Ornament Review: Santa Takes Flight - Once Upon a Christmas #6 - 2016 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great sculpt and fun magic elements

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Santa leaves for trip

In great looking ornament

With fun light and sound

Santa’s Ready to Fly

For the last five years, we’ve watched Santa get ready for his big night via Hallmark’s Once Upon a Time series.  He’s done everything from check his list to put on his suit and feed his reindeer.  Now it’s time to take off with Santa Takes Flight.

And yes, Santa is flying.  Okay, okay, so he’s got a solid base under him like always.  But if you look at what is under his sleigh (and on top of that base), you’ll see stars and clouds.  His sleigh is even banked a little like he is turning.  Unfortunately, we don’t see the reindeer or even the ropes that connect the sleigh to the reindeer, but it still looks very cool the way it is.  Santa has a light green blanket on his lap, and his holding a lantern in his right hand.  Of course, his bundle of toys is behind him, just ready to distribute to the kids as he makes stops along the way.

The ornaments in this series connect to Hallmark’s Magic Cord, which is sold separately.  You can certainly enjoy it without the magic cord, but it’s more fun with it.  When you plug this ornament in, you’ll immediately notice the lights flashing.  As always, the outside of the base lights up with greens and reds.  Santa’s lantern also lights up but it is steady unless one of the magic ornaments is playing, and his bag of toys lights up during a show as well.  I’ve actually been disappointed the last couple of years that there wasn’t more on these ornaments lighting up, so while I’m not quite sure why a bag of toys would be lighting up (unless there was a toy that flashes inside, I guess), I was thrilled when I made this discovery.

When you press the button down near the runners on Santa’s sleigh, you start a show get to enjoy the sound part of the magic.  It starts with Santa talking about the nice snowy weather and encouraging his reindeer as they leave the North Pole.  Then we get an instrumental version of “White Christmas.”  All told, the sound lasts about 1 minute and 10 seconds.  As always, Santa’s voice is perfect.  He sounds just like I picture Santa would sound.  The song afterward is fun as well.  I love the sound components of these ornaments in this series, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  And when the sound is playing, the lights on this ornament and the others attached to the magic cord flash in time.  That includes the light in Santa’s hand and the light in his toy bag.  The sky and stars don’t like up, but it’s still very fun even without that touch.  It’s a very fun sight to see ornaments flashing in time to music, and I just love it.

As always, this ornament features a nice base, so you could set it out to be enjoyed as part of a display.  You’ll find the six in a Christmas tree series marker on the bottom as well.

This ornament, like the rest of the series, is heavy, so you’ll want to be sure to find a sturdy branch to hang it on and use a sturdy hanger as well.  The loop is in the top of Santa’s hat, and when you slip a hook in there, you’ll find that it tips forward ever so slightly, but that’s the way the sleigh is tipping anyway, so it’s not that noticeable.

Previous ornaments in the series have included Easter Eggs – references to previous ornaments.  I’m not seeing that here, but maybe that’s just because I don’t know as much about past Hallmark ornaments as I should.  If there are any, my best guess is they are part of the design around the base of the ornament.

But that’s the only complaint I can come up with about the ornament.  The detail is once again wonderful with designs on Santa’s bag and sleigh to add more to the fun.  The sound and light are wonder as well.  Yes, these ornaments are more expensive, but I find them worth it.

Since this series is about Santa getting ready for his Christmas Eve flight, I’m wondering how many more entries in the series we can have.  I can picture one for next year, but I’m not sure how much longer they can keep it going.

But that’s next year.  For this year, you’ll find plenty to enjoy when Santa Takes Flight.

Enjoy all of Santa's Christmas preparations with the rest of the Once Upon a Christmas series.

Original Price: $29.95