the rest of him, aside from the hand and two feet, is obscured by the clothing.

I don’t recall seeing Snoopy play Sherlock at any point in the comic strip, but given the beagle’s fondness for literature, it’s no surprise to see him portray such an iconic fictional figure, and bringing Woodstock along for the ride is simply the friendly thing to do. Besides, where would Sherlock be without his trusty assistant? This is a very cute little ornament that could easily stay out all year long, though we always put it away for the year. It could rest on a shelf or piano with no trouble, but we always hang this one on the tree; the hook goes atop his hat, and he dangles quite nicely from the branch at hand.

We’re big Snoopy fans around here, so it’s something of a surprise to me that we don’t have more of the ornaments in this series, but I’m glad we picked this one up, even if he did come in the wrong box. After all, a little bit of mystery is particularly fitting for this super sleuth and his dedicated assistant.

Hallmark's Spaceman Snoopy Celebrates the Beagle's Relationship With NASA

NASA has been a passion of my dad’s all his life, and everybody in my family loves Snoopy, so when I spotted 2007’s Spaceman Snoopy ornament, the tenth in Hallmark’s Spotlight on Snoopy series, I couldn’t resist buying it for him. Shortly thereafter, Hallmark released a plush Snoopy in astronaut gear, which I also bought for Dad. I’ve gotten him a couple of Flying Ace figures over the years, and it seemed to me a natural progression from fighter pilot to astronaut.

Within the strip itself, there have been a few references to space exploration in association with Snoopy, and outside of the strip, he has a long history with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Though the ornament doesn’t specifically indicate this, I’m guessing that it may have been timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Apollo 1, the module that was destroyed in a fire in January of 1967 before it could be launched. Following this disaster, which killed three astronauts, Snoopy became the official mascot of Apollo, with several Astrobeagle tie-in products introduced with his image, which was used to promote aerospace safety and the rebuilding of the program.

A statue of him in astronaut gear stands at the Kennedy Space Center. Snoopy was the nickname of the Apollo 10 lunar module; the command module was nicknamed Charlie Brown. The Silver Snoopy Award is a special commendation given to NASA employees by astronauts; to date, there have been more than 12,000 recipients, all of whom have received a sterling silver pin in Snoopy’s likeness designed by Charles Schulz. Clearly, Snoopy and space go together well.

In this ornament, Snoopy is all dressed up in a NASA spacesuit. The only part of his body that is not obscured by his heavy clothing is his face, which can be seen through the clear space helmet. Though his ears are hidden, his squinty eyes peek out, and his round nose is clearly visible. It’s a detailed, attractive suit, and Snoopy looks very official in it. One gloved hand holds a silver pole, at the top of which is the American flag. He stands just over two inches tall, and the rocky landscape on which he is located is nearly two inches long.

It looks as though Snoopy has made it to Mars, judging by the brownish color of the ground, and sitting calmly in a crater is a friendly-looking Woodstock with green antennae. The two seem perfectly comfortable in one another’s company. The ornament stands flat extremely well, and it would make a perfect addition to the office of a NASA enthusiast year-round. But it also hangs on the tree easily, tilting just a little bit as it dangles.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Snoopy ornament I didn’t like, but considering Snoopy’s importance to the space program, I find this one especially cool. Snoopy has won over fans all around the world; why not expand his reach into outer space as well?

Do You Want Mr. Bill Hanging Around Your House At Christmas? Ohhhhhh Noooooo!

Several years ago, my brother Nathan became obsessed with Mr. Bill, the cringe-inducing claymated Saturday Night Live character with a high voice and a tendency to undergo oodles of mishaps thanks to his “friend” Mr. Hands and the villainous Sluggo. He and his yellow dog Spot somehow manage to start off each new episode in one piece, but they’re never in good shape by the end.

Mr. Bill Reads a Christmas Postcard is a 2004 ornament produced by Carlton Cards. Of course, it found its way into Nathan’s stocking, and it’s hung on our tree every year since. The ornament features a hard plastic chair, green on top and red on the bottom, upon which Mr. Bill and Spot rest. From the bottom of the chair to the top of Mr. Bill’s head, it’s about five inches. The bottom of the chair is about two by two and a half inches. This makes for a rather large ornament that requires a strong branch to support it, unless you just want to stand him up on a shelf or table, which isn’t a bad idea since otherwise the postcard Mr. Bill holds is likely to become lost, as ours has.

