Quality, not quantity

I would have thought a store called The Christmas Attic in a place like historic Alexandria, Va., might yield a lot of penguin Christmas tree ornaments, but that wasn’t the case. They did have a couple of beautiful Christopher Radko penguins, so I splurged. Don’t you wish that blue gift on the right has your name on it? I’ve since found out that Radko has about 15 other penguin ornaments in their 2011 collection. That means my wallet could be in trouble.

Christopher Radko “Penguin Portait”

Acquired: June 18, 2011, The Christmas Attic, Alexandria, Va.

Number: 0916

Size: 5.5 inches tall

Price: $39

His Majesty

Rich color and sparkling details aren’t the only features that make this Christopher Radko penguin stand out. It’s a big ornament, giving it a stature worthy of its regal name.

Christopher Radko “Gift Giving Emperor”

Acquired: June 18, 2011, The Christmas Attic, Alexandria, Va.

Number: 0915

Size: 7.5 inches tall

Price: $65

Hallmark bonus

These two penguin ornaments came from a Hallmark store, but they aren’t part of the Hallmark collection. They’re bells, but the dangling legs aren’t the clappers. Instead, each has a sjingle bell hanging inside that rings as it bangs against the sides of the hollow ceramic body

Two jingle bell bells with dangly legs

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Banner’s Hallmark, Tyson’s Corner Centre, McLean, Va.

Number: 0830 0831

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $4

All by itself

Here’s the last of the ornaments I found at Crate & Barrel in Virginia. It’s actually part of a set that also included a reindeer and a Santa in the same shape. I first saw them in a catalog where they were only available as a full set, so I was happy to see them for sale individually at the store. O.K., I would have bought the whole set if I had to just to get the penguin.

Ceramic Christmas icon penguin with red knit hat

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Crate and Barrel, McLean, Va.

Number: 0828

Size: 2 inches tall

Price: $2.95

Similar shapes

I could have sworn that I received an ornament one year as a Christmas present that was similar to these two, but I've looked high and low and can't find it anywhere. Maybe I've seen others like it online or in a Crate and Barrel catalog.

Glass snowman-shaped penguin with red Santa hat and green scarf

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Crate and Barrel, McLean, Va.

Number: 0827

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Price: $1.95

Glass snowman shaped snow globe penguin with blue scarf and red Santa hat

Acquired: December 2010, Walgreens, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0877

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Price: 99¢

Lads in plaid

The folks at Crate and Barrel knew I wouldn’t be able to resist these guys in all their sartorial splendor. The topmost penguin is wearing glasses and he’s got something under his wing, but I can’t figure it out. A book? A sandwich wrapped in a green tortilla?

Menswear assortment

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Crate and Barrel, McLean, Va.

Number: 0823 0824 0825 0826

Size: 4 to 4.5 inches tall

Price: $7.95 each

Over a barrel

I don’t have a Crate and Barrel near where I live, but I’ve known about their penguin ornaments thanks to some nice gifts I’ve received and also thanks to the internet. I try to keep my online and mail order purchases to a minimum as a way of keeping a limit on the growth of the ornament collection. A lot of good that does, huh? Anyway, I was happy to see a Crate and Barrel when I was in northern Virginia for a conference last fall. For one thing, I needed to buy a wedding present, but I also wanted to get my hands on those penguins. These three are the first of the batch.

Glittery ball skiers with flat hats

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Crate and Barrel, McLean, Va.

Number: 0820 0821 0822

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: $2.95 each

Penguin Summer: Chincoteague

We were falling a little behind schedule again, partly because of my penguin ornament shopping, but we made sure to stop at Kitty Hawk where the Wright brothers made their historic flights. We were supposed to make it to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware that night, but it was clear we wouldn’t make it. Our plan B was to get to Chincoteague. The RV campground directory I had bought came in handy for us to find a place and call ahead. That gave us time to stop for dinner at a homey diner a few hours away. During our meal, the waitress asked us where we were from, where we were heading, etc. When we said we were going to stop in Chincoteague, she said, “You’re lucky, tomorrow is the pony swim.” Without even planning it, we were going to be in Chincoteague for the annual wild pony roundup and swim across the channel from Assateague Island. We even found out our campground had a front row view of the swim and the parade to the fairgrounds where the ponies would be auctioned. I even found a penguin ornament, one that matched a pair that I had bought a few days before in Hershey, Pa.

