Penguin Bay

An impromptu day trip to the Finger Lakes was full of surprises, not the least of which finding out that I live close enough to make it a day trip. Another was finding a winery called Penguin Bay. They had a lot of penguin items in their shop and good wines with names like Humboldt Red. I bought one Christmas tree ornament, this simple balsa wood cutout with a red Penguin Bay ribbon loop. They had another ornament that I decided to skip. It was a penguin cookie cutter with a black ribbon loop. Hmmm. I guess I found out where I draw the line.

This is the last of my ornaments, well, until I find some new penguins. I think it’s time for a little break anyway, but stay tuned for more from My Penguin Tree down the road.

Wood Penguin Bay Vineyards ornament

Acquired: March 2011

Number: 913

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $1

Christmas crafts

We decorated ornaments in the afternoon on Christmas Day at the Babazes’ house. I tried to make a little blue penguin on this ceramic stocking with glitter glue. As the glue dried, it flattened out. Those are supposed to be little red eyes and you can hardly make out the orange beak and feet. Maybe I’ll do better next time.

Christmas craft stocking with blue glittery penguin, made by me

Acquired: December 25, 2010

Number: 0911

Meant to be

My friends the Babazes say this ornament magically showed up with their other stuff when they went to check out during a shopping trip. I’m glad it did.

Penguin flying in a glittery snow globe with changing lights

Acquired: December 25, 2010, gift from the Babaz family

Number: 0910

Package deal

I don’t know if this is really an ornament. It was part of the decoration on a gift from my sister. The way I see it, if it has a loop for hanging, I’m putting it on a tree.

Flat felt penguin with holly trimmed Santa hat and red scarf

Acquired: December 25, 2010, gift from my sister Gale

Number: 0909

Size: 6 inches tall

Hallmark surprise

Hallmark makes a big deal out of their Keepsake collectible  ornaments, with a catalog they call a Dream Book and special events starting in the summer as they release each year’s new ornaments. This ornament, however, wasn’t in the Keepsake catalog, and I found it on a rack away from the main display area for the collectibles. I wonder how they decide which ones are keepsakes and which ones aren’t.

Hallmark snowflake frame ornament

Acquired: December 13, 2010, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0908

Size: 4.25 inches tall

Price: $6.95

Last of the Hallmarks . . . almost

I managed to get all of last year’s Hallmark penguin ornaments, I think. This was the last one they released. It matches a stuffed musical decoration that Hallmark offered at a special price if you bought something like three greeting cards. I ended up with a lot of Hallmark ornaments and they were kind of expensive. This year I might try to restrain myself and catch some of the new ornaments on sale after Christmas. I saw an article that said Hallmark is expecting penguins to replace polar bears as the big animal on their cards in 2011. I’m a little worried that it means there will be more penguin ornaments too.

Hallmark Keepsake “We Need a Little Christmas” based on 2010 promotional decoration with penguin and snowman decorating a tree

Acquired: December 13, 2010, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0907

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $18.95

Hum dinger

A couple of days after the shopping spree in Scranton, I went to the mall near my home and found another ornament. It’s a huge ceramic jingle bell painted to look like a penguin. One of my favorites.

Large ceramic jingle bell, red and green hat, decorated with snowflakes

Acquired: December 12, 2010, Bon Ton, Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0906

Size: 3.5 inches diameter

Price: $4.80

Toy soldier

I think it would be fun have a tree filled with ornaments like this. I wonder if I can build a theme around this penguin. Toyland, maybe, or circus. Yeah.

Living Quarters penguin head with tall toy soldier hat with green snowflake

Acquired: December 10, 2010, Bon Ton, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0905

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $3.20 (originally $10)

Facing deadlines

So am I getting tired of these penguin ornaments or am I feeling sad that I’m almost at the end of the collection? Maybe a little bit of both. It’s been a lot of fun putting this blog together over the last 16 months, rarely missing a day until recently. Now it’s been more than a week since I posted. The strange thing is that I’ve actually written the final week’s worth of posts, but I just haven’t been putting them up. Maybe tax time is to blame. I managed to procrastinate again this year even with the extended deadline. I mailed my returns (all four of them!) this morning after a last minute scare with my copier toner going low just as I made my last copy. So, here’s today’s penguin, a little past due, but worth the wait. We’ve seen this idea before, a penguin painted on a clear, flat glass circle with a snowy filling.

Living Quarters clear flattish circle with snowballs inside and penguin wearing red and yellow hat and blue snowflake scarf

Acquired: December 10, 2010, Bon Ton, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0904

Size: 4 inches diameter

Price: $3.20 (originally $10)

Tinsel scarves

Now that I look at these penguins again, they look something like a set of ornaments that I saw in a window in Manhattan last year. I wanted to go back when the store was open, but I never made it. Just as well, because I’m pretty sure these are the same. At least I’ll keep telling myself that.

