Ornament Review: A Sweet Surprise - Making Memories #5 - 2012 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute ornament that will appeal to pet lovers

Cons: Not as appealing to the rest of us

The Bottom Line: 

New kitty mem'ries

Made by our snow family

Great for pet lovers

Family Grows with a sweet Surprise

I have become enchanted with the Making Memories ornament series from Hallmark.  The snow family is so cute, and I just smile looking at them doing Christmassy things together.  Having said that, the fifth entry, A Sweet Surprise, doesn't capture me as much as the others.

As always, this ornament features a snow adult, snow child, and their dog.  But this year, they are getting an addition to the family since they are checking their stocking Christmas morning and finding a kitten inside.  Unlike the others, who are all white, the kitten is blue.  Rounding out the colors you've got a red hat on the adult, and a blue hat on the child.  You can also see the red stocking at the adult and child are holding.

Now don't get me wrong, this ornament is still cute.  I'm sure that pet lovers especially will really appreciate it.  But I'm allergic to dogs and cats, so this one doesn't bring back warm Christmas memories like the others do.

And then there's the practical side of me.  The dog and kitten seem to be getting along now, but how long before they are fighting and the dog is chasing the cat all around the house.  Actually, that idea makes me smile quite a bit.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the sculpt itself.  Given the size of the ornament, it is hard to get now four characters in it, but artist Tammy Haddix does a good job of giving them all room enough to be seen.  There is glitter everywhere.  Okay, technically it's only on the white part, but that's the majority of the snowmen, the snowdog, and the snowflake base they are standing on.

Speaking of that base, if you want to display this ornament, there is a nice flat surface so you can do that.  I like the fact that this series always has a snowflake shaped base since it sets it apart from other ornaments and ties into the snowmen who star in the series.  You'll also find the 5 in a Christmas tree marking on the bottom of the base.

But if you want to hang the ornament, you'll find the hook for doing so on the top of the snowparent's red hat.  The ornament tips back ever so slightly, but that's a good thing because it makes it a tad easier to see the faces.  The snowpeople are leaning down, especially the adult.  Whether you hang it or display it some other way, you'll want it high enough that you can see them.

As I said, I don't quite connect to this the way I do others in the series, but for those who love their pets, A Sweet Surprise will be a sweet addition to their tree.  And even for the rest of us, it's a fun ornament.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Making Memories series.

Original Price: $14.95