Small felt penguin with red ear muffs

Acquired: July 29, 2009, The Brant, Chincoteague, Va.

Number: 0684

Size: 4.75 inches tall

Two small felt penguins with flat orange beaks and green hats

Acquired: July 24, 2009, Incredible Christmas, Hershey Park, Pa.

Number: 0674 0675

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $3.99 each

Happy feet

This ornament represents why I keep going to Christmas shops. You never know what kind of surprise is waiting for you inside. It makes me happy just to look at this little plush penguin with its dangling legs and big bootie-like feet.

Grey plush penguin with shoestring legs and big orange feet

Acquired: April 3, 2010, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 244

Size: 6 inches tall

Price: $4.50

Similar stripes

These two aren’t part of a matched set, but they have a lot in common, so I’m posting them together. Both are clear acrylic and both are ready to slide downhill on a sled and skis decorated with candy cane stripes. I bought them the same day in the same store. I think it’s odd that I didn’t assign them consecutive numbers, but when you buy a dozen ornaments at once it’s hard to figure out which came first. I have two other similar ski ornaments that you can read about here.

Candy cane skier

Acquired: April, 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 243

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $7

Candy cane sledder

Acquired: April, 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 245

Size: 2 inches tall, 3 inches long

Price: $4.50

Missing skier

At first glance, these look like two identical penguin ornament sets, except that one is missing the skier. Zoom in though, and you might be able to make out that the set on top is kind of flat while the one on the bottom has full-bodied penguins. You can also see a lot of nice detail on both sets: one has a tree and songbook, one is carrying skis, one holds a sign that says “Merry Christmas,” and one has a lantern and a pouch. I don’t know if the penguin ornament manufacturers think some people prefer flattish Christmas ornaments to the well-rounded variety, or if they think they’ll sell more ornaments this way to people like me. I think the latter. If they make it, I will buy it. Here’s how bad it is. I went to both, yes, both Christmas Mouse stores in Williamsburg, Va., hoping that the second one might have the missing skier to go with the partial set I bought at the first one.

Set of three flattish carolers

Numbers: 0236 0237 0238

Set of four 3-D carolers

Numbers: 0239 0240 0241 0242

Acquired: April 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Size: about 2.5 inches tall

Price: $2.50 each piece

Twice as nice

These two look good enough to eat. So good, in fact, that I bought two of them on separate occasions. I tried to convince myself that the second one was colored differently, but they are identical. The first one came from Williamsburg, Va., where I had made a detour on a driving trip from New Jersey to Florida. It was around Easter and the traffic on I-95 was bumper to bumper from Washington, D.C., to Daytona Beach, Fla., so I decided to stop for the night, and then take a longer slower route south the next day. My intention was to see historic Williamsburg, then head to Kitty Hawk, N.C., to visit the Century of Flight exhibit at the Wright Brothers National Monument. Instead I spent most of the day in three Christmas shops. By the time I got back to I-95, it was late and there were no motel rooms available, so I slept in my car at a rest area in South Carolina along with a lot of other drivers who were in the same predicament. It wasn’t so bad. That night I went to sleep in the driver’s seat with visions of Sugar Plum Penguins dancing in my head.

Sugary glass penguins with candy colored accents

Acquired: 1. April 3, 2004, Bassett’s Christmas Shop, Williamsburg, Va.

2. Sept. 28, 2008, Christmas Rocks, Houston, Texas

Number: 0234 0497

Size: about 2.5 inches tall

Price: $6.50, $5.75 

Two happy skiers

It’s Winter Rendezvous ski week in Stowe, Vt., and these two acrylic penguins on candy cane skis would have loved it on Mt. Mansfield today. In the morning the middle of the mountain was wrapped in clouds. On top, the sun was shining on a pure white world of snow covered trees and rocks. The trails were as smooth as silk.

The ornaments are identical. I got the one on the right on a side trip to Williamsburg, Va., and the other almost two years later on a trip to Stowe. It was the first time I bought an identical ornament unintentionally. As the collection has grown, that has happened more frequently.

Clear plastic penguin on candy cane striped skis and block of ice

Acquired: April 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 246

Price: $7

Size: 3.75 inches tall

Clear plastic penguin on candy cane striped skis and block of ice

Acquired: Feb. 3, 2006, The Christmas Loft, Stowe, Vt.

Number: 286

Price: $5.99

Size: 3.75 inches tall