Ornament Review: Winter Wonder - Marjolein's Garden #3 - 2016 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Cute scene with the animals in winter

Cons: The bush squirrel

The Bottom Line:

Cute idea falls

Apart.  One piece doesn’t work

As well as it should.

Winter Brings an Average Ornament

I have a confession to make.  I have yet to put a Marjolein’s Garden ornament on my tree.  Instead, I’m displaying this Hallmark series at other times of the year since they seem to fit different seasons.  2016 saw a release for winter, but sadly Winter Wonder disappoints.

Now I get that if you are trying to do a garden ornament for winter it is hard to come up with much.  Most plants are dead or hibernating.  So the idea of the ornament is a good one.  We’ve got a rabbit and a cardinal around a bush.  Actually, the bird is sitting on the bush, but the two look like they are old friends passing the time when they run into each other.  It is obviously winter since there is snow on top of the bush and the base of the ornament is white plastic with glitter on it.

So far, this sounds like a great ornament and you’re probably wondering what went wrong.  It’s the bush.  This isn’t a round or oval or rectangular bush or anything like that.  Instead, it is some weird shape.  The bush is sticking out of a pot and is supposed to look like a squirrel.  Now I’ll agree that, if you look at it knowing what it is, you can see his head and tail.  However, until I heard that, I couldn’t figure out what the bush was supposed to be.  Even knowing, I still think the ornament would have been better served by a more traditional bush.  It just looks weird.

Which is a shame because I want to like the ornament.  I love the idea behind it.  But that bush just looks weird, and the bell around the bush squirrel’s neck doesn’t help things at all.  Don’t get me wrong, I still find the animals cute, and this isn’t a bad ornament.  But the bush keeps it from being a good ornament.

I mentioned the base earlier, and it’s nice and flat and big enough that you can set this ornament out to be displayed.  That’s exactly what I intend to do during January and February since this is a winter ornament.  You’ll also find the 3 in a Christmas tree on the bottom since this is the third in Hallmark’s series.  And you should definitely turn it over for a nice detail on the bottom of the ornament.

Of course, if you do want to hang the ornament on your tree, you’ll find the loop in the squirrel bush.  Slip a hook through there, and you’ll find that it tips every so very slightly to the right, but you have to be looking for it to spot it.

I do still fully intend to display this ornament each winter, but I wish it looked better overall.  Winter Wonder should have been wonderful.

Enjoy other seasons with the rest of the Marjolein's Garden series.

Original Price: $17.95