Kris Kringle, part VI: Last, but . . .well . . . least

Marge took her time wrapping each of the eight ornaments I bought in recycled pieces of bubble wrap, a nice personal touch, like her handwritten price tags that you can see in some of the pictures, or her receipt which said “31MAR” that ran off the edge of the paper. Marge put this smallest skating penguin in its own oversized plastic bag so it wouldn’t get lost on my trip home. You can see how tiny it is by the size of the metal hanging hook in the photo. That’s an ordinary wire Christmas tree hanger. The ornament has some markinsg on the bottom. It’s hard to make out, but I think the writing says “© 1991 Hmk. Cds.” Also there is a tree emblem with the number 4 that indicates this ornament is fourth of a series. I believe this is also the last of the series, and it’s also the last of the penguins from Kris Kringle. I asked Marge if she thought she might find some new collectible penguins to replace the ones I bought and she said she would let me know. I left her my email address and phone number, but I never heard from her.

Hallmark 1991 Penguin Pal tiny skater sitting on his bottom
Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Number: 0374
Size: ¾ inch tall
Price: $6.95

Kris Kringle, part V: Chilly Willy

These Chilly Willy ornaments really brought back some memories. He was the creation of Walter Lantz, who is more famous for his Woody Woodpecker, my favorite cartoon character. I liked Woody, not because he was any funnier than Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse and their friends, but because of his infectious staccato laugh and because I could do a pretty good drawing of him when I was very young. Willy probably made an impression too, though I don’t remember trying to draw him. I mentioned to Marge that the pole was broken on the fishing Chilly Willy, thinking she might have another copy. But most of the ornaments in her store are one-of-a-kind. She sought out collectibles like the Hallmark serial issues. “I’ll give it to you half off,” she said.

Fishing Chilly Willy
Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Number: 0372
Size: Fishing, 4.5 inches tall; skating, 3.5 inches tall
Price: $5 (half off from $9.99)

Skating Chilly Willy
Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Number: 0373
Size: Fishing, 3.5 inches tall; skating, 3.5 inches tall
Price: $6.95

Kris Kringle, part IV: Mom and Pop

There was no one in the store that day except me and Marge, the owner, who got into the Christmas business when she bought a box of ornaments at an auction and started selling them at street festivals with her husband. One thing led to another and Kris Kringle was the result. Her husband had died about ten years earlier, but she kept the shop open, even though she said it didn’t really make that much money, because she loves it, and just in case her grown children wanted to keep it going. In the back of the store was a shelf filled with toys from fast food kiddie meals to keep her grandchildren busy. I wandered through the store until I found the penguin cache where Marge caught up with me. “I wasn’t going to be open today, but I thought I would get some things done,” she told me. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to find this amazing place, a “mom-and-pop” shop that would be just like one I might have liked to own myself.

Hallmark 1989 Mom and Dad skaters

Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Number: 0370

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: $9.75

Kris Kringle, part III: beak to beak

I always have a feeling of wonder when I walk into a Christmas store. When you step through a Christmas shop doorway, you leave the busy everyday world outside and spend a few moments surrounded by all the colors and lights, sometimes music and aroma, that evoke memories of childhood joy, family tradition and earthly peace. When I went into Kris Kringle, I knew I was in an extraordinary place. First of all, it didn’t look like a store, but more like the home of an eccentric who obsessively added Christmas decorations year round and never took any of them down. And it was orderly. Here were the antique Santa figurines. There were all the wild animal ornaments. The snowmen had their own aisle. And the penguins were neatly arranged on their own little tree. I picked it pretty clean, but I left behind several ornaments that I already owned. Here’s another one of the ornaments I bought that day, two penguins, each with it’s own hanging loop, but glued together at the beak.

Hallmark felt kissing penguins attached at the beak

Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Number: 0369

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $4.50

Kris Kringle, part II: hollow head

I headed for Scottsdale, hoping to find some local flavor for dinner and also hoping to find some gift shops, maybe even a Christmas store. I didn’t know where I would wind up, but I began to worry when all I could see were fast food chain after fast food chain and not much in the way of boutiques. McDonalds, Burger King, even Taco Bell, were the only restaurants I could see. I was even ready to settle for a Carl’s Jr. as I grew hungrier and hungrier. Finally, I spotted a place that was brightly painted and had splashes of neon signs in its windows. Better yet, there was a multi-level parking garage next door. And it looked like I had arrived in the heart of old Scottsdale with several shops in view. I parked in the garage and walked toward the exit near the restaurant. As I came out of the garage I could see a shop directly across the street with a sign in huge letters that said, “Kris Kringle.” I couldn’t believe my luck. Unfortunately, the store was dark and the neighborhood seemed deserted, not surprising because it was rather late on a Saturday. But a sign on the door said the store would be open the next day. Here’s another one of the ornaments I found when I went back. It’s a hollowed out ceramic penguin head, which seems like it might have a functional purpose, but it’s too big to be a finger puppet or a thimble.

Ceramic penguin head, made in China

Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Number: 0368

Size: 1.5 inches tall by 2.25 inches wide

Price: $5.95

Kris Kringle, part I: the real thing

While I was making plans for a convention trip to San Diego, I couldn’t help noticing that Anaheim and Phoenix where kind of in the neighborhood. These were three cities where I needed to see baseball games in order to complete my tour of all the Major League ballparks. So I devised a plan to fly in to Phoenix, drive to San Diego for the convention, and then drive back to Phoenix to fly home. I was hungry when I arrived back in Phoenix and I also wanted to see a little bit of the city during my short stay there. Oh, yeah, I also thought I might be able to find a penguin ornament. Well, I found several, including this tiny realistic emperor, in Scottsdale at Kris Kringle, the coolest Christmas shop I’ve ever seen. I’ve already posted another one of the penguins I bought back in April when I needed to post an Easter egg shaped ornament. For the next several days I’ll be posting the rest along with more about this amazing store.

Small realistic emperor

Acquired: Sept. 2, 2007, Kris Kringle, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Number: 0367

Size: 2 inches tall

Price: $4.99