‘Tis the season

I even get penguin ornaments as Christmas presents. Imagine that. It always amazes me that people are able to find penguins that I haven’t bought already or haven’t even seen at the stores. This penguin, dressed as Santa with a chick in what looks like it might be an elf’s vest, was the first official Christmas present last year. It's from my sister Gale and it came with instructions to open before Christmas.

Greenbriar International penguin with chick in red coat and Santa hat

Acquired: December 20, 2011

Number: 1028

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: gift from my sister Gale Vincent West

Lights out

So Pier 1 was out of the famous penguin ornament from the store’s ad campaign, but the clerk said, “We do have this one.” It almost sounded like she was apologizing. When she held up this ornament to show me, I almost fell over. It’s got a unique shape and incredible style. I don’t even remember what that other ornament looked like.

Light bulb shaped white frosted glass penguin with black beak, red hat

Acquired: December 19, 2011, Pier 1, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 1027

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $12.95

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

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

Aquarium emporiums

On my visit to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago last September, I went into three different shops, one of them twice, or maybe there were only two shops and I hit one of them three times. Each time I found penguin items that I missed on the earlier visits. I ended up with a penguin cooking spoon rest, a penguin t-shirt, penguin shorts and three penguin Christmas tree ornaments. Check out the other two ornaments in the last two older posts in case you missed them. This one wasn’t unique to the aquarium or marked with the Shedd name in any way. I was surprised to find a Merck penguin that I didn’t already own, because I see them a lot and try to keep up with the new ones as they come out. They are escellent ornaments, usually small, but decorated nicely with an old-fashioned look. My labels list indicates I only have three Mercks, but I’m pretty sure it’s a lot more than that.

Merck Family Old World Christmas glass Playful Penguin with red Santa hat and glittery green scarf

Acquired: September 20, 2011, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

Number: 0927

Size:2.5 inches tall

Price: $9.99

The “Jingle Bells” problem

I recently found out there’s a difference of opinion over the meaning of the first line of the song “Jingle Bells,” which is not the original title by the way. Are we describing the kind of bells when we sing the song, or are we telling the bells what to do? The second line leaves no room for interpretation. We want those bells to “jingle all the way.” I don’t care either way, but I am facing a jingle bell decision of my own. Do I have enough jingle bell penguin ornaments for a whole tree? Maybe there are enough for a small one. Imagine what it will sound like when you shake it.

Two TJ’s Christmas elongated jingle bells, one with white belly and Santa hat, the other with silver belly and tree hat

Acquired: June 30, 2011, Trinkets & Treasures, Durango, Col.

Number: 0918 0919

Size: 3 and 3.5 inches tall

Price: $6.95 each

Piggyback rider

I was beginning to think my penguin collecting days were over. The year was half gone and I only had a handful of new ornaments. Then I found these sledders that look like they’re carved in wood. The ornament is actually some kind of plaster with metal runners on the sled. It was a welcome sight and a long overdue addition to My Penguin Tree.

TJ's Christmas penguin parent and piggybacking chick on a sled

Acquired: June 30, 2011, Trinkets & Treasures, Durango, Col.

Number: 0917

Size: 4 inches long

Price: $9.95

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¢

Last, but not least

Here is one last ornament from St. Michael’s, Md., and another really good one. It was difficult choosing a penguin to be No. 800, and this one was definitely a contender.

Heavy small, pudgy penguin with Santa hat, blue scarf, holding holly wreath with big red bow

Acquired: August 8, 2010, The Christmas Shop, St. Michael’s, Md.

Number: 0808

Size: 2.75 inches tall

Price: $5.95

Penguin dreams

This is a very nice glass ornament that I bought in Cape May, N.J., last summer. I wish I had more to say about it, other than that it is a beautifully painted ornament. I really like the giant gold bell with its red bow. An interesting thing happened to me this week. I had my first dream about penguin ornaments. All I can remember is that I had a tree set up somewhere and I was having trouble making time to retrieve it.

Small glass ornament with Santa hat holding a big gold bell with red bow

Acquired: August 7, 2010, Westwood Gifts, Cape May, N.J.

Number: 0792

Size: 2.75 inches tall

Price: $2.99

Golden boy

A few of the ornaments I found at Käthe Wohlfahrt’s in Rothenburg ob der Tauber were medium sized, like this big-headed molded glass penguin. It takes a front and back shot to show it in all its gold, glittery glory.

