a few things

1- Chris Great work so far on the site today, I am really impressed, especially with getting a post out about once an hour, that is great work.

2- Ornaments this year are pretty awesome, it is a pain to pick out the one I will buy ( Tradition I get one new one a year) And the Ecto-1 vs the Flash is a hard choice this year.

Ecto-1 was tempting, but the Swedish Chef was the winner for me.

Thanks a lot Joe, now I have another one to think about getting.

Oh it has the authentic theme song and not the Jedward version? I'm out.

I almost got that one, but opted instead for the one depicting the lightsaber battle from Episode 1. I already had ones for the battle from Episode III, V, and VI so I decided to continue with the trend.

THE.

SKY-.

WALKING.

ROBOT.

But you know what I DON'T see? Carl's house from Up.

Which reminds me, I need to find a video arcade for the christmas village we always set up... that Galaga machine's probably too big to just sit on a street corner.

(other subtly-geeky things usually contained within: a British phone booth that's been spray-painted blue, the fact that both cars in the village have autobot symbols, and a kid reading an issue of Nightwing that my girlfriend painstakingly hand-painted last year. I still don't know how she pulled that off; I suspect that she recruited a couple of the tabletop game geeks at the mall to do it for her.)

Hallmark has always set the bar pretty high with their selection of nerd-themed ornaments. Eevry year our tree is almost all Star Tek and Star Wars themed. You get the sound going on all those babies at once and it is like, the ultimate Geek Christmas Carol.

I hate these things. They're so expensive. I will say the Galaga one is somewhat worth the price because how else can you get one of those, but the other stuff?

Please. You can make your ornaments from Happy Meal figures that look as good as most of these Hallmark trash.

PS

Robby the Robot is awesome in any form.

"I hate these things. They're so expensive."

Just do what everyone else does and buy 'em on the 27th. It's not like anyone will notice that your tree is always one year behind.

I already own one. I had to play with it as soon as I got it home. I love it. I had to put it away so I wouldn't kill the batteries too badly before time for the christmas tre.

Just do what everyone else does and buy 'em on the 27th.

I walked into a Hallmark for Christmas cards one year and discovered they'd put out the previous year's leftover Slave Leia ornaments for $3.95 each. My male friends worshipped me at Christmas that year:

http://www.theornamentfactory.com/product_info.php/products_id/213

This is badass, and I will definitely buy one.

However, after a mention of a Swedish Chef in the comments, I went to look at the rest of the offerings...has anybody told any of the old staff at Palisades Toys that Hallmark all but lifted wholesale the island from their Swedish Kitchen playset? If I were Ken Lilly, I'd be pissed.

I manage a Hallmark shop and my favorite thing about ornament season is watching customers stroke out when the old ladies I work with don't know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek.