Ornament Review: Cozy Country Church - 2014 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great looking church, fun sound clip

Cons: Windows don’t light up

The Bottom Line:

Christmas Eve service

Sounds of choir out the door

Wish these still lit up

It’s a Holy Night in this Cozy Church

I’m glad that Don Palmiter has been doing an unofficial series of churches.  While they still compliment the official Candlelight Services series that ended a few years back, the changes are significant as well.  Cozy Country Church is another fun ornament.

This church is a brick church, so the walls are very red.  There are white columns out in front and snow on the ground.  The two trees in front are completely covered in snow as well.  Yet the church itself looks warm and inviting with a yellow glow inside all the windows.

Now this is the part I wish we still had from the Candlelight Services series.  Those ornaments would stick in to a string of light and the windows would really glow.  Last year’s ornament didn’t light up, and that is the case again this year.  While the windows do look fairly bright on their own, I miss that little touch.

On the other hand, we are now getting sound clips with the churches.  This year, if you put the two button batteries in the base of the ornament and press the button on the right hand side, you’ll find that the ornament plays “O Holy Night.”  Okay, so the clip is actually only about 30 seconds long and just features a choir singing the first couple of lines.  Still, they sound great together, and it is a fun touch to the ornament.

And, honestly, even without the windows lighting up, I do like how the ornament looks.  There is a style and class to it that make it a very inviting church.  If I were in the area for Christmas Eve, I’d certainly consider stopping by.

This ornament is a building, so the base is nice and flat.  That works out well since I like to display these churches, official and unofficial, together in front of my TV.  Actually, I’m running out of room at this point and need to figure out what else to do with the extras.

However, if you do want to hang this ornament on your tree, you’ll find a loop hiding behind the steeple.  It tips forward ever so slightly, but not enough to truly matter, especially once you get it in the branches on your tree.

I do still really wish these ornaments lit up like the old series used to.  The sound clips are good, but the light up was my favorite feature.  Still, I am happy to have Cozy Country Church added to my collection.

While not an official part of the series, check out the ornaments in the Candlelight Services series.

Original Price: $19.95