Hallmark Caroling Cottages Instructions

Got two sets of Caroling Cottages, one for each set of grandchildren! For those who have not yet played with their set - (or it's been a year and you've forgotten how to use them) - here's everything you need to know...

They come with batteries - (3 AAA's) - so if you're storing them, you might want to remove them. You'll need a phillips head screwdriver. (And by the way, for replacement batteries, the best deal on AAA batteries we found were at Costco - 24 for $11)

If they still have their "Pull out and activate" tab, do so when you're ready to use them.

For the most playing options, plug them together in any order (but you don't have to if you want to play only one cottage on "Single Play" or "Continuous Play", which could lead to some creative possibilities...).

For "Single Play", push and release the button on the cottage you wish to play. It will play one of its two songs. Repeat as many times as you like on any of the cottages.

Always wait until the lights are out before pressing the button again.

For "Continuous Play", push and hold the button, for about 4 seconds, until the lights blink.

Note: If lights blink 2 times, you now have it set on "Continuous Play". If it blinks 4 times, you have just canceled "Continuous Play".

When plugging cottages together, you don't need to use the last plug. Just plug the first into the second, the second into the third, and the third into the fourth. (Using all four plugs didn't seem to make a difference and restricted placement of the cottages).

For "Continuous Play" of all four cottages, plug them together as described above. Then on 1 cottage only, press and hold the button until the lights blink 2 times on all 4 cottages. (Again, if the lights blinked 2 times, you're good to go. If the lights blinked 4 times you just canceled the continuous play feature).

There may or may not be a delay before the cottages begin playing continuously. Be patient. Once it starts, it will randomly play one of the eight songs every 4 minutes. Hallmark estimated that the cottages can play continuously for a week before battery replacement is necessary.

To cancel "Continuous Play" press and hold the button on one of the plugged together cottages until the lights blink 4 times on all 4 cottages.

If having problems with "Continuous Play" with all 4 cottages plugged together, unplug them, then press and hold the button on each cottage, one at a time, until you are able to get it to blink 4 times. Repeat with each cottage. Plug them together again, then press and hold button on one cottage until the lights blink 2 times. And remember, it may not play immediately. Be patient.

When plugged together on "Continuous Play", lights on all 4 cottages will light up during each song.

If I missed anything, let me know and I will add your information to this post.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Information from tags:

Merry Christmas Cottage XLJ6023
"Jolly Old St. Nicholas"
"Up on the Rooftop"

Seasons Greetings Cottage XLJ6024
"Jingle Bells"
"Carol of the Bells"

Noel Cottage XLJ6025
"Away in the Manger"
"Joy to the World"

Joy Cottage XLJ6026
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
"Deck the Halls"

"Press the button to bring [cottage] to life! Connect it to other cottages in the Caroling Cottages collection to see them light up together."

"Whichever one you press becomes the 'leader' and the others follow" - [I did not find that to be the case. Cottage will play first song, but after that, order of songs is random].

"For Single Play: 1) Press and release the button."

"For Continuous Play: 1) Press the button and hold for four seconds. Each cottage will take a turn being the "leader"! - Music will stop momentarily between play cycles. 2) To stop, wait until the current song ends. Then press and hold the button for four seconds again."

1/26/10

I second that - thanks a bunch for sharing this.

Bump this up for us in 10 months from now!!

Kat

It was a typo Stacey! LOL

Lisa, thanks for taking the time to do that. At this point, I have the tags and know where they are. For good measure, I will add this thread to my 'watched topics' so I can find it in the fall.

Kathy, Christmas will be over in 11 months! I can't believe January is almost over...

Lisa, Thank you. It was a great idea to post the instructions for next year.

Although I know how they work now I'm sure 9 months from now I'll be going "hmmm...?" so I'm printing your instructions off and packing them away with the cottages. Thanks Lisa!

Karen

Where is the watched topic function? You learn something new here everyday. - Karen

Thanks so much! I never had time to read the tags over the holidays so it is nice to know there is more than one way to play the Caroling Cottages. Thanks for sharing this information since I know I've lost my tags. I'll print this out and put it in the box that I stored the cottages in.

I still haven't had time to play with ours, I think they'll be a pleasant surprise for the kids next year. Thanks for taking the time to share the info and making it easy for all.

Sharing these instructions was a happy task.

I'm giving both sets of cottages to the grandchildren next Christmas, but realized I needed to make sure they were working before I packed them away. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. At one point - I like how another member put it - I too thought they were "possessed"!

Finally figured out how to use them, and couldn't think of a better place than here to store the instructions until next year. When I give the cottages to the grandchildren, I'll print the directions for their busy mom's, so they won't have to go through the same learning curve.

Hopefully, one of us here will be able to find the topic again!

Lisa

Hi Karen,

Underneath "my stuff" there are two tabs -- New Reply & Topic Options. Click on Topic Options and a drop down menu will show four options. Clicking on Add Topic to your Watched Topics will track that topic for you. When you refresh your Yulelog page, a magnifying glass icon will show, to let you know the topic is being followed.

If anybody else can explain that better please do.

Thanks! Your explanation was great. I never noticed that before. - Karen

When you want to retrieve a Watched Topic, you will need to click on 'My Stuff'. That drop down menu has five options. By chosing (you guessed it!) My Watch Lists, your saved topics will show.

You've probably figured that already but I thought I'd add it just in case.

Thank you for these instructions-I just purchased four houses at my local Hallmark today at 75 % off. I was expecting them to play almost nonstop, with just a "momentary" lapse between play cycles..instead there was a very long lapse between play cycles and I thought I had bought a defective set. I knew there would be an answer to my befuddlement somewhere on Yulelog. Thank you Grandma Lise for the far better instructions than what was on the actual store tag. :-)

Yes Susie47, that was my experience too. And thanks for the reminder, I need to check the other set I purchased to make sure it's working. I think the grandkids are going to love them next year!

Keep in mind that you don't have to connect them together. Instead, you can set each on continuous play exactly 56 seconds after the last. If you had 8 or 12 or 20 cottages, think of the possibilities...as my husband did...[giggle].

Lisa

bump