More blue

Here’s another blue ornament, a very nice one, for the blue penguin tree, my favorite. And I found it in the clearance section at Bronner’s. I put it near the top of the tree to give it good display. The blue penguins have almost outgrown the little tree I use for them. The trouble is that my bigger trees have white lights attached and the blue tree needs blue lights, of course. If I can make a new trunk for the Bonnie Loch tree, I might bring it out of retirement next year. This is the last of the Bronner’s bunch, 40 ornaments in all, counting the one that I broke while unpacking them all.

Roly poly blue glittery penguin with white front, orange feet, beak and earmuffs, beady eyes and belly buttons

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0966

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $2.98 (originally $4.99)

Frostbite?

I don’t know what happened to this penguin’s toes or when it happened, but it looks like both feet are broken. I never noticed anything wrong until I saw the photo blown up. These glass ornaments have a tendency to shatter spontaneously, I think from the pressure built up in the glass when it’s blown into shape. Maybe it was broken when I bought it and didn’t notice because it’s so small. Either way, it’s not broken enough to leave it off the tree this year. This ornament is involved in another mystery. I don’t know how much I paid for it. There was a gigantic receipt from Bronner’s with all 40 ornaments and several other Christmas things I bought. I have lots of other receipts from the same trip, because I had to file a business expense report, but I don’t know what happened to the one from Bronner’s.

Little shiny black glass penguin with white glittery belly

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0965

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Price: unknown

Back to Bronner’s

I had to take a break from the Bronner’s ornaments for news on this year’s trees the last couple of posts. Three more to go and we’ll be done with the Christmas Wonderland haul. This penguin’s puffed-up profile and goofy expression give him a whole lot of personality. I love how the wings look like they’re poised to start him waddling his way across the Antarctic snow and ice.

Bulbous black glass penguin with white glittery belly and blown glass wings

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0964

Size: 3.25 inches tall

Price: $8.99

Oddballs

These ornaments didn’t come in a set, but they were in neighboring bins at Bronner’s. I think it was the section of ornaments that you could have personalized free of charge.

Three glass balls, multiple penguins, face and red Santa hat

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0961 0962 0963

Size: 3 inches in diameter

Price: $8.99 each

What’s your favorite?

When people find out how many penguin ornaments I have, they often ask me which is my favorite. There’s no way to answer, because there are so many and they are all different. Now that I’ve reached the one thousand mark, I should probably try to come up with a top ten list and force myself to rank them in order. This ornament might not make the final cut, but it would certainly be in the running. It has a unique shape, a nice penguin with traditional Christmas tree and Santa hat, and the finishing touch of dangling crystals.

Do you have a favorite? Cast your vote in a comment.

3D clear glass snowflake, penguin with tree, crystal pendant

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0960

Size: 7.5 inches tall

Price: $9.99

Belly full of winter

There’s a lot you could say about this penguin in its starched green scarf with painted stripes. But hands down, the ornament’s distinguishing feature is the wintry scene on its clear, snow-filled belly. Is that a pagoda? A tall, skinny house? I just don’t know.

Hollow, snow-filled, black glittery body with pagoda-like building on front

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0959

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $9.99

Small wonder

The penguins came in all sizes at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. You can get an idea how tiny this ornament is by looking at how big its hanging loop seems.

Tiny glass glittery penguin

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0958

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Price: $4.99

Happy feet too

Here’s a penguin that’s ready to dance its way into the holiday season with wings stretched out for balance and right foot taking that first step. I remember it took some time trying to choose this one with everything just right from all the others like it.

Glittery, dancing glass penguin with attached outstretched arms

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0957

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $17.99

Lost and found

Before I post each ornament on the blog, I put all its information on an index card. It’s the ultimate backup system and the only place the information exists between buying ornaments and recording them on the blog. So I had a little panic tonight when I couldn’t find my mini-pack of cards for this year’s new ornaments. About half of them are already posted, but another 50 are in limbo. It would have taken days to dig up receipts and tags to reconstruct the missing cards. At the same time, I was missing a turquoise ring that I’ve worn every day for 30 years. It’s a souvenir I bought in Bernalillo, N.M., when I first visited my Uncle Lee and Aunt Lillian who lived nearby. It was Aunt Lillian who taught me the rhyming prayer “St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please come around, something is lost and cannot be found.” So I went to her and him for help and moments later spotted the ring half buried in the carpet in my TV room. Then I found the index cards where they had fallen to the floor through my spiral staircase when I was carrying a pile of things upstairs. I’m still missing the receipt from my shopping spree at Bronner’s, where I found today’s ornament in the bargain area. Two out of three is an excellent record however, so thank you, Aunt Lillian, and thank you, St. Anthony.

Dressed up glass couple in red top hat, green vest and black jacket, and pink hat and necklace

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0956

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $4.98 (originally $7.99)

What a catch

If this had been the only ornament I found at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, it would have made the trip worthwhile. I think that’s all I have to say.