Molded glass penguin with heavy gold glitter trim on Santa hat

Acquired: June 30, 2009, Käthe Wohlfahrt, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Number: 0627

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: 6.95 euros

Golden slippers

I have other glass penguins that are similar, except these penguins are painted. The others are made with colored glass. You can see a few spots where the paint is chipping off. I should probably try to do something to keep any more deterioration, but I don’t know what would work. Maybe spraying them with a clear polymer would do the trick. I hate for anything to happen to those distinctive gold feet and beaks. I think these were the last ornaments I bought at The Christmas Loft

Acquired: December 26, 2008, Christmas Loft, Stowe, Vt.

Number: 0607 0608

Size: 2.75 inches tall

Price: $5.99 each

Penguin perch

Here’s a penguin family that has found a Christmas cardinal. Actually, it’s more like the cardinal has found the penguins, judging by the stunned reaction on their faces and the outstretched wings of the surprised and delighted youngster. These might be the longest beaks on any of my penguins. No wonder the cardinal mistook one for a tree branch.

Penguin family with conical Santa hats, one with a cardinal perched on its nose

Acquired: December 26, 2008, The Christmas Loft, Stowe, Vermont

Number: 0603 0604

Size: 3.5 to 3.75 inches tall

Price: $7.99 each

Gifted trio

Not only can these penguins sled and skate, they can do it while loaded down with presents and a Christmas tree. You can’t tell from this photo, but the Christmas tree top is broken off. I knew it when I bought the ornaments, but this was the only one of its kind left, even with months to go before Christmas.

Holiday Living penguins on toboggan, with candy cane skates, and wearing a long Santa hat

Acquired: October 11, 2008, Lowe’s Home Center, Bartonsville, Pa.

Number: 0521 0522 0523

Size: 3.5 to 4.5 inches tall

Price: $2.97 each

Bearing gifts

These two penguins each have a bag full of gifts, one over the shoulder and the other on the ground. Both have a lot of distinctive detail, like the holly trim on one of the hats. They are part of a mini bonanza of ornaments I found at a shop in a downtown mall in Kansas City during one of my baseball trips. I saw games at four new stadiums and found penguin ornaments in every city I visited.

Acquired: May 15, 2008, Holiday Magic, Kansas City, Mo.

Number: 0464 0465

Size: 4 to 4.25 inches tall

Price: $7.95 each

International set

These four Santa penguins came from two different places. One you can see is from Montreal and the fantastic Noël Eternel store. The other three I found in Christmas Rocks, another excellent Christmas store, when I was in Houston later the same year. Each of these glass ornaments is unique, but it seems like there are three basic poses. The Montreal penguin and the top penguin are the same style, but you can see small differences in the hat and in the yellow breast feathers. I’m a little worried that the inscription on the Montreal ornament is rubbing off, but at least it will always be here on My Penguin Tree.

Montreal glass penguin with Santa hat

Acquired: April 19, 2008, Noël Eternel, Montreal, PQ

Number: 0460

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: 10.99 $CAN

Three glass penguins with Santa hats

Acquired: Sept. 27, 2008, Christmas Rocks, Houston, Texas

Number: 0505 0506 0507

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $7.25 each

Big feet, little head

Are the feet too big? Is the head too small? I guess it depends on your point of view. Like Steven Wright says, “Some people see a glass that’s half empty. Some see a glass that’s half full. I see a glass that’s twice as big as it needs to be.”

Big rotund penguin with huge feet and/or a tiny head

Acquired: November 21, 2007, Volusia Mall, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Number: 0412

Size: 5.5 inches tall

Price: $3.99

A pair o' peppermint penguins

Sometimes I have a feeling that I might be buying a duplicate ornament, sometimes not. And it doesn’t matter if the two are a week apart or, like these two penguins, a year apart. It’s just impossible for my aging brain to keep track of all 800 plus penguins. One reason I started the blog was to give me access to the collection wherever I might be. We’ll see how it goes as we get closer and closer to Christmas.

Two glass penguins with Santa hats and peppermint-striped scarves

Acquired: November 19, 2007, Macy’s Seminole Town Center, Sanford, Fla.

November 16, 2008, Fountains of Wayne, N.J.

Number: 0405 0569

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $6 (40 percent off); $7.99 (15 percent off)

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

Worth the wait

I knew this penguin was coming long before it joined the collection. My friend David Belcher had bought it and told me about it a few years before he finally gave it to me. It was a busy time for both of us, and when our paths crossed, it was usually unplanned and unexpected.  For example, once during a layover on my way to the Greek islands, we had a chance to catch up with each other at the Athens airport, of all places, because he had a short flight delay going the other way on his journey home. Well, the penguin made it to me a few years after that surprise encounter and it’s been a happy addition to my penguin tree ever since.

Stuffed penguin with tall Santa hat, red scarf with green trim, red mittens and big blue googly eyes

Acquired: 2004

Number: 231

Size: 9.25 inches