Ornament Review: The Zoo Keeper Says - 2010 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Miniature version of a classic toy

Cons: Hard to select the animal you want

The Bottom Line: 

Well loved classic toy

Now shrunk for your Christmas tree

The Zoo Keeper Says...?

The Zoo Keeper Say, "Get This Ornament."

I can remember playing with See 'n' Says when I was a kid.  It seems like I even had two of them, a Farmer and a Zoo Keeper.  So I just couldn't pass up getting The Zoo Keeper Says from the 2010 Hallmark ornament line.

The ornament is a model of the old See 'n' Say, which means it is basically an orange circle.  It's got feet on the bottom that help it stand up straight and a handle on top that, if it were full size, you could use to carry the toy around.  Since it's only about three inches from side to side, you can hold it no problem.  The front of the ornament has a directional arrow and 12 brightly colored sections for 12 different animals.  This is just a sticker, but I seem to remember that it was just a sticker on the original as well.

Now here's the part that makes this ornament so cool, it actually works just like the old See 'n' Say did.  The ornament requires three button size batteries, and your first set comes with the ornament.  Once they are in place, you pull the chord and the zoo keeper will introduce the animal the arrow was pointing to and you'll hear the noise that animal makes.  Since this is a zoo, we get exotic animals like lion, zebra, wolf, and seal.  While the ornament is making sound, the arrow in the middle actually spins around, and wherever it lands is what animal you'll hear next.  Or you can move the arrow to select the animal you'll hear next.

Selecting a particular animal to hear is actually a bit of a challenge.  Because of the size of the ornament, the area for each animal is very small.  There have been times I thought I was on a certain animal only to hear its neighbor.  Still, I can usually get the one I'm looking for, and with this size, I'm not complaining at all.

Behind the handle is a little brass hook you can use to hang the ornament on your tree.  The ornament tips forward slightly, but it's a minor issue.

They have updated the See 'n' Say; I got one for my niece for Christmas in fact.  But it's nice to be reminded of the classic look and sound of this toy with The Zoo Keeper Says.

Original Price: $16.95