Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great scene, fun sound and light
Cons: Slight tip forward
The Bottom Line:
Filling the stockings
Next step in Santa's journey
Magic makes it fun
Santa's Filling Stockings with Care
We've been following Santa's journey on Christmas Eve for
eight years now with the Once Upon a Christmas series. I suspect we are getting near the end for a
couple of reasons, one of them being that Santa is delivering presents with
Stockings Hung with Care.
This ornament finds Santa standing before the fire place in
a home. There's a cozy looking fire
going, but Santa's already come down the chimney. In fact, he's got a stocking in one hand and
there's a doll in the other, which is hanging from the mantel. Both stockings have peppermint candies in
them. Santa's got a toy soldier in the
other hand, and he's ready to add it to the stocking he’s holding before getting
back on his way. Observing the entire thing
is a white cat.
Like the rest of the ornaments in the series, this ornament
attaches to Hallmark's Magic Cord (not to be confused with their new Power
Cord). As soon as you attach the
ornament to the cord, you'll notice that the fire in the fire place lights up
and the base flashes in red and green.
When you press the button, this ornament will take over the
lights on any other ornaments you've got on this Magic Cord while it puts on a
show. In this case, we get to hear Santa
talk about how good the kids he is visiting have been and the soldier and doll
he is leaving for them. The touch I love
is that the cat actually meows as Santa is finishing. At that point, the music takes over and we
get to hear "Home for the Holidays" play. All told, the sound lasts just over a
minute. Meanwhile, the fire and the
lights in the base are synched to the dialogue and music we hear, and the other
ornaments attached to the string also flash their lights in time. It's fun, and Santa's voice still sounds
wonderful.
And that's why I have enjoyed this series so much. Listening to Santa talk about his trip always
brings out the kid in me, and the music that plays is delightful. Plus, the artists take advantage of the
larger size and really put a lot of detail to the ornament. I absolutely love the fire flickering effect,
which we really get to see when the show is going, although it does flicker a
little even when the ornament is just plugged in.
These ornaments are really scenes, and as a result, each one
has a large base. This one is no
exception, so if you wanted to set the ornament out some place, you could
easily do that. You'll also find the
series marker on the bottom of the ornament.
Or you can hang it on your tree.
The loop is in the front of the fire place, which is a little off
center, so it tips forward slightly. I
don’t see any place that would be better for the ornaments to hang,
however. The base is so large that this
will hit tree branches anyway, so those will probably change how it hangs anyway.
Last year, Hallmark introduced their new Power Cord, which
allows ornaments to interact in new ways.
As a result, I suspect that they will be phasing out their Magic Cords
and the ornaments that work with it.
That's the other reason I suspect that this series will be ending
soon. Plus, I'm not sure what we haven't
seen Santa do yet. Although it would be
cool for this series to make it to 10 entries.
We just need two more.
No matter how much longer the series goes, those who have
been enjoying the journey will want to add Stockings Hung with Care to their
tree.
Journey along with Santa with the rest of the Once Upon a
Christmas series.
Original Price: $29.99
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