Tag Archives: super mario

Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025

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Nostalgia has become one of the most powerful drivers in the tech and collectible markets. From miniature consoles to pixel-perfect Lego sets, the formula is well established: take a beloved cultural touchstone and re-engineer it for a modern audience. Nintendo, more than almost any other company, has mastered this to the point of it being an art (remember the Pokémon Tamagotchis from a few months ago?) Hallmark’s Keepsake line has long been a partner with Nintendo, translating iconic characters and scenes into physical ornaments for collectors.

The Super Mario Super Star tree topper represents something more deliberate than a typical licensed holiday product. At nearly $100, it’s clearly positioned as a premium item, targeting collectors and dedicated fans rather than casual shoppers looking for generic tree decor. The build reflects this positioning. Made from durable plastic and measuring about 11 inches across, it’s substantial enough to serve as a proper focal point. The design faithfully captures the star’s appearance from the games, complete with oversized expressive eyes that give it personality beyond a simple geometric shape.

Designers: Hallmark Keepsake Store & Nintendo

Click Here to Buy Now

The topper comes with a wall-powered adapter rather than relying on batteries, which is a smart choice for maintaining consistent brightness throughout the season. The lighting synchronizes with audio from the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, specifically the invincibility theme that every player instantly recognizes. It’s a short 15-second loop, but that’s exactly how long the power-up lasts in the game, showing attention to detail that fans will appreciate.

The most clever piece of design here is arguably the remote control. Instead of a generic plastic fob, Hallmark has shaped it like one of the game’s classic gold coins, turning it into a secondary ornament that can hang elsewhere on the tree. This transforms the user interaction from a simple button press into an act that feels authentic to the Super Mario universe. You’re not just turning on a light; you’re metaphorically grabbing the coin to activate the power-up. It’s a thoughtful detail that bridges the gap between a physical holiday decoration and the digital memory it represents, delivering a small hit of that 8-bit dopamine right in your living room.

Photos and videos circulating online show how the topper looks in practice, and the consensus seems to be that it brings a genuinely playful energy to the tree. The bright yellow plastic catches ambient light even when the LEDs aren’t active, and when powered on, it becomes an unmistakable centerpiece. For homes with young children or dedicated gaming spaces, it fits naturally into the aesthetic. For more traditional settings, it might feel out of place, but that’s likely intentional. This product knows its audience.

Hallmark released this as part of their July 2025 Ornament Premiere, and availability appears solid for now through Amazon, their official site, and specialty ornament retailers. Given the track record of Nintendo-licensed Keepsake items, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to see secondary market prices climb after the holidays, especially if it’s a one-year release. Grab yours now before you end up paying upwards of 500 bucks on ebay.

Click Here to Buy Now

The post Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025

Posted on by

Nostalgia has become one of the most powerful drivers in the tech and collectible markets. From miniature consoles to pixel-perfect Lego sets, the formula is well established: take a beloved cultural touchstone and re-engineer it for a modern audience. Nintendo, more than almost any other company, has mastered this to the point of it being an art (remember the Pokémon Tamagotchis from a few months ago?) Hallmark’s Keepsake line has long been a partner with Nintendo, translating iconic characters and scenes into physical ornaments for collectors.

The Super Mario Super Star tree topper represents something more deliberate than a typical licensed holiday product. At nearly $100, it’s clearly positioned as a premium item, targeting collectors and dedicated fans rather than casual shoppers looking for generic tree decor. The build reflects this positioning. Made from durable plastic and measuring about 11 inches across, it’s substantial enough to serve as a proper focal point. The design faithfully captures the star’s appearance from the games, complete with oversized expressive eyes that give it personality beyond a simple geometric shape.

Designers: Hallmark Keepsake Store & Nintendo

Click Here to Buy Now

The topper comes with a wall-powered adapter rather than relying on batteries, which is a smart choice for maintaining consistent brightness throughout the season. The lighting synchronizes with audio from the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack, specifically the invincibility theme that every player instantly recognizes. It’s a short 15-second loop, but that’s exactly how long the power-up lasts in the game, showing attention to detail that fans will appreciate.

The most clever piece of design here is arguably the remote control. Instead of a generic plastic fob, Hallmark has shaped it like one of the game’s classic gold coins, turning it into a secondary ornament that can hang elsewhere on the tree. This transforms the user interaction from a simple button press into an act that feels authentic to the Super Mario universe. You’re not just turning on a light; you’re metaphorically grabbing the coin to activate the power-up. It’s a thoughtful detail that bridges the gap between a physical holiday decoration and the digital memory it represents, delivering a small hit of that 8-bit dopamine right in your living room.

Photos and videos circulating online show how the topper looks in practice, and the consensus seems to be that it brings a genuinely playful energy to the tree. The bright yellow plastic catches ambient light even when the LEDs aren’t active, and when powered on, it becomes an unmistakable centerpiece. For homes with young children or dedicated gaming spaces, it fits naturally into the aesthetic. For more traditional settings, it might feel out of place, but that’s likely intentional. This product knows its audience.

Hallmark released this as part of their July 2025 Ornament Premiere, and availability appears solid for now through Amazon, their official site, and specialty ornament retailers. Given the track record of Nintendo-licensed Keepsake items, though, it wouldn’t be surprising to see secondary market prices climb after the holidays, especially if it’s a one-year release. Grab yours now before you end up paying upwards of 500 bucks on ebay.

Click Here to Buy Now

The post Super Mario’s Invincibility Star as a Christmas Tree Topper might just be the Hottest Ornament Of 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Mario Kart™ comes to LEGO® with six super sets to arrive in 2025

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The Mario Kart series is probably the most played series on Nintendo Switch. Aside from the games itself, we’ve seen several toys and tie-ins, the most recent being the appearance of characters in the Super Mario Bros Movie last year. Fans of the Mario Kart series and collectors of LEGO® sets will have something to look forward to next year as not one but six LEGO® Super Mario™: Mario Kart™ sets will be available in 2025.

Designer: LEGO®

The addition of LEGO® versions of beloved characters in the Mario Kart universe brings a new dimension to an already popular franchise. Aside from the characters, you also get customizable karts and unique track items in each set so that collectors, fans, and builders will be able to experience the digital game in the physical universe, even though of course you won’t be able to actually race. At least, not like in the games.

The Yoshi Bike set includes the light-blue Yoshi, a shell item, and a brick-built bike and is made up of 133 pieces. The Standard Kart is a 174-piece set which has a buildable standard edition Mario Kart, a workstation, a Toad toy figure and a detachable Super Glider. The Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo set features the DK Jumbo kart and launch items like shells and a banana and has 387+ pieces.

Baby Mario vs Baby Luigi has 321 pieces and features the former in his Biddybuggy and the latter in his Tri-Speeder and includes 6 buildable balloons. The 390-piece Toad’s Garage has two Blue Toads (Pit Crew) getting the B Dasher kart ready. Lastly, the Baby Peach & Grand Prix set features Baby Peach in the Wild Wiggler kart, Lemmy in the Landship kart, and Toad on the standard bike. This comes with a whopping 823 pieces, making it the set with the most pieces.

The post Mario Kart™ comes to LEGO® with six super sets to arrive in 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

LEGO unveils Mario and Yoshi set with a hand-cranked movement and a gorgeous 16-bit aesthetic

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I don’t know about you, but I remember the exact moment I knew that Mario was going to become a successful gaming franchise. The year, probably sometime in the 90s, the device, a borrowed Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and the game, Yoshi’s Island. The creation of Super Mario World, or the entire world around the famous princess-saving plumber was a pivotal moment for the game, turning it from a small success story to a full-fledged ecosystem. Celebrating that very journey, LEGO just unveiled images of its Mario and Yoshi set. Priced at $129.99, it offers a unique blend of classic video game nostalgia with the engaging and creative play that LEGO is known for. The set, composed of 1,215 pieces, vividly captures the essence of the beloved Super Mario World, featuring Mario and Yoshi in a brick-based flat design that captures the glorious 16-bit aesthetic of games in that era.

Designer: LEGO

At first glance, the Mario and Yoshi set looks like a wonderful, nostalgia-evoking tabletop artpiece. LEGO’s approach leans heavily into the pixelated nature of its square-shaped bricks. The brick-bases aesthetic lends itself almost perfectly to the kind of 16-bit aesthetic of the video game. But that’s not all – a small hand-crank visible on the bottom right turns this static artpiece into a kinetic installation, mimicking the gameplay perfectly! Turn the hand crank and the entire figurine comes to life, with Yoshi’s legs moving as if it’s walking, and mario’s legs swinging from front to back. Yoshi also occasionally sticks out its tongue as a nod to the engaging gameplay of the classic Mario titles.

At 1,215 bricks, you’d think this particular set would feel complicated, however, most of the bricks just serve as mere pixels in the overall set, making the entire building process extremely easy to follow. When completed, the entire artpiece measures over 15.5 inches in height, and has a vibrant appeal that should definitely catch your attention from across the room. Looking at it is just half the experience – crank the handle on the side and the brick-based automata is sure to delight pretty much anyone!

For those eager to own this piece of LEGO and gaming history, pre-orders are now available directly from LEGO’s website. The combination of high-quality bricks, interactive features, and a nod to classic gaming makes this set a noteworthy addition to any enthusiast’s collection. Whether you are reliving childhood memories or discovering the charm of Super Mario World for the first time, the 71438 set offers a blend of nostalgia and innovation that stands out in LEGO’s extensive catalog.

The post LEGO unveils Mario and Yoshi set with a hand-cranked movement and a gorgeous 16-bit aesthetic first appeared on Yanko Design.

LEGO meets Mario with this retro and iconic Super Mario Piranha Plant

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I am a huge fan of Legos in the sense that I like looking at the finished products, especially if they’re pop culture-related. But I basically don’t have the patience to put those elaborate sets together so I actually am not tempted to buy any of these sets (aside from the fact that they can be really expensive). But I do like seeing videos of how they’re put together or looking at pictures of what it looks like upon its final build. If you’re a Super Mario fan, this upcoming new product to add to the LEGO Super Mario sets may be of interest, or for people like me, may be of interest to read about.

Designer: LEGO

The LEGO Super Mario Piranha Plant is made up of 540 pieces and when put together, you get exactly what its name says. The sharp-toothed Piranha Plant is one of the most annoying things you can get when you’re playing the game. Now you can commemorate this “villain” by putting together the LEGO set which is also camera-ready since you want to show off that you were able to finish this masterpiece.

The plant has most of the details and chracteristics that you see in the game, including spiky leaves, the polka-dot head, and the green pipe from which it grows. You even get two gold coins as well similar to the game and you can store it in the pipe. Once you finish it, it’s perfect for displaying in your desk, bookshelf, or if you’re a serious LEGO collector, add it to your display case. It’s just 9 inches in height so it won’t take up much space.

The LEGO Piranha Plant will be available this coming November and is priced at $59.99. It’s pretty affordable compared to the more elaborate hundreds or even thousands of dollar sets that LEGO has released. You can add it to other Super Mario themed sets like The Mighty Bowser and the Super Mario 64 Block.

The post LEGO meets Mario with this retro and iconic Super Mario Piranha Plant first appeared on Yanko Design.