The chair is made of hard plastic, and Spot of less-hard plastic that is slightly pliable. For some reason, not only are his feet molded to the chair, his tail is as well. He’s a golden color, and he stands with his mouth open and red tongue hanging out. He has no distinguishable nose, but his eyes are large black circles covered with glitter. Bill, next to him, is of much softer material meant to approximate the feel of clay. He is entirely squeezable, so you can manipulate him into a number of odd positions if you are so inclined.

Spot, who is standing, is about an inch and a half tall and two inches long, while Bill, who is seated, stands about three and a half inches tall and is a couple of inches long where his legs stick out. He has bright yellow shoes, belt, buttons and hair; white hands and face; blue pants; the same sparkly eyes as Spot; and a red shirt, nose and mouth frozen open in a wide “O” - the better for screaming “Ohhhhhh noooooo!” with.

Mr. Bill is an interactive figure that does not require hook-up into a Christmas light. Instead, you just put the three cell batteries in, and all you need to do is push down on the striped green portion of the chair. Do that, and you’ll get to hear Mr. Bill utter one of three possible screechy phrases: “Oh no, he’s gonna be mean to me!”, “Now, you leave me alone! Please don’t do that - ooooohhhhh!” and “No, you be careful there! Oh - now wait - ooooooh nooooo!!!!” Illuminating? Hardly. Annoying? You bet.

If you love Mr. Bill as much as Nathan does, then this rather morbid ornament is probably a good choice. But if you haven’t yet had the dubious pleasure of getting acquainted with this Play-doh travesty, you’re probably better off remaining strangers.

Gandalf the Grey Could Be a Father Christmas Stand-In

For three years, my Christmases were inextricably linked with Lord of the Rings. The movies came out late in December, about a week before Christmas, and because everything was so hectic and the five of us wanted to see it together, the latest installment in the Peter Jackson adaptation of my favorite book became my big thing to look forward to in the immediate aftermath of the holiday. Then, too, there were the deluxe DVDs that made their way under my tree, as well as some lovely tie-in products. Burger King especially kept me hopping in 2001 when it came out with four light-up goblets and an extensive array of figures with talking bases that formed a circle around a base featuring the Ring. I managed very poorly with collecting those; one of these days, eBay will help me correct that frustration.

While the three Christmases coinciding with the films’ release were the most Tolkienish, various companies have seen to it that a plethora of Lord of the Rings products remain available after the fact. Working at a calendar kiosk, I’ve seen all sorts of attractive calendars come through; this year, I’m intrigued by one that tells the story of Fellowship of the Ring from beginning to end, taking us through the year in the process. Meanwhile, I’ve seen some pretty fun figures grace the toy stores. And of course, Hallmark couldn’t resist such a juicy commodity, so a few famous Middle-earth residents have become available for relocation to waiting Christmas trees.

In 2005, Gandalf the Grey found his way into our house. Most of our Hallmark boxes are marked with the recipient and the date, but a name is curiously absent from this one, which leads me to suspect that I was the gift giver rather than the recipient in this case. So the ornament belongs to either Dad or me, and as long as we share a living room it doesn’t make much difference. He comes in a festive burgundy box, the back of which provides, in one lengthy sentence, an explanation of Gandalf’s importance in The Lord of the Rings. Included is a Memory Card, which shows a picture of the ornament on the front and space to write about the ornament, as well as who gave and received it, on the back. Obviously this is a feature we failed to take advantage of, but it’s a nice idea, and I’m not sure why only some Hallmark ornaments have them. Or maybe it’s simply a new inclusion, and all of them do nowadays. Anyway, I think it’s a cool little addition.

Gandalf has three distinct personalities in Jackson’s films. In The Two Towers, he is transcendent and distant. Having recently been resurrected, he barely seems to connect with his own identity. “Gandalf... Yes, they used to call me that...” he muses at one point when his astonished friends identify him. Garbed in dazzling white and immaculately groomed, he seems more angel than man. In Return of the King, there is still much of this, but the wizard has had ample time to adjust now, and some of his old personality returns, particularly in his disgruntled confrontations with impetuous Pippin Took.

I love Gandalf in all his forms. But Fellowship Gandalf is definitely my favorite. Stooped and disheveled, affectionate and grumbly, he seems much more human in the first film, making him all the more approachable, all the easier to love. This ornament captures him perfectly. Tall and majestic at about five inches in height, he stands with his arms bent and his feet all but invisible under the many folds of his thundery grey cloaks. The ornament is only him, with no base, but the bottom of his robe is a flat base in itself, about an inch and a half by an inch and three quarters, with just the tip of his brown left shoe peeking out.

