Ornament Review: Steeped in Spirit - 2015 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Cute Christmas themed teapot and cup

Cons: None worth mentioning

The Bottom Line:

Cute Christmas tea set

Shrunk to fit on Christmas tree

Great series prequel

Two Ornament Set that is Steeped in Spirit for a Tea Lover

When I look over the selections from Hallmark each year, there are the ornaments I know I will buy right away and the ones I know I’m not interested in purchasing.  Then there are the ones that are cute, but I really want to resist buying.  In 2015, I did remarkably well at resisting Steeped in Spirit.  In 2016?  Yep, I broke down and bought it off the secondary market.

This is actually a set of two ornaments – a tea pot and a tea cup.  But these aren’t just your normal tea pot and cup, they are a Christmas themed set.  The tea pot is a snowman.  He’s got a scarf around his neck, and his arms form the handle and spout (just like in that “I’m a little teapot” song we used to sing as kids).  He’s wearing a black top hat and red earmuffs and mittens.  Likewise, the cup is also a snowman, or at least a snowman head.  It just has the face, but it is wearing earmuffs, green this time.

My only issue with this set is that clearly the drink in the cup portion of the ornament is hot chocolate.  The color is a rich brown, and there are three marshmallows floating in the top.  So maybe there’s hot water in the tea pot instead of brewed tea?

But trust me, that’s a minor issue.  This set is very cute.  The snowmen are smiling and clearly go together.  I can picture this as part of a great Christmas tea set in some of the mysteries I read.

This was originally offered exclusively to members of Hallmark’s Keepsake Ornament Club.  But what made me give in and buy it is the fact that it is the prequel to a new five part official series of Christmas themed tea pots and cups that is starting this year in Hallmark’s regular line.  Yep, they got me with the series yet again.  (Must learn to resist series.  Must learn to resist series.)  Plus, with my display ideas for my food themed ornaments, I don’t need to make room for them on my tree, right?

Being a tea pot and cup, it’s not surprise that these ornaments have flat bottoms, so you can display them on any flat surface.  If you go to hang them on your tree, you’ll find that the teapot tips at an angle to look like he’s actually pouring water.  That’s a fun touch.  The cup hangs straight.  We don’t want to spill that hot chocolate, do we?

A quick word of warning, these ornaments are porcelain, so they are more fragile than the normal Hallmark ornament.  Treat them a little more carefully, and you’ll be fine.

I’m looking forward to seeing where the official series goes.  But for now, I’m enjoying having Steeped in Spirit in my collection.

If you enjoy this pair, you'll want to collect the official ornaments in the Tea Time series.

Original Price: $19.95