Ornament Review: The Nativity #1 - The Holy Family - 1998 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Captures Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a great statue pose

Cons: Some details lost due to size.

The Bottom Line:

Classic artist pose

Of Mary, Joseph, Jesus

Starts mini series

The Holy Family Kicks Off This Miniature Series

I’ve become something approaching obsessed with Hallmark’s miniature ornaments this year.  (I know, me obsessed over something is shocking.)  Naturally, being the series person that I am, I started off looking at the old mini series.  That’s how I found The Nativity, which kicked off in 1998 with the Holy Family.

As you’d expect, this ornament features Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  Mary and Joseph are looking down at Jesus, who is in the manger.

These ornaments are made out of pewter.  This surprised me because it’s not something that Hallmark uses on a regular basis, especially in the last few years.  This gives the ornament a bit more of a sculpted look.  While the ornament is all one color, you can still see the folds of the garments, the straw in the manager, and the faces on Mary and Joseph.  Between the pose and the material, I could almost picture this as a statue is a museum somewhere.

Of course, this does play into my old prejudice against the miniature ornaments.  In a museum, a piece like this would be larger than life, so you could see the details on the people.  With it being a miniature ornament, some of those details get lost.  Still, I do like this one overall.

This figure has a flat base, so you can set it out to create a Nativity display somewhere if you want.  You’ll find the 1 in a Christmas tree craved into the bottom as well since this is the first in a series.

If you do want to hang it, you’ll find the loop in Joseph’s head.  Slip a hook through there, you’ll find that it tips slightly toward Mary, which isn’t too surprising since the loop is off to one side.  Since this ornament is pewter, you’ll definitely find that it is heavier than you’d expect, but being a miniature ornament, it’s still not too heavy to hang on your tree.

Overall, this is a good start to the Nativity miniature series.  More details would have been nice, but the effect is still enjoyable on its own.

For the complete Nativity, you'll want the rest of the Nativity miniature series.

Original Price: $9.95