Ornament Review: Skylar A. Woolscarf Miniature - 2016 Hallmark Limited Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fun ornament just as fun shrunk

Cons: What’s up with that umbrella?

The Bottom Line:

Snowtop Lodge start is

Redone as a mini piece

Differences are fun

Skylar Shrinks to New Effect

While Hallmark has placed a renewed emphasis on miniature ornaments for 2016, they have gone to many of their popular series for inspiration.  A perfect example of that is Skylar A. Woolscarf.  The original ornament was released in 2005 as a full sized ornament and the first in the Snowtop Lodge series.  But in 2016, they released a miniature size version of him as a limited edition ornament.

While this year’s Skylar is not a perfect representative of the original, he’s certainly close enough that you’ll recognize him.  As with the original, he’s made of porcelain, but this time, he’s completely porcelain, including his scarf and vest.  His pocket watch is there, but it’s attached to the ornament instead of swinging free like on the original.  His scarf is shorter, which allows us to see a star button.  And the cityscape painted on the original is much more a water color impressionism piece here – instead of showing actual buildings, you can see colors that vaguely resemble buildings and trees.

And yet, it works.  It really does help to have an idea of what the original looks like, but I love the watercolor effect on this ornament.  While the original is fun, this one works well, too.

About the only thing that doesn’t work is the umbrella.  It looks nothing like an umbrella.  In fact, it looks like a triangle attached to his side.  I know this is a small ornament, but with everything else working, I find the finished effort here odd.

While this may be a small ornament, Skylar is still a snowman, so you can easily set him out as part of a display on his flat base.  He’s look good in a village scene, for example.

But if you want to hang him, you’ll find the hook on the top of his top hat.  He hangs straight, which isn’t really a surprise given his size and the location of the hook.

I have no clue if this is now going to be an unofficial mini series from Hallmark, but even if Skylar A. Woolscarf is the only Snowtop Lodge mini they do, I’m still glad I got him.  He’s a cute and fun take on the original.

If you like this ornament, you'll want the full size Snowtop Lodge series.

Original Price: $9.95