Ornament Review: Artist Snoopy - Spotlight on Snoopy #13 - 2010 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Definitely a fun and colorful ornament

Cons: Little ties to Peanuts or Christmas

The Bottom Line:

Smock, beret, palette

Snoopy's ready to paint a

Christmas masterpiece

Let Snoopy Paint a Lovely Christmas Picture for You

Over the last couple of years, the Spotlight on Snoopy ornament series from Hallmark has been declining.  I was pretty much ready to give up on it.  Then I saw this year's edition, Artist Snoopy.  I immediately fell in love with it.

The ornament is fairly simple.  Snoopy is dressed in a red artist beret and a green smock.  It's hard to see, but he is wearing a brown vest as well.  The vest is pretty well hidden by what Snoopy is holding in his hands.  His right hand holds a paint brush while the left holds a palette.  There are six colors on the palette, still in their wells.  It looks like Snoopy is just getting ready to start his Christmas masterpiece.  Woodstock, his faithful companion, is perched on the palette.

One complaint I have had over the last few ornaments is that they don't have anything to do with the strips.  I must admit that I don't remember Snoopy painting on a regular basis in Peanuts, but if he didn't paint at all, I can picture him doing just that.  That helps me like it.

Another thing I like is the colors.  The red and green Snoopy is wearing are bright and really catch your eye.  The colors on the palette are smaller but no less bright.

The last few ornaments in the series have had Snoopy standing on some kind of base to hold the rest of the props for the ornament.  We're back to Snoopy and very few props, something else I like.  This means that Snoopy has to stand on his own two feet.  He does stand, but he will wobble if what he is standing on gets bumped.  You'd have to really bump the ornament to get him to fall over.

The brass hook for hanging the ornament is near the back of Snoopy's beret.  As a result, he really tips forward when you go to hang him.  As long as you hang him high on your tree, it should be fine, but if he's too low, it will look weird.

This is the thirteenth ornament in the Spotlight on Snoopy series, so there is a 13 in a Christmas tree on the ornament next to the copyright information.  For once, it's not on Snoopy's feet.  I'll leave it to you to find it (although it's not that hard once you start looking for it).  While they often work a reference to the year into the ornament, I wasn't able to find one here.

Last year, I was hoping the series would wind down in a year or two, but now I'm positive about the future.  I love Artist Snoopy and hope it means a rebirth in what was once a great series.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Spotlight on Snoopy series.

Original Price: $12.95