Ornament Review: A Visit From Santa #5 - Squirrel - 2013 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute ornament

Cons: Scale not quite right for others in series, tips, squirrel faces away from us

The Bottom Line:

Squirrel and a nut

A very merry Christmas

For animal friend

You’d Be Nuts to Pass up Santa’s Visit with a Squirrel

Of the series Hallmark has going that involve a character with various animals, the only one I collect is A Visit From Santa.  Now in its fifth year, it continues to be a cute series.

For the fifth year, we get a squirrel.  The squirrel is sitting on Santa’s out stretched right arm, and Santa is holding a nut in his left hand.  This is the first time in the series that Santa has offered a treat to his animal friend, and I like that touch.

Santa himself is decked out in mostly red with some white fringes.  He looks a bit old school and certainly not like modern depictions, although his is slender.  There is some rose to his cheeks and a bit of a smile on his lips, however.  He is wearing a green belt and there is a green fringe to his overcoat, and it is accented by leaves this year.

The one serious issue I have with this ornament is that the squirrel is facing Santa.  That means his back is pretty much to us.  It's a shame since he has a cute fact, but you really have to turn the ornament around to see it.  Seems a shame we can't see all sides of this one.

Even with the tips of Santa’s feet sticking out at the bottom, this ornament still has a nice flat base.  As a result, it’s no surprise that is sits flat.  This has been a feature of the series.  You’ll also find a 5 in a Christmas tree on the bottom.

In the top of Santa’s hat is a loop for hanging the ornament.  As with some others in this series, Santa learns forward noticeably.  It's not horrible, but you can certainly see it even if you aren't looking for it.

Of course, we already knew that Santa was a magical man, but this series proves it.  He is the same size in every ornament in the series, but the squirrel is a bit bigger than he should be, especially compared to the polar bear that was the first in the series.  But that just means that Santa changes size for each of his animal friends, right?  It was the same with the snowy owl a couple years back.

But I’m just being nit picky again.  2013's entry in the Visit from Santa series is another winner fans of the series and animals in general will appreciate.

(And I hope you’re proud of me.  I made it completely through the review without one reference to the squirrel jokes in Pixar’s Up.)

Be sure to check out the rest of the Visits from Santa.

Original Price: $12.95