Of course, Gandalf the Grey comes complete with a full, scraggly beard, the color of which is slightly lighter than his robes. There’s a slight sadness about his face, with its craggy lines and small mouth that is nearly swallowed up by his beard and mustache. His eyes gaze out from underneath bushy eyebrows, and overshadowing it all is his iconic hat, with its wide brim and long, pointy top. Turn him around, and you’ll see his hair trailing into his hood, which hangs down, unused.

Almost all of his other features are obscured by his well-weathered clothing, but both of his hands are visible. The right one cradles a long, thin brown pipe, while he clutches his brown staff in his left hand. While there is nothing specifically Christmassy about him, he looks to me like he has just turned up at Bilbo’s door for a friendly visit, and if Christmas existed in Middle-earth, this is exactly how I would expect to find him when paying a holiday call. One might even imagine that the brown satchel slung across his waist contains gifts. Take it a step further, and Gandalf could easily pose as Father Christmas.

At the same time, because this is just the wizard exactly as he appears in the movie, one could easily leave him up year-round, setting him on a shelf or desk someplace where he can overlook the room. I haven’t done so in the past, but looking at him now I wonder whether I ought to start. It might be a bit late to order him now in time for Christmas, but of all the ornaments I can think of, Gandalf may be the one who would be most suitable as a gift any time of the year. After all... “A wizard is never late... nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”

Bob and Larry Sled Down the Christmas Tree

About a dozen years ago, I first fell under the spell of VeggieTales, the computer-animated brainchild of Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. This video series, since expanded to include books, toys, CDs and all sorts of other tie-in products, not to mention a couple of feature films, bears the slogan “Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun.” Vischer and Nawrocki, who were practically the only staff when they first created Big Idea, have described their unique brand of storytelling as what might happen if Monty Python took over your Sunday school class.

Each video, ranging between half an hour and 45 minutes in length, has a particular theme and usually adapts a Bible story or a classic work of literature or pop culture in order to get a particular message across. The very first episode, Where’s God When I’m S-scared?, does both, incorporating the story of Daniel in the lions’ den as well as a spoof of Frankenstein. The next episodes feature parodies of The Grapes of Wrath, Gilligan’s Island and Star Trek, along with a Dr. Seuss-influenced adaptation of the parable of the Good Samaritan. More recently, this hobbit lover was ecstatic to see them take on Tolkien with Lord of the Beans. Each installment has been rich with memorable characters, zany humor, excellent animation and important lessons.

In the fall of 2000, I was a sophomore in college. It had been four years since my theology teacher, Father Santor, had introduced my classmates and me to the Veggies, but my enthusiasm had not waned. That Christmas, I received a Hallmark ornament featuring Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, the Bert and Ernie-ish hosts of most of the episodes, and the stars of many of the stories. Bob is squat, red, practical and slightly ill-tempered. Larry is tall, green, enthusiastic and just plain silly. Though they appear to be the same basic age, Larry acts like a big kid all of the time. He even has his own Silly Songs With Larry segment, arguably the most popular element of most episodes.

This ornament captures a moment from The Toy That Saved Christmas, VeggieTales’ first Christmas special, in which Mr. Nezzer, the go-to character for clueless / nefarious bosses, is a toy manufacturer doing his very best to spread the cheery message “Christmas is when you get stuff!” Poking fun at commercialism and such Christmas toy crazes as Tickle-Me Elmo, this special introduces a toy named Buzz-Saw Louie who rebels against his programming and joins Bob and Larry in a race to remind the world what Christmas is really all about.

Bob and Larry cruise along on a curvy blue sled, which is about two and a half inches long. Two-inch tall Larry is right up at the front, his shiny black pupils glistening in his big white eyes as scenery whizzes past. Larry is all wrapped up in a red scarf, and fluffy red earmuffs connected by a black headband rest upon his head. His little round nose hovers just above his mouth, which is black, with the exception of his single white tooth, and is curved into an exhilarated smile. Larry is having the time of his life.

Behind him, Bob is not so thrilled. If you’ve seen the video, you’ll most likely hear him rattling off his dry complaints as he leans over to peer ahead. He was hoping for a nice cozy evening at home playing Mousetrap, and instead he got dragged into this. He, too, has large eyes with shiny black pupils, but instead of excited, he looks worried, with his eyelids raised high in apprehension. He too has a little ball of a nose, but it’s red instead of green, and the mouth underneath it is a tiny black circle of concern. The only clothing Bob wears is a festive knit cap with green and red stripes and a green pom-pom. On the side of his head is the gold ring for the ornament hook.