Precious Moments porcelain bisque “Catch the Spirit of Christmas” 2011 penguin in pink hat fishing for present with candy cane pole

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0954

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $22.50

A dash of flash

Looks like another penguin making a snowman, but this globe flashes with a red light when it’s switched on and it comes with a built in holiday message.

Stony Creek Seasons Greetings tall, red-flashing globe with little penguin, snowman and tree

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0953

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $8.99

Crazy for candy canes

I’m almost certain I have enough penguins with candy canes to put together a themed tree around them and these three will stand out from the rest. Even if the low number shown in my blog index is correct, I should have enough other candy and sweets ornaments to fill out the tree. I’ll have a blue tree again this year and a wooden tree. Maybe I’ll redo the winter sports tree from last year’s Festival of Trees. A sweet tree would be . . . well . . . sweet. I’ve already stocked up on candy canes for all the trees, including blue ones for the blue tree. The others have traditional red stripes, red and green stripes, rainbow stripes and stripes that kind of look like they belong on a necktie. I still need a box of those yummy chocolate mint canes that Hershey makes for the wood tree.

Blossom Bucket rustic candy cane trio

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0950 0951 0952

Size: 2.5 to 3.5 inches tall and wide

Price: $4.99 each

Small things, nice package

Nice things come in small packages, but this time it works the other way around too. I like the package on this set of penguins almost as much as the tiny glass ornaments. I don’t know how they attached the little penguins on the card however, because it was very difficult to get them off. I was afraid I might crush them if I pulled to hard. Although the set includes six penguins, there are only three designs: two with Christmas trees (top and bottom middle), two with candy canes (middle right and bottom left) and two with what looks like a pickle.

Krebs International set of six glass ornaments

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 00944 0945 0946 0947 0948 0949

Size: 1.75 inches tall

Price: $8.99/set

Bubble bauble

This clear glass ball looks as delicate as a soap bubble and it features an unusual design. The bottom is pushed up to form a small dome inside. The scene is painted in reverse so it looks like it’s in the ornament.

Indented glass ball with two painted penguins and igloo

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0943

Size:4 inches in diameter

Price: $11.99

Funny foursome

Here are four very different little glass penguins in a set: Red and white striped scarf with green package, earmuffs with red coat and green scarf, Santa hat and gold scarf, and purple hat and coat. I didn’t realize what characters these guys were until I saw the photo close up. The expression on the purple one cracks me up. You have to click on the photo to see. They’re going to look good on the mini-tree I’m planning this year.

Miniature glass penguins

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0939 0940 0941 0942

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Price: $11.99/set of 4

Penguin tree season is on

Here’s one of several ornaments I found in the clearance section of Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. I used it today to try out my idea for this year’s Festival of Trees at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton. I just found out that the theme this year is “The Art of the Tree.” I’m going to find all the ornaments attributed to actual artists and mount them inside empty frames. I’m thinking of calling it “Antarctic Art Gallery” or “Penguins at an Exhibition” or both. This ornament (which may or may not be a duplicate) will not be on the tree, but it was near at hand for the dry run.

I haven’t unpacked any ornaments yet, but I have unpacked two trees, including the new tall tree I want to use at the museum. Meanwhile, all the new ornaments (more coming in almost every day now) are hanging on a little metal rotating tree that I also found at Bronner’s. I’m planning to fill it with miniature ornaments, but this is what it looks like with 60-odd haphazard ornaments of all sizes and shapes.

Glass family of three penguins

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0955

Size: 4.75 inches tall

Price: $4.98 (originally $7.99)

Oopsy

This was a set of four ornaments, but I broke one barely out of the box. I was trying to set it up for a picture when it slipped out of my hand and shattered to pieces. This has happened before, but in this case I still have three ornaments left. Like the blue painted penguin balls from yesterday’s post, this set had two frosty and two shiny ornaments. Now it only has one shiny ball. I don’t assign the broken ornament a number, because it never made it onto a tree.

Three red glass balls with penguin in stocking cap

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0936 0937 0938

Size: 2.5 inches in diameter

Price: $7.99/set of 4 (one broken while unpacking)

The Bronner’s bonanza

For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be displaying the haul of penguin ornaments that I bought at Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland on my trip home from Chicago in September. You can read more about Bronner’s here and see a few pictures. You really have to visit yourself for the full experience. It’s the world’s largest Christmas store, with wall-to-wall decorations in five football fields of space. These two sets of glass ball ornaments are a good way to start. I only photographed one of the four clear balls, but you can see most of the painted scene on the blue ones. The clear set has four identical balls and the blue set has two frosty and two shiny ornaments.

Penguins on ice, white on clear glass balls

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0928 0929 0930 0931

Size: 2.5 inches in diameter

Price: $6.99/set of 4

Penguins on ice, white on blue glass balls

Acquired: September 23, 2011, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.

Number: 0932 0933 0934 0935

Size: 2.5 inches in diameter

Price: $6.99/set of 4