Ornament Review: Three French Hens - 12 Days of Christmas #3 - 2013 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Beautiful looking Hen with the usual artistic flairs

Cons: Slight tip, much of the lyrics hidden

The Bottom Line:

A French Hen to hang

Many artistic touches

Make it beautiful

One Third of the Third Day's French Hens

Hallmark artist Edythe Kegrize announced when she started the current Twelve Days of Christmas series that for most of the days she would only have one of the item named.  Frankly, I'm glad of that because it would be very crowded by the last day.  She's already made good on her promise with Three French Hens, and the result is beautiful.

As I keep saying, the ornaments in this series are an acquired taste.  They aren't just strictly the item in question but the item as put together with an artistic flair.  Yes, this year's hen is mostly orange fading to yellow on her head, but the feathers, including the tail feathers, are green and blue.  The feathers are attached separately and have a little gold accent on top of them.  And the top layer of feathers?  It has musical notes on it.  I'm betting it's not the musical notes from this song but random notes.  There's also a little gold garland around the bird's neck.

There are some random gold lines on one side and the tail.  But on the front of the hen's body, you'll find Three French Hens written in calligraphy.  On the back in slightly less fancy writing are the words to this verse.  At least we have to assume all the words are there.  The wings cover up much of the writing, unfortunately.  Still, I think the only way to move them back so we could see more of the writing is if they were smaller.  It's a disappointing detail, but one I'm okay with.

Finally, there's the dangle element.  There is a gold colored egg dangling down from the hen with "Three 3" written on it again in calligraphy.

The result isn't a traditional hen at all.  But it is absolutely beautiful to look at.  When I first saw a picture, I was disappointed the hen was facing the same way as the partridge from the first ornament in the series, but I quickly got over that.  The way the tail flared and the cock of her head make this one stand out from the first.  Plus the color is different.

As I keep saying with this series, it is just beautiful.

Because of the dangling egg, there is no way to stand this ornament for display.  You have to hang it.  Also, since there is no flat surface, the 3 in a Christmas tree since this is the third in a series is hidden somewhere on the ornament.  I won't tell you where, but it was the first place I looked for it.

So you're going to have to hang this one through the hook in her back.  The ornament tips slightly to the left - the head side.  It's noticeable, but again it will only bother the most discerning of collectors.  By the time it is on your tree, you won't really be able to tell with the branches and the lights behind it.

Once again, Edythe Kegrize has done an outstanding job on Three French Hens.  This continues to be a series I look forward to every year.

Of course, you'll need to get all of the 12 Days of Christmas series.

Original Price: $12.95