After over three decades of releasing Star Trek ornaments, you’d think Hallmark had done it all. Luckily, Paramount Plus keeps making more Star Trek, so the fantastic beast (wrong franchise) keeps getting fed. Except this year, there’s little to nothing directly connected to any of the new series currently streaming. Instead, they’ve gone back a couple of generations and found new ways to mine our memories. That includes one of the most delightfully indelible and goofy images in the original series.
They’ve already given us a tree topper that anchors a performance of “Mirror, Mirror.” We’ve had several variations on the Enterprise, including one last year from Strange New Worlds. As Hallmark celebrates 50 years of Keepsake Ornaments, they also know full well how people display them. Instead of tree toppers, we have “tabletop decorations.” Though the lit base might resemble half a snowball, that’s all that ties it to the holidays. Available October 14, 2023, the original Enterprise will cruise into your collection with the capability of ambient noises and dialogue snippets from the original series. If the photo is accurate, it’s slightly different in detail than the tree topper, but also more potentially effective as a decorative desk lamp.
Two generations meet in an ornament recreating a moment in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Relics” when Jean-Luc Picard met Montgomery Scott. Don’t quote me on this, but this may be the first time James Doohan’s likeness has been used for a Keepsake Ornament. Also available on October 14, this ornament won’t connect to others, but does play dialogue from the episode.
Not from Picard but referenced this season, Commander Data arrives July 15 holding his beloved Spot. This ornament also plays dialogue from the Next Generation episode “Schisms.”
In July, Hallmark also reaches back to the original series episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” Frightening when I was 6, and though goofy still unforgettable considerable years later, this ornament recreates the Enterprise held in space by a giant blue hand. Where Apollo’s wrist should be, you can insert a bulb from your light string to really make it glow. (That actually works better than you might think.)
The one ornament reflecting current streaming series comes from the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks. You too can own both good and bad versions of the computer game avatar Badgey, available in October.
If you want to get ahead in the Federation, you need to pass their test.
With so much focused on the first two (and arguably most popular) series, this may speak to who buys ornaments. It’s mostly older fans of the show — or ornament collectors themselves who may be older — because they have the storage space. (Or display space — again, who is putting these away each year?) However, with the growing popularity of Strange New Worlds and the tease of a new series called Star Trek: Legacy, 2024 may feature more contemporary versions of characters beyond Badgey. Come on, where’s the love for Boimler?
You can peruse deeper in the Hallmark Dream Book yourself, and fill out a wish list that will be sent to the store of your choice for fulfillment. But I’ll continue highlighting ornaments that might appeal to the Fanboy Planet readership.
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Fanboy Planet is not affiliated with Hallmark in any way. We just thought you’d want to know these ornaments are coming.
