Ornament Review: Stockings Hung with Care - Once Upon a Christmas #8 - 2018 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great scene, fun sound and light

Cons: Slight tip forward

The Bottom Line:

Filling the stockings

Next step in Santa's journey

Magic makes it fun

Santa's Filling Stockings with Care

We've been following Santa's journey on Christmas Eve for eight years now with the Once Upon a Christmas series.  I suspect we are getting near the end for a couple of reasons, one of them being that Santa is delivering presents with Stockings Hung with Care.

This ornament finds Santa standing before the fire place in a home.  There's a cozy looking fire going, but Santa's already come down the chimney.  In fact, he's got a stocking in one hand and there's a doll in the other, which is hanging from the mantel.  Both stockings have peppermint candies in them.  Santa's got a toy soldier in the other hand, and he's ready to add it to the stocking he’s holding before getting back on his way.  Observing the entire thing is a white cat.

Like the rest of the ornaments in the series, this ornament attaches to Hallmark's Magic Cord (not to be confused with their new Power Cord).  As soon as you attach the ornament to the cord, you'll notice that the fire in the fire place lights up and the base flashes in red and green.

When you press the button, this ornament will take over the lights on any other ornaments you've got on this Magic Cord while it puts on a show.  In this case, we get to hear Santa talk about how good the kids he is visiting have been and the soldier and doll he is leaving for them.  The touch I love is that the cat actually meows as Santa is finishing.  At that point, the music takes over and we get to hear "Home for the Holidays" play.  All told, the sound lasts just over a minute.  Meanwhile, the fire and the lights in the base are synched to the dialogue and music we hear, and the other ornaments attached to the string also flash their lights in time.  It's fun, and Santa's voice still sounds wonderful.

And that's why I have enjoyed this series so much.  Listening to Santa talk about his trip always brings out the kid in me, and the music that plays is delightful.  Plus, the artists take advantage of the larger size and really put a lot of detail to the ornament.  I absolutely love the fire flickering effect, which we really get to see when the show is going, although it does flicker a little even when the ornament is just plugged in.

These ornaments are really scenes, and as a result, each one has a large base.  This one is no exception, so if you wanted to set the ornament out some place, you could easily do that.  You'll also find the series marker on the bottom of the ornament.  Or you can hang it on your tree.  The loop is in the front of the fire place, which is a little off center, so it tips forward slightly.  I don’t see any place that would be better for the ornaments to hang, however.  The base is so large that this will hit tree branches anyway, so those will probably change how it hangs anyway.

Last year, Hallmark introduced their new Power Cord, which allows ornaments to interact in new ways.  As a result, I suspect that they will be phasing out their Magic Cords and the ornaments that work with it.  That's the other reason I suspect that this series will be ending soon.  Plus, I'm not sure what we haven't seen Santa do yet.  Although it would be cool for this series to make it to 10 entries.  We just need two more.

No matter how much longer the series goes, those who have been enjoying the journey will want to add Stockings Hung with Care to their tree.

Journey along with Santa with the rest of the Once Upon a Christmas series.

Original Price: $29.99