Bob and Larry sit perfectly well on a flat surface, but unless you have a diorama for them - a nice snowy landscape would be ideal - you’ll really want to hang them on the tree, where they will hang at a slight tilt and give the appearance that they really are sledding. They look wonderfully festive among the branches, and I always smile when I see them. Over the years, I’ve made several VeggieTales decorations of my own, but nothing beats the real thing. If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile, you’ll want to add Bob and Larry to your ornament collection.

Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore Sing "O Christmas Tree!"

One of my favorite post-Christmas guilty pleasures is raiding Hallmark stores for ornaments that are now 50 or, if I’m really lucky, 75 percent off. Usually by the time the price is that low, all of the stuff I’m really interested in is gone. But at 50 percent, I generally still have oodles to choose from. My tendency is to gravitate toward the “magic” Pooh ornaments, the ones that cost quite a pretty penny to begin with. With the hefty discount, prohibitive prices suddenly dissipate, and I manage to convince myself that this keepsake is well worth the slashed amount. Last year, my big after-Christmas purchase was O Christmas Tree!, a deluxe ornament from the Winnie the Pooh collection.

The box reads, “Pooh says, ‘Let’s go caroling!’ / He loves a Christmas song. Tigger bounces by in time / To join the sing-along. / Eeyore’s part is listening / (He gets the notes all wrong), / While merry Piglet sings / And jingles ding-a-ding-a-dong!” It’s a large, cream-colored box with two pieces of plastic inside molded to fit around the figure, which, despite a ring upon the golden plastic star on the tree that is the centerpiece, really doesn’t seem to be designed for use on an actual evergreen.

One reason for this is that the tree is made out of a different material than the base and figures that are on top of it. Instead of being hard plastic, it’s bristly like a scrub brush. It doesn’t seem sturdy enough to support much weight. Another is that this ornament is designed to sit flat , so hanging it really doesn’t make sense. There’s usually at least one new Pooh display piece like this out every year; at this point, they’ve pretty much taken over our piano.

This ornament has a light blue base, on the bottom of which is a silver wind-up key. Along side of the base, which is circular with a three-inch diameter, are written the words “O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree! Of all the trees most lovely...” This base is about an inch tall, with a ridge of sparkling snow around the top. The surface on top of which the characters are situated is a powdery blue, with an island of snow in the middle, upon which rests the dark green, snow-covered Christmas tree.

Four characters are participants in this festive little gathering. Pooh, about an inch and three quarters tall, has a wide smile on his face as he sings, open book in hand. The implication, of course, is that he is reading the words to a carol, though I never got the impression that Pooh was much good at reading. Same goes for Tigger and Piglet, for that matter. But maybe the books are just for show; after all, the pages are blank. Pooh wears a light blue scarf and Tigger, “standing” on his scrunched-up tail, wears a green one. Piglet, in between them and about a quarter of an inch shorter, has a lavender scarf and carries a golden bell.

Eeyore, opposite Piglet, wears no jolly adornments at all, just the usual pink ribbon on his tail. His head is cocked as if to listen, as the poem suggests, though since he is part of the procession, it seems he would chime in a bit more. He doesn’t look like an observer; he comes off as one of the carolers. If it weren’t for the verse on the box, I’d suspect that he has no book because he’s more skilled at memorizing than the others. And as a donkey, I don’t know how he would tie a scarf around his own neck; I would hope that someone might take a hint away from this outing, though, and give him a scarf for Christmas, and offer to attach it as well.

There’s only limited space around this tree, so I can‘t complain too much about missing characters. One might imagine that the other residents of the Hundred Acre Wood are standing off beyond the boundaries of the ornament, listening appreciatively. I’m sure Kanga and Roo would enjoy such a performance, though I doubt Roo would sit still and listen for long; he’d want to jump in at the first opportunity! Christopher Robin would certainly lend an ear. Gopher, Rabbit and Owl all have more cantankerous dispositions, but at this time of year, one would hope that they would be inclined to be a good audience. I’m a little surprised the sculptor didn’t sneak Rabbit in here, though; I would expect him to have organized this little excursion himself, making it much more complicated than necessary. And there’s a space between Eeyore and Pooh that would probably be large enough to accommodate Rabbit, certainly if the others shifted a smidgen.

But the four characters we get are wonderfully vibrant and detailed and when one winds the key, the track they are on revolves around the tree to the tinkly tune of O Christmas Tree. It’s like a Hundred Acre Wood merry-go-round. The figures themselves don’t actually move in relation to the ground or each other, so the movement is not very sophisticated, and at times the key gets stuck and the turning stops before it should. Picking the ornament up or just rearranging it a bit usually fixes the problem. This isn’t my favorite of the “magic” Pooh ornaments that I have, but I do get a smile out of it. Pooh and his pals can come caroling in my neighborhood any time!