Ornament Review: Fisher Price Corn Popper - 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Perfectly captures a popular toy - and it works!
Cons: None unless you aren't familiar with the toy
Bottom Line:
Popular childhood

Toy; nostalgic ornament

Great combination

Will Nostalgia be Popping Up on Your Tree?

A huge appeal for the Hallmark ornaments is the nostalgia factor.  There are some that just bring up a smile to your face, so it's hard to resist.  That's the case with the Corn Popper, one of the ornaments in the 2012 line.

Now if images of the Fisher Price toy that toddlers had popped into your mind, you'd be 100% correct.  That's exactly what we've got here.  And if you aren't familiar with the toy, it's a handle and a long stick with a bubble and wheels at the other end.  Inside the bubble are a bunch of plastic balls of various sizes.

Now, the idea behind the original is that the child walks around pushing or pulling this ornament, and the very center inside the bubble pops, making the balls inside bounce.  Well, guess what - that happens here, too.  Okay, so I have mixed results getting the popper to pop.  The wheels tend to do more sliding that turning, but I can run it over my hand or arm with perfect results.

And in case there is any doubt about what this is, Fisher Price is emblazed across the front just like on the original toy.

Obviously, this will best appeal to those who liked the toy as a child or, more likely, remember their own child loving one.  And it seems a lot of people were in that boat because this ornament sold out quite regularly during the 2012 season.

I don't recommend setting this out on a shelf.  Well, I guess you could lean it against something.  But it's not very tall, so if you set it flat you won't really see it.

Of course, the idea with a Christmas ornament is to hang it on your tree.  There's a loop at the end of the handle.  It hangs straight down, and I'd call it pretty level, too.

This is an ornament with a wide nostalgia appeal.  That's going to make it hard to track down now.  But if you are interested, I certainly recommend the Corn Popper.

Original Retail Price: $12.95