Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun combination of lights and sound
Cons: Could control other ornaments better; often too much lights
up
The Bottom Line:
Flashing lights in sync
Delightful song arrangement
Makes a fun combo
A few years ago, there was a YouTube video that everyone was
passing around. It showed a house with
amazing Christmas lights all synced to play to Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s
version of “Carol of the Bells.” That
video was the inspiration for Hallmark’s Deck The House! This ornament, released in 2012 as a Magic
Cord ornament, it a lot of fun.
Not surprising, it’s of the outside of a house. The house is fairly square and small, but
that doesn’t mean it isn’t covered with white lights. And I do mean covered. There are lines going down all four sides
plus rows on the roof. Even the Santa
and pair of Snowmen in the front yard light up.
There's an outline of a green Christmas tree in the white roof, and a
sign says "Merry Christmas on top.
And if you look closely, there is a man dangling from the roof by one of
the strings of lights. It’s wrapped
around his ankle. I hope someone hears
him crying for help and finds him soon because other wise it’s going to be a
long, cold wait.
As I mentioned earlier, this ornament is part of Hallmark’s
Magic Cord line. These ornaments attach
to a specially created electrical cord.
Not only does this power their own light show, but it allows them
temporary control of the rest of the ornaments on the cord when you pressed the
button.
When this ornament is just plugged in, the lights in various
parts of the house flash on and off.
There are the walls, the roof, the sign on the roof, and two figures in
the front yard, and all three windows.
Each one of these lights up on their own.
But when you hit the button on the side of this ornament for
it to start its show, it plays… you guessed it – “Carol of the Bells.” Now, while this isn’t the Trans-Siberian
Orchestra version, it is a similarly dramatic arrangement that is lots of
fun. And the various zones of lights on
the ornament flash on and off in time with the music.
Unfortunately, this does bring up one of my two issues with
the ornament. Since it controls all the
ornaments on the light string during the 45 seconds or so that the song is
playing, I was expecting more dramatic light changes. Sadly, this isn’t the case. At one or two points, it does make them all flash
in synch, but that’s it. They could have
done so much more with it.
Additionally, the ornament is just too small and the sides
are too thin. No, I’m not saying I
already broke it, but you can see the lights on inside the house, so all the
zones have some light even when they aren’t supposed to be on.
On the plus side, this has a nice, stable base, so you can
put it on any flat surface if you chose to display it that way. For purposes of hanging it on your tree,
you’ll find the loop sticking out over the top of the house. It hangs straight. The adapter to plug it into the Wonder and
Light cord is long enough that it doesn’t factor into how the ornament hangs.
Original Price: $29.95
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