News alert: I got a new penguin ornament today. It’s due up in a few days anyway, so stay tuned.

Small glass flocked penguins with tinsel scarves, green hat and red scarf, red hat and blue scarf, silver hat and scarf

Acquired: December 10, 2010, La Ti Da Kidoodles, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0901 0902 0903

Size: 3.75 inches tall

Price: $9.99 each

A penguin to remember

I bought a few penguin ornaments when we went shopping after the opening reception for the Festival of Trees at the Trolley Museum in Scranton. Out of the group, I picked this one to be Number 900, because of its unusual color and design. I’ll have to try to photograph this penguin again to get a better angle. It’s flying, and it has an array of colored balls balanced on its back. The top of the beak was bent when I bought it. It was the last one at the shop, so I bought it even though it was broken.

Big flying papier mâché penguin with pink and white ball or balloon

Acquired: December 10, 2010, La Ti Da Kidoodles, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0900

Size: 7 inches tall

Price: $14.99

Jumbo egg

This is an unusual egg-shaped ceramic ornament that has a penguin stuck on the front. The oversized black egg blends in with the penguin’s body and it has a big label on the back for a personalized message.

Big, black ceramic egg with penguin in relief on front with Santa hat, candy cane and peppermint buttons, and personalized label on back

Acquired: December 10, 2010, La Ti Da Kidoodles, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0899

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $14.99

Dancing feet

This penguin looks like he’s dancing to celebrate the big anniversary of Christopher Radko ornaments. For some reason, I didn’t write down the price, but it’s not one of the expensive, high-end Radko’s.

Celebrations by Radko 25^th anniversary happy feet glass penguin with blue stocking hat, turquoise striped scarf and big snowflake

Acquired: December 8, 2010, Kmart, East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0898

Size:

Price:

Shine on

I knew this penguin looked familiar, but I also knew there was something different about it. It turns out to be the same ornament as one I bought at the National Zoo in Washington, but this one is covered with a shiny glaze.

Animal Planet glittery realistic emperor

Acquired: December 8, 2010, Once Upon a Christmas, Bryant Park, New York

Number: 0896

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $14.14

A drop in price

I bought two ornaments at two different booths at the Bryant Park Holiday Market last year. This one originally cost me $16.99 ($18.50 with tax) but I dropped it at the other ornament shop. When I went back to get a replacement, I found the same ornament for $13.99. The clerk made me pay for the second one, but he took $3 off to make up for the overcharge on the first one.

Clear snowman-shaped body with penguin head and the same smaller penguin inside

Acquired: December 8, 2010, It’s Always Christmas in the City, Bryant Park, New York

Number: 0895

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $11.97

Blue clown bonanza

I went for some lunch and Christmas shopping after setting up my entry in the Festival of Trees in Scranton. I found most of these blue clowns (and one green one) at J.C. Penney that day. A couple of days later at a J.C. Penney closer to home, I found a couple more. The green one looks like it’s left over from a previous year, but it also had a 2010 tag on it like all the blue ones. I almost bought a second wood pull string clown at the second Penney’s because the one I got in Scranton doesn’t really work. I was hoping I might be able to take it apart some day and fix it.

North Pole Trading Co. wood blue clown pull toy

Acquired: December 4, 2010, J.C Penney, Viewmont Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0888

Size: 8” long

Price: $3.56 (originally $11.99)

North Pole Trading Co. papier mâché snowman-shaped blue clown

Acquired: December 4, 2010, J.C. Penney, Viewmont Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0889

Size: 5.5 inches tall

Price: $2.37 (originally $7.99)

North Pole Trading Co. rubbery blue clown round picture frame ornament

Acquired: December 4, 2010, J.C. Penney, Viewmont Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0890

Size: 7 inches tall

Price: $2.17 (originally $7.99)

North Pole Trading Co. blue clown drummer

Acquired: December 4, 2010, J.C. Penney, Viewmont Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0891

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $1.78 (originally $5.99)

North Pole Trading Co. blue clown clay dough ornament

Acquired: December 4, 2010, J.C. Penney, Viewmont Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 0892

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $1.78 (originally $5.99

North Pole Trading Co. blue felt clown

Acquired: December 6, 2010, J.C. Penney, Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Size: 9 inches tall

Price: $3.49 (originally$9.99)

Green clown with jingle bell body and dangly legs

Acquired: December 6, 2010, J.C. Penney, Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0894

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $3.49 (originally $9.99)