Getting ready for Christmas

The penguins have taken over another igloo and are decorating it for Christmas. You can see the other igloo ornaments I’ve posted so far by clicking on the label below. Meanwhile two of their friends are busy building a snowman on a toboggan. You can also search for more snowman ornaments below. I think all the igloos are online now, but I’ve got more snowmen to come.

It's all penguins, mostly Christmas tree ornaments

It’s beginning to look a lot like penguins at my house. Today my friends Charlie, Marge and Jenny Babaz came over to help me sort through my ornaments and separate the ones we’ll use on our Festival of Trees entry. This meant getting a dozen or so tubs out of storage and then unwrapping hundreds of ornaments, one by one. The Babazes were a huge help, though there’s still quite a way to go, and they even brought spaghetti for dinner.

My dining room table before (above) and after (below)

Meanwhile, I’ve caught up on cataloging the new ornaments I’ve acquired since summer. We’re up to 843 now. That’s 74 new penguins this year . . . and counting.

Three penguins decorating a sparkly igloo

Acquired: August 21, 2008, Christmas Cottage, New York City

Number: 0491

Size: 3.25 inches tall

Price: $9.95

Two penguins building snowman on a toboggan

Acquired: August 21, 2008, Christmas Cottage, New York City

Number: 0492

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $9.95

Vroom, vroom

Two little penguins are off on an exciting adventure, in typical Christopher Radko fashion, on a gold glittery motorcycle, she with her long red coat flowing behind. I just found out that I’m two degrees of separation away from Christopher Radko, which is pretty exciting itself for a Christmas ornament collector.

Christopher Radko “Penny Getaway” ornament, made in Poland

Acquired: December 20, 2007, Christmas Cottage, New York

Number: 0443

Size: 6 inches long

Price: $54.95

Felt brigade

Here are some sets of felt penguins from different places that are all the creation of Hannah’s Handiworks. The four colorful penguins came from Christmas Cottage in midtown Manhattan. I found the beige set at Christmas Past in New Hope, Pa. The beige penguins have a unique feature. They can be squished or stretched to be different heights. I’d love to see what’s going on inside, some kind of spring mechanism that sticks when you stretch or squash the penguins.

Hannah’s Handiworks felt penguin heads and full-body penguins with red and green knit scarves and hats, made in China

Acquired: July 21, 2007, Christmas Cottage, New York

Numbers: 0358 0359 0360 0361

Size: 8 to 10 inches tall

Price: $9.95 each

Hannah’s Handiworks beige felt stretchy penguins, made in China

Acquired: January or February 2009

Numbers: 0617 0618

Size: 10 inches tall

Price: $4.50 each

Knitted scarf

It’s a good thing I started keeping track of the penguin ornaments because I have no recollection of buying this one. It actually came from one of my favorite Christmas stores, the little Christmas Cottage in midtown Manhattan. They always have interesting ornaments, including a lot with New York City themes. I check in once or twice a year when I’m in that neighborhood and almost always come out with a penguin or two. I even found a string of penguin lights there, actually two of them, which I had been trying to find for a few years. Anyway, this is a cool little plush penguin with a nice knitted scarf.

  

Plush penguin with black beak, maroon knitted scarf and red earmuffs

Acquired: December 9, 2005, Christmas Cottage, 7^th Avenue and 55^th Street, New York City

Number: 274

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $14.03

A familiar name

This one’s got a unique star shape, the year, “New York,” a penguin with a heart and the artist’s signature etched in the clay on the bottom right point. I should have bought one for my sister, Gale West, who has the same name with a different spelling.

New York 2004 penguin on a brown clay star by artist Gail West

Acquired: December 17, 2004, Christmas Cottage, New York City

Number: 262

Size: 4.25 inches tall

Price: $9.95