Ornament Review: Minnie Has a Ball! - A Year of Disney Magic #1 - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun idea and a great sculpt

Cons: None at all

The Bottom Line:

Beach ball, sand, and fun

Nothing more you could ask for

In magic debut

Have a Ball with Minnie at the Beach

When I first learned of the year long Peanuts ornament series that Hallmark started last July, I almost predicted that they would do one with Disney characters this year.  I would have been right.  At Ornament Premier this year, they released the first in this new series – Minnie Has a Ball!  And it is a lot of fun.

Officially the ornament for August (they sell them a month early), this ornament features Minnie Mouse.  She’s dressed for the beach in an orange bikini (don’t tell Walt), but she still has her pink bow in her hair.  The colors they’ve chosen seem to work together well even if I don’t normally picture them going together.  They also die in to the sandals on her feet, which are orange with pink bows.  She’s actually turned sideways like she is running by us, and in her hands, she’s holding an inflatable beach ball.  Just like many traditional balls, it has white and colored stripes on it.  She’s standing in the sand, and there is a starfish at her feet.

Despite my comment earlier, Minnie’s bikini is actually very tastefully done and looks nice.  It didn’t even dawn on me what she was wearing until I looked closer to write my review, and you could say it is more of a two piece suit.  Minnie is smiling and clearly enjoying her time at the beach.  But then again, who wouldn’t?  I mean, it’s the beach.  It’s always fun there, right?

Because they have added the sand around Minnie’s feet, the ornament has a nice base for standing.  That makes it perfect for setting out to display every August (or year round if you prefer).  It will display nicely with any beach scene you want to set up, including Pig Pen from last year’s Peanuts entry, Fun at the Beach.

However, if you want to hang the ornament, there is a loop on Minnie’s head so you can do just that.  Minnie is perfectly balanced, so she hangs nice and straight no matter what you hang her from.

Speaking of which, Hallmark did sell a Mickey head stand you can use to hang up to 12 Disney ornaments.  (There are 12 in this monthly series.  Coincidence?)  The hooks in this series are perfectly designed so that you can hang Minnie in it and she faces the room with ease.  It looks like the entire series should hang correctly.  I sure hope so.  This stand was extremely popular during Premier and is already sold out, at least from what I’ve been hearing.  The ornaments will still be available, however, so you can pick them up and enjoy as the year goes along.

And enjoy them you will.  A Year of Disney Magic is off to a great start with Minnie Has a Ball!  I’m going to enjoy collecting this series for the next twelve months.

What could be more magical than the entire Year of Disney Magic?

Original Price: 12.95