Ornament Review: Peace on Earth - Windows of Faith #3 - 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Another nice window to end the series

Cons: Light only reaches half way at best

The Bottom Line: 

A final window

With the same flaws as others

Closes this series

The Wise Men Offer Gifts as Windows of Faith Draws to a Close

Of the ornament series I collect, only one is drawing to a close in 2012, and that's Windows of Faith.  I've never been happy with how this series has actually looked, and yet I am sorry that Peace on Earth is the last entry.

The idea behind the series has been to pay tribute to stained glass windows.  As such, each ornament is plastic shaped to look like a window in a church or cathedral.  This particular one is white with arched top and straight sides.  The edges have a curlicue pattern to them.  But the majority of the front is made up of the window itself.  There is a column going through the middle of much of it, with two arches on the top.  The result is a window that has three separate panes.  The top portion is an angel flying over the scene.  On the left hand side, you have Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus.  And on the right are the three wise men offering their presents to the new born king.

That's a lot of people on the ornament, but the divisions actually keep it from being too crowded.  In fact, while I've never seen a stained glass window with quite this configuration, I can't picture how this particular window would look any other way.

Of course, to be a stained glass window, you need to enjoy it with light behind it.  And indeed, there is a hole in the top you can use to do just that.  A miniature Christmas tree light will fit in there - at least up at the top.  And that's where the biggest complaint about the entire series comes into play.  The bulb fits into the ornament enough to light up the angel and parts of the other two pains, but the bottom stays dark.  You could say that the light is coming from the angel, but I really wish the entire window could be lit.  This has been the case for all the ornaments in the series, so that's been my biggest disappointment with the series as a whole.

Looking at the rest of the ornament, you'll find a 3 in a Christmas tree on the bottom along with copyright information.  The back of the ornament contains Luke 2:14, which seems an odd choice since the wise men aren't in it.  Yet it does give praise to God, so it is a good verse overall.

There is a lip on the bottom of this ornament, so you can set it up, but it will tip over again easily.  The ornament tips back slightly if you hang it by the brass ring at the top of the window, but I've found this series more than anything other is most susceptible to the light string rather than the balance of the ornament.

So Peace on Earth winds up feeling just like the other ornaments in the series.  It was a nice idea, and I like the ornaments, but better execution could have made this a more popular series.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Windows of Faith.

Original Price: $12.95