Ornament Review: Good Grief, Charlie Brown! - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Iconic repeated moment from the Peanuts comic strip

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Tied up in a tree

With kite flying disaster

Makes fun ornament

Charlie Brown and His Kite Are Caught in Another Tree – Your Christmas Tree

I’ve always loved Charlie Brown.  In fact, I identify with him a little too much, I think.  One area where we don’t have anything in common is kite flying.  I haven’t done it that often, but I never got caught in a tree.  That recurring gag from the Peanuts comic strip is the subject of Good Grief, Charlie Brown!, and any fan of Peanuts will enjoy this ornament.

It’s actually a fairly simple ornament, and I’m surprised that Hallmark hasn’t done it before.  Charlie Brown is hanging upside down, all wrapped in the string from his kite.  Hanging next to him is his new red kite.  That’s it.  It really is that simple.

And yet that’s the genius of the ornament – its simplicity.  After all, in the strip, Charlie Brown would be hanging down just like that without anything extra.  And since your Christmas tree will provide the branch he hangs from, what else do they need?

Speaking of hanging, there is a ring located in the string that you can use to hang this ornament on your tree.  It’s located half way between Charlie Brown and his kite, so they will hang next to each other, completing the look.  They certainly look straight to me when they’re hanging, but if they don’t, it’s not that big a deal.  They are stuck in a tree after all, right?

There’s no way to display this ornament without hanging it, but really, would you want to?  It would kind of defeat the entire purpose, right?

The only issue I can see with this ornament is the parts of the ornament turning.  I would bet Charlie Brown is so embarrassed that he turns his back to the room most of December or hides behind the kite or both.  Hopefully you can position him so that he doesn’t spin around.

Original ideas and designs like this are what make Hallmark ornaments so much fun.  Good Grief, Charlie Brown! might be simple in design and concept, but it is wonderful for Peanuts fans.

Original Price: $14.95

This review is part of the 2014 Funny Pages Write-Off.