Ornament Review: Once Upon a Holiday - 2009 Hallmark Limited Edition Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Great Christmas elements and a classic Peanuts theme

Cons: Already released a very similar ornament

The Bottom Line:

Calling collectors

It is different enough

To get the rewrite

Snoopy Takes Another Stab at that Classic Christmas Story in this Limited Edition Ornament

Companies must love collectors like me.  They can put out something I already have, make some small changes, call it a limited edition, and I will buy it.  That's the case with the limited edition Once Upon a Holiday, part of the 2009 Hallmark Keepsake Ornament line.  I have a very similar Peanuts ornament in Literary Ace, but I bought it anyway.  And I do like it.

Snoopy is sitting at his typewriter, started to work on his new Christmas masterpiece.  He's got a piece of heavy paper in there, and he's already typed the first sentence.  No, it's not his standard beginning.  Instead, he has "It was a bright and merry night."  Woodstock is ready to help in any way he can from his perch on top of Snoopy's head.

And Snoopy has plenty of Christmas around him for inspiration.  He's wearing a Santa hat.  There's a green garland that wraps around and up him.  It is anchored to the typewriter by an ornament with 2009 on it.  It goes behind Snoopy's back before climbing up the other side.  It is anchored in place on top of his hat by Woodstock.

Between the typewriter and Snoopy sitting, this ornament has a large, flat base.  The brass ring to hang it is actually hiding behind Woodstock.  That makes it a little tricky to get the hook into, but it's not impossible.  The ornament does hang perfectly straight.

As I mentioned, this one is very similar to Literary Ace, which came out in 2002.  Besides the Christmas decorations, this one is bigger, around one and a half times the size of the original.  That allows us to see more detail on the keyboard, and we can actually see the keys here.  They don't work, but the detail is a nice touch.  Like the original, there are no light or sound effects.  As you'd expect, this one is heavier, but not enough to be a major problem when you hang it on the tree.  It is made from plastic, so it will hold up to a small amount of abuse.

The packaging is also different.  The original had a small plastic bag and a hard plastic form to slide into the box.  This one features two formed pieces of plastic.  I think this will work better for keeping the little details like the paper from getting bent.  Ironically, the box for this one is smaller even though the original was bigger.

So, why did I have to get this one?  I love the new Christmas touches to the design.  They really add a lot to it.  And I like the first line Snoopy has typed out, again a new touch.  And I always loved Snoopy's stories when they appeared in the Peanuts strip, so that made me soft toward this one from the beginning.  In fact, I probably wouldn't have bothered with any other duplicates if they made them.

As I mentioned, this one is a limited edition.  I don't know what the production numbers were.  I do know I had to go to two Hallmark stores when I decided to buy it since the place where I had seen it first was already sold out.  It's already selling on-line for twice what I paid for it, but only time will tell how valuable this ornament truly becomes.

I can't shake a certain feeling that I'm a sucker for buying this when I already have one very similar to it.  But for me, Once Upon a Holiday is enough different to make the purchase worth it.

Original Price: $12.50