Ornament Anchor is a product that was featured on Shark Tank in Season 13 and is designed to more securely fasten ornaments to a Christmas tree than standard hooks. Today I offer my review.
Where to Purchase
You can pick up Ornament Anchor from the official website for about $25 for 24. There is an Amazon listing, but it has been out of stock for me recently. Ornament Anchor is also found in stores such as Target.
Claims & Features
- Fits all sizes and types of ornaments
- Easy to use
- Holds up to 10 lbs
- Clamps to the branch
Ornament Anchor Review
There is nothing more daunting than affixing an irreplaceable ornament to a Christmas tree with a microscopically thin hook purchased from a dollar store. Old school thin hooks can lead to precious ornaments dropping off of a tree with a subtle bump. Enter Ornament Anchor, which supposedly eliminates this problem.
Ornament Anchor is essentially a small looped bungee cable. To use Ornament Anchor, you simply insert the looped end through the ornament, and then loop it upon itself. The unit can then be placed over a branch and secured via the patent-pending clamp.
When I tried it myself on a full-size tree, I had a few immediate observations, both good and bad. On the good side, I found that the Ornament Anchor worked exactly as it was intended. Ornaments were secure in place and did not move, even when swatted or when the tree was shaken. On the bad side, however, I found that Ornament Anchor did not work with any of my Disney or character ornaments because the opening was simply too small to fit the Ornament Anchor. Additionally, the loop can really only fit over the end of most branches. The further into the tree you get, the less likely the Ornament Anchor is to fit. If you encounter an offshoot branch, for example, there is no way to bypass it. Dense needles can also limit the placement of the Ornament Anchor.
I tested Ornament Anchor on a small tree with smaller bulbs, and found that it was a bit better suited for that size. The Ornament Anchor fit more easily over the branches simply due to their smaller size.
When I was a kid (and also as a dad when my kids were little), we often made ornament hooks out of pipe cleaners. With pipe cleaners you can squeeze the “hook” end onto the branch to secure it in place nearly as well as the Ornament Anchor. Pipe cleaners and hooks are not limited by wide branches or thick needles in the way Ornament Anchor is.
In the end, I can’t complain about the function of Ornament Anchor, outside of its inability to be placed further inside the tree. If you like what you see in the ads, you’ll probably like it. On the other hand, at $1.04 per anchor, it’s hard to justify the cost when compared to hooks or pipe cleaners that only cost a few cents each, even if they aren’t quite as secure.
I like the idea of these, but they’re really not practical for decorating a full tree. While I can see them holding treasured ornaments, they don’t allow for hanging those ornaments or any others all along a tree branch. You’re stuck putting all ornaments hanging with these on the edges of the tree branch/tips. That’s a dangerous area for treasures if a tree falls over. I like your pipe cleaner solution, especially if you can match the color to your tree (or flocking) — I actually think I have a couple like that — but I’ll stick with regular hooks… Read more »
I think you pretty much summed up my experience – perhaps better than I did!
I had a few people write in and thank me for the pipe cleaner idea, which surprised me because I thought everyone knew about that!
One thing I probably didn’t mention in my review is that this item didn’t get a deal on Shark Tank. It’s a tough sell when your competition is exponentially cheaper but your product is not exponentially better – if all.