Ornament Review: Tea Time! #2 - Penguins - 2017 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun, creative tea set

Cons: Short, stout penguins bother me still

The Bottom Line:

Penguins serving tea

Festive set has grown on me

Certainly is fun

Tea for Penguin Lovers

I’m not sure I would have thought of penguins at Christmas time.  Yes, they live in the snow and cold (although Antarctica and not the North Pole), but they aren’t something you see regularly at Christmas.  Except with Hallmark.  They are doing well marketing penguins in their Christmas decorations, so I wasn’t too surprised to see them pop up for the second in the Tea Time! series.

This set of two ornaments features two penguins, an adult and a child.  The adult forms the tea pot itself, with one wing acting as the handle and one as the spout.  While it is mostly black and white with orange for feet, it sports a little blue and purple in the hat and scarf it is wearing.

The child is the cup.  It’s crouched down, and the top of its head is off so we can have the opening of the cup.  At least that’s what it looks like to me.  Again, the cup is mostly black, white, and orange, but this penguin is wearing a purple scarf that also is forming the handle of the cup.  The person drinking this tea likes it sweet since there are sugar cubes floating in the top.  Oh, given the chocolate brown of the liquid we can see inside, maybe this is hot chocolate.

I don’t typically think of penguins as short and fat, but that is exactly what we see here.  I know, I know, they are supposed to be a tea pot and tea cup; I get why they look the way they do.  But it still looks slightly wrong to me.  It doesn’t help that their cheeks are puffed up like they are holding their breath.

On the other hand, I really do like them; they are a fun addition to the Tea Time! series.  I could totally see someone wanting them as a fun seasonal tea set.  In fact, if this set were real, it would work great for the entire winter, not just Christmas.

Being a teapot and teacup, both stand up straight if you set them out to be displayed.  You’ll find the series marker on the bottom of both ornaments.

Unlike most Hallmark ornaments, these ornaments include the white ribbon you’d need to hang them on your tree.  When you do, you’ll find that they both hang straight.

Both pieces of the set are made from porcelain, so they are more fragile than many Hallmark ornaments, which are made from plastic.  You’ll want to keep this in mind when you display them so they don’t accidentally get broken.

This set has grown on me the more I looked at it.  While I’m still completely on board with the short, stout penguins, it makes a fun second Tea Time! set.

Enjoy more Tea Time! with the rest of the series.

Original Price: $19.95