Unfinished business

Christmas came, Christmas went, and we never got around to this ornament kit that makes two penguins. There wasn’t time for everything and it’s too late to renumber all the other new ornaments, but I think we’ll save the project for next Christmas.

Foam cutout craft kit skating penguins

Acquired: November 25, 2011, Target, Lower Nazareth, Pa.

Number: 1001 1002

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $2/set

Third time’s the charm

I bought four circular penguin ornaments together on a trip to Target, but then found out on the store's website that there was a fifth color in the set. That meant three trips to Target this season just to buy penguin ornaments. Part of the problem was the mysterious rush on penguin ornaments in the stores near where I live. Look at this rack of ornaments at the same Target store where I bought the purple disc ornament. The empty row is where they had the penguins like the one I posted a couple of days ago.

Plenty of ornaments left, but just one penguin. Hmm.

Magenta, blue, green and turquoise Merry Market round, flat penguins with googly eyes

Acquired: November 21, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.:

Number: 0994 0995 0996 0997

Size: 4 inches in diameter

Price: $2 each

Purple Merry Market round, flat penguin with googly eyes

Acquired: December 8, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.:

Number: 1005

Size: 4 inches in diameter

Price: $2 each

Set apart

These two penguins each came from a group of six other ornaments, kind of like sets, but sold individually. The clay penguin goes with a Santa, a moose-like reindeer and three different snowmen. The knitted penguin matches an owl, an elephant, a sock-like monkey, a blue jay and a lion. All were nice ornaments, but you know me. Penguins only, please.

Clay penguin with purple knit hat with ear flaps

Acquired: November 21, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.:

Number: 0992

Size: 2 inches tall

Price: $3

Knit Merry Market blue penguin, red earmuffs and scarf, green striped body

Acquired: November 21, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.:

Number: 0993

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $2

Let’s celebrate

How about a set of penguins in blue polka dot top hats to help celebrate on New Year’s Eve? Clip-on ornaments are cool, but you don’t see very many of them and almost never penguins. I have one other clip-on penguin and it was nice to find this set at Target. I had a little mishap after I took this picture and broke the hat on one of them. I saved the pieces, however, and might be able to glue it back together. If not, well, I still have three more.

Glass clip-ons with blue top hats

Acquired: November 21, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0988 0989 0990 0991

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: $9.50/box (originally $10)

When blogs collide

The skating penguin on this ornament seems to be making air quotes with its wings. I’ll have to send this to “the ‘blog’ of ‘unnecessary’ quotation marks,” one of my favorite stops online. I don’t expect Bethany to use it, but she might get a kick out of it. I bought this ornament exactly a year after I bought a very similar ornament, also at Target.

Be Merry big, green flattish disc with skating penguin, red scarf, green glittery earmuffs

Acquired: November 21, 2011, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0998

Size: 4.5 inches in diameter

Price: $2

A thousand penguins

Here they are, penguin ornaments No. 999 and No. 1000. I don’t know which one is which, and I don’t care, because it would be impossible to pick one over the other.  I almost reached the big milestone a few days ago when I saw these very ornaments on a charity tree at my local Target store. I even asked the staff if they had any more for sale, but we couldn’t find any. So today I stopped in another Target on my way to the Peace Candle lighting in Easton, Pa., where there was a bin full of them.

Two plastic ball heads with top hats and bow ties
Acquired: November 25, 2011, Target, Lower Nazareth, Pa.

Number: 0999 1000

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $2 each

Big

It’s big. It’s green. There are identical penguins on each side. It’s also very light, hollow and it feels like it’s made of metal. There’s not very much else to say except, “Thanks, Target.”

Be Merry huge green disk with penguins on front and back

Acquired: November 21, 2010, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0874

Size: 6 inches diameter

Price: $3

On the nose

This ornament looks like it would make a nice 8 ball except for the little beak that sticks out in front.

Merrymarket eight ball penguin head with stickout beak

Acquired: November 21, 2010, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0873

Size: 2.75 inches

Price: $2

Bluebirds

I probably wouldn’t have a blue penguin Christmas tree if it weren’t for Target. It seems like every couple of years they come out with a series of penguin ornaments featuring blue penguins or blue highlights. (Did I mention that I really love that little blue penguin tree?) The blue pouch ornament could probably be used to hold a gift card or other small gift. I managed to squeeze a 10 percent discount off the papier mâché penguin because it had a little chip off the plastic coating on the brim of his top hat.

Target penguins aren’t exclusively blue. I bought the flat metal ornament the same day I got the blue ones.

Light blue felt bag with red scarf, handle and trim

Acquired: Nov. 22, 2009, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0736

Size: 5 inches square

Price: $3.99

Blue felt stuffed penguin with red polka dotted scarf

Acquired: Nov. 22, 2009, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0737

Size: 3.75 inches tall

Price: $1.99

Blue papier mâché penguin with red polka dot scarf, holding upside down top hat

Acquired: Nov. 22, 2009, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0738

Size: 4.25 inches tall

Price: $2.69 with 10 percent discount

Flat painted metal penguin on skates with corrugated belly and scarf

Acquired: Nov. 22, 2009, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0739

Size: 6.5 inches tall

Price: $3.99

Catching up

If you’re trying to write a daily blog, don’t ever get behind, even if you don’t think people are paying attention. It’s really hard to catch up. I had a strange cold after Christmas and somehow lost my grip on the blog and a few of life’s other details. Making matters worse, I was in the middle of cataloging ornaments that I collected in the summer of 2009. It involved a lot of ornaments and a complicated series of events that was difficult to sort out. So, instead of just skipping a few days, I thought it would be best to back date some posts to keep the continuity going. That means I’ve been working on the posts, but not posting them until I could get to this point and explain the lapse. But it looks like I’m back in business, back in good health and back on schedule. In keeping with the catching up theme, I’ve got a few ornaments that I skipped over earlier because I needed to reshoot them after unpacking the decorations this Christmas. The penguin in a walnut shell was a gift. I bought the box of 12 wooden ornaments when I went to the store to buy index cards for cataloguing all my penguins.

