Ornament Review: Laughing All the Way - Making Memories #4 - 2011 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Cute ornament that brings sledding trips to mind

Cons: Too much glitter for my tastes

The Bottom Line: 

Sledding down a hill

Has never been so much fun

Another winner

Dashing Down the Hill in This Memorable Ornament

Growing up where it doesn't normally snow, a trip to experience snow was always a big deal.  Even so, I associate snow and sledding with Christmas thanks to all the Christmas songs that talk about it.  (Rain actually feels like Christmas to me).  So 2011's entry in the Making Memories series from Hallmark, Laughing All the Way, still brought another smile to my face.

This year, the parent and child snowmen that are always featured in this series are sledding down a hill.  Their little dog is in the front.  And all three of them have the biggest smiles on their faces.  The kid especially is grinning from ear to ear.

The color scheme seems to be more red and blue than in previous years.  The parent is wearing a blue hat, but there's a red ball on the end.  The boots are red this year as always.  The child's hat is mostly red with a yellow-green ball.

A giant snowflake always makes the base of the ornaments in this series, and that's the case again here.  But this year there's a twist.  The base is the sled the snowmen are riding on.  As a result, it's not completely flat but rounded up at the edges to represent those disc sleds.  There are also small pieces of rope in the sides that stick through to the bottom so the snowmen have handles to hold on to.  Okay, so neither of them is actually holding on, but I rarely did when I was on a sled either.  Between the rope and the bend, this ornament doesn't sit quite as flat as previous ornaments, but if you are used to displaying them on a table or shelf, it will still look nice.  Heck, the slight tip makes it look like it is going down a hill.

The ornament also tips forward when you hang it.  In fact, I would argue that it tips forward more when you slip a hook through the ring in the snowparent's head.  I honestly do think this is a design feature and not a design flaw.  When you have the ornament at eye level, it adds to the illusion the snowmen are sledding down a hill.  Trying to get that illusion might dictate where you hang this ornament a bit more than most, but its well worth it for me.

But I've got to go back to the base for a moment because there's a cool detail on the bottom.  Yes, it has Hallmark's usual copyright information and the 4 in a Christmas tree they use on their series ornaments.  Those are raised into the white base so they aren't too obvious.  What I'm talking about is "Haddix Sports" written on the bottom in light blue.  It looks like a brand name for a sports equipment company.  And what's so cool about that?  The Hallmark artist that sculpted this one is Tammy Haddix.  Okay, so she indulged a little in how she signed it.  But I love it.

About the only thing I don't like is the amount of glitter on the ornament.  Yes, all the ornaments in the series have had glitter, and I like how it looks since it adds bits of color to what is pretty much a white ornament.  However, the others you can get away with touching without getting covered in glitter.  With this one, the glitter attacks you no matter where you touch it.  Yes, that will probably go away in a year or two, but for now it is annoying.

Glitter issues aside, Laughing All the Way is another memorable ornament.  So far, this series has been outstanding.  I hope that keeps up in the years to come.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Making Memories series.

Original Price: $14.95