Cool Stuff: The Best New Star Wars And Star Trek Hallmark Christmas Ornaments For 2023
There's no denying that the two dominant sci-fi franchises in the world are "Star Wars" and "Star Trek." Sure, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating the box office, but superhero movies are their own thing. We're talking about pure science fiction here, the kind with spaceships, aliens, lasers, and all sorts of otherworldly elements. While fans of both franchises have occasionally been at odds about which is better, the holidays can bring them both together for some merchandising joy.
Each Christmas, Hallmark releases a new set of Keepsake Ornaments for the Christmas tree, and a bunch of them are inspired by our favorite movies and TV shows. Just as "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" have been at the top tier of sci-fi, they're also two of the biggest franchises for Hallmark, so there's always a variety of new ornaments for each of the sci-fi universes. This year's new ornaments have been unveiled, and we've picked the best of them for you to snag for your Christmas tree. Check them out below!
Hallmark's 2023 Star Wars ornaments feel the Force
We're not here to argue about whether "Star Wars" is better than "Star Trek," but this year, they've got the better line-up of new Hallmark ornaments. Granted, "Star Wars" has always been the king of merchandising, so this shouldn't be a surprise. This year, Hallmark has an assembly of ornaments that stretch from the original trilogy, including the 40th anniversary of "Return of the Jedi" to the newer Disney+ TV shows, like "Ahsoka," "The Mandalorian," "The Book of Boba Fett," and "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Don't worry, prequel fans, there's a little something in there for you too.
Personally, the ships have always been my favorite, so I'll be snagging that N-1 Starfighter from "The Mandalorian," but that Carbon-Freezing Chamber ornament just looks too cool to pass up, even if it comes with a steep price tag for an ornament. (Ethan Anderton)
Anyway, here's the roster of "Star Wars" ornaments that we thought were the coolest this year:
Mandalorians and Whatnot
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- "The Book of Boba Fett" – Riding Into the Battle
- "The Mandalorian" – Grogu's Jetpack Adventure (seen further above)
- "The Mandalorian" – The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter
The Original Trilogy
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- "Empire Strikes Back" – Into the Carbon-Freezing™ Chamber
- "Return of the Jedi" – Jabba's Sail Barge, The Khetanna
- "Return of the Jedi" – Jabba the Hutt
Princess Leia, Now and Then
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Prequel
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Pals
Hallmark's 2023 Star Trek ornaments hit warp speed
Meanwhile, Hallmark has been regularly producing "Star Trek" ornaments for decades, starting in 1991 with a handsome version of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Many Trekkies keen on collecting likely also have intimate knowledge of the 1992 talking Galileo shuttlecraft that featured original dialogue from Leonard Nimoy saying "Happy Holidays." The 2023 season keeps the tradition going with a quartet of new ornaments culled from various points of "Star Trek" history.
The latest Enterprise ornament sees the ship being held in the grip of an outsize teal-colored human hand, an image taken from the 1967 original series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" In that episode, the ship was halted in the middle of space by Apollo himself. It seems Apollo was an off-world alien who missed being worshiped by humanity. Kirk (William Shatner) explained that humanity outgrew its gods long ago.
Hallmark
From the days of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Hallmark has made two ornaments. The first is a reference to the 1992 episode "Relics," and features the first meeting of Scotty (James Doohan) and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). In that episode, Scotty was trapped in a transporter beam for decades and resurrected in the 24th century. There is also an ornament featuring Data (Brent Spiner) reading a poem to his cat Spot, something he did in the 1992 episode "Schisms." The poem is as dry as one might expect, coming from an android.
Hallmark
Additionally, Hallmark is offering a two-in-one ornament of Badgey (Jack McBrayer), the holographic villain from "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Badgey was invented by Ensign Rutherford as an instructional hologram of an anthropomorphic Starfleet logo, but it quickly gained consciousness and turned evil, attempting to gleefully kill its creator. One of the Badgeys is good, the other is evil. (Witney Seibold)
You can see these and even more sci-fi ornaments from Hallmark right here.