Walnut shell

Acquired: early 1980s, probably a gift

Number: 0049

Size: 2.25 inches long

Set of 12 wooden miniature winter penguins

Acquired: November 25, 2006, Target, Middletown, N.J.

Number: 0302 through 0313

Size: 2 to 3.5 inches tall

Price: $9.99 set

Times two

There are four ornaments in this set of identically spruced up penguins. I decided a picture of two of them would be enough to give you the idea and also allow me to show a larger image. If you want to see the whole set, just open this picture in two windows.

Set of four frosted penguins with red bow ties and green buttons

Acquired: December 20, 2008, Target, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0592 0593 0594 0595

Size: 3.25 inches tall

Price: $6.99 set of four

Family value

This penguin family almost looks like a group of snowmen, but you can see their black wings and the tips of their golden toes. This is a really nice blown glass ornament that was a real bargain.

Glass family of three

Acquired: November 11, 2007, Target, Stroudsburg. Stroudsburg, Pa.

Number: 0394

Size: 3.25 inches tall

Price: $2.99

On Target

Here’s a nice glass ornament that I found on a trip to Target, which always has penguin ornaments, not to mention penguin plates, penguin towels and a lot of other penguin items for the home. And not just at Christmas. Sometimes I think I should wear blinders when I go to Target to avoid the penguin temptations.

Glass penguin with small Christmas tree, a red, gold and green scarf, a red hood and gold earmuffs

Acquired: Nov. 25, 2006, Target, Middletown, N.J.

Number: 0314

Size: 3.25 inches tall

Price: $2.99

On target

So, I’m doing a little Christmas shopping at Target and I wonder if there might be a penguin or two in the decorations department. What I find is not one or two, not even four or six. No, instead there is a wall of blue magic, seven sets of blue ornaments in a variety of shapes and materials, all with the same theme: three penguins with skates, gifts or snowballs. I wasn’t able to find complete sets of all them, but I did walk out with 21 new penguin ornaments, counting the little damaged No. 208 posted yesterday and the large glass mitten, No. 207, posted in January.  My favorites are the two worst photographs: the stars, which look good enough to eat, and the ceramic balls. I think I took those two pictures late in the evening as the sun was setting and casting an orange glow in the house.

Target blue penguin series

Acquired: December 2003, Target, Middletown, N.J.

“2003” single ornament

Number: 0209

Metal buckets (missing snowball penguin)

Numbers: 0210 0211

Size: 6.25 inches tall (gift), 4 inches tall (skates)

Hollow ceramic or painted glass stars

Numbers: 0212 0213 0214

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Felt squares

Numbers: 0215 0216 0217

Size: 4 inches tall

Standing ceramic figurines (missing skater)

Numbers: 0218 0219

Plush stuffed penguins

Numbers: 0220 0221 0222

Size: 5 inches tall (snowball), 6 inches tall (gift) 4.75 inches tall (skates)

Styrofoam round bodies (missing skater)

Numbers: 0223 0224

Ceramic ball ornaments

Numbers: 0225 0226 0227

Size: 2.5 inches diameter

Hollow penguin

I probably should have asked for a discount on this ornament because I knew it was broken when I bought it. It’s a nifty metal design that almost looks like it’s made of barbed wire because of those “buttons” on the front. The hollow frame is supposed to be filled with a clear blown glass bulb, which I saw on a similar snowman ornament. Everything had been picked through at Target as it was almost Christmas and this was the only penguin ornament left. I remember seeing shards of glass at the bottom of the display where I found it. Well, it looks fine without the glass, so I didn’t bother to ask for a damage discount at the checkout. It might have already been marked down for clearance anyway. Still, it would have been nice to get an intact penguin, so ever since I’ve tried to hit the stores early while all the sets are complete and the other penguins aren’t in tatters. (This doesn’t stop me from combing the clearance shelves after Christmas to find any penguins, damaged or not, that have been left behind.)

Wire penguin

Acquired: December 2001, Target, Middletown, N.J.

Number: 0188

Size: about 4 inches tall

Behind every skater

Olympic athletes know how to get the job done when it’s time for competition. But they also depend on a lot of support from their coaches, friends and family on the sidelines. So while the skating penguin takes to the ice, his mate watches from the stands, enjoying a big ice cream cone. These ornaments are big and heavy, probably solid plaster.

Pair of heavy penguins, one skating, the other eating an ice cream cone

Acquired: December 2001, Target, Middletown, N.J.
Number: 0176 0177

Size: both 4.25 inches tall; skater 4.5 inches long 

Mismatched mittens

These two look like they came as a set, but I found them years apart in two different states with more than 100 other ornaments in between. The small one came from Macy’s in New York City, the large one from Target in Middletown, N.J. Other than the size, the only real differences between them are the holly accent on the smaller one’s droopy Santa hat and the extra gold detailing around the large one’s neck. For some reason, I have a notation on the small one that says “3 in N Pole,” probably part of the branding for Macy’s Holiday Lane line of decorations.

Large penguin in a white snowflake mitten

Acquired: December 2003 Target, Middletown, N.J.

Number: 207

Price: unknown.

Size: about 4.75 inches tall.

Small penguin in a white snowflake mitten

Acquired: Nov. 28, 2006, Macy’s Herald Square, New York City.

Number: 330

Price: $2.99 (40 percent off)

Size: about 3.25 inches tall.