Bargain bin

I was in New York City with friends and their relatives from Brazil. I sort of became the guide and led the group on a winding tour from Penn Station to Times Square, Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and back again. One of our stops was Saks Fifth Avenue, where some of the group wanted to look at dresses and shoes. I took the opportunity to go upstairs to the post-Christmas bargains and I found a couple of penguin ornaments. The Christopher Radko glass penguin is an exclusive design for Saks. You never see the Radkos on sale, but Saks must have had hundreds loosely piled in the bargain bins. The detail on this ornament is amazing, especially the holly wrapping paper in the gift bag. 

The knit ornament reminded me of another one I bought in New Mexico. I was desperately trying to look it up on my phone at the checkout line, but I reached the counter before I was able to find the ornament on the blog. It turned out to be the same as ornament No. 701 only smaller and, therefore, not an exact duplicate. When I was packing up this year I noticed a tag that gave the name of the person who knitted the penguin. For some reason, I didn’t write that down in my notes. I’ll try to come back and update when I unpack next Christmas.

Saks Penny Pal by Christopher Radko glass in Santa suit with candy cane and “Merry Christmas 2011” on blue toy bag

Acquired: December 28, 2011, Saks Fifth Avenue, New York City, N.Y.

Number: 1041

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $18 (60 percent off $45)

Poca a Poco furry haired knit penguin from Albuquerque, N.M.

Acquired: December 28, 2011, Saks Fifth Avenue, New York City, N.Y.

Number: 1042

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $7.20 (60 percent off $18)

Silver beauty

I only got one penguin on Christmas Day, but there were other presents that came early or late. This was one of several from my sister and brother-in-law who came to visit the day after. Its sparkly coating really captures the light. It makes me wonder if I have enough ornaments like it to pull off and silver and gold tree. We’ll see next year.

Silver glittery glass penguin

Acquired: December 26, 2011

Number: 1036

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: gift from my sister and brother-in-law, Xena and John Galietti

Christmas crystal

Penguin ornaments poured in as Christmas approached, but this is the only one that came on Christmas Day. It’s from my good friends, the Babaz family, who found it at the Skytop Lodge gift shop where two of them work. It’s also one of my favorite local places, especially around the holidays when they construct a huge gingerbread house in the lobby and decorate the halls with dozens of Christmas trees.

Crystal penguin from Skytop Lodge gift shop

Acquired: December 25, 2011

Number: 1035

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: gift from the Babaz family

‘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

The ugly truth

My friends Jen and Evan had an ugly Christmas sweater. The idea was to put as much junk that would fit on a sweater, then we voted on the best (worst) three. Jen even made Christmas ornament trophies for the winners. When I placed third, we had to add a penguin to my ornament so it would be legit for my penguin tree.

Red third place glass ball from ugly Christmas sweater party

Acquired: December 18, 2011

Number: 1025

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: priceless

Star of wonder

I finally made it to the annual Christkindlmarkt in Bethleham, Pa., a crafts festival based on German traditions. Not only did I get a lot of Christmas shopping done, but I also found some Christmas goodies for myself, including this nice glass penguin from my old friend Käthe Wohlfahrt, the big Christmas shop empire from Germany. The ornament has her trademark shooting star emblem attached at the top. You can see some of the treasures I found on a visit a couple of years ago by clicking here. You have to go through a few posts to see them all. And stay tuned for more from Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarkt in the next few posts.

Käthe Wohlfahrt glass penguin with tree

Acquired: December 18, 2011, Christkindlmarkt, Bethlehem, Pa.

Number: 1020

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $8.62

Early bargains

I was surprised when I took this ornament and the parachutist from yesterday’s post to the checkout counter and found out how cheap they were. Christmas was still weeks away, but the ornaments and other decorations were all marked down from an already marked down price. Nice.

Black glittery body, red top hat, red and yellow candy cane, bow tie, red and blue buttons

Acquired: December 9, 2011, Bon Ton, Steamtown Mall, Scranton, Pa.

Number: 1015

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $3.84 (double markdown of 60 and 20 percent from $12)

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)

Head set

This set of penguins came in a box. I thought the bumps on the side were stubby wings, but after I unpacked them, I realized they were glittery, color-coordinated earmuffs.

Pink, green and blue flat, round, snow-filled glass with glittery earmuffs

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

Number: 0985 0986 0987

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $7.60/box of 3
(originally $8)

Bullseye

Target came through again this year with a number of nice penguin ornaments. You already know that I crossed the 1,000 mark, thanks to Target, and now you get to see the other ornaments that led to the big milestone. First up, a set of beautiful blue and silver glass penguins. Yeah, blue. Target seems to always have blue penguins and often multiples and these are a nice addition to the blue tree.

Silver, turquoise and blue glass penguins, glittery white bellies

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

Number: 0982 0983 0984

Size: 4 inches all

Price: $9.50/box or three (originally $10)

Hallmark bonus

I like this ornament a lot. It’s another one of the non-Keepsake ornaments I found at a nearby Hallmark store. A snow globe, candy canes, skates, bright Christmas colors, nifty design — what more could one ask for in a tree ornament. Oh, yeah, a penguin.

Flat glass snow globe with penguin on candy cane skates

Acquired: November 4, 2011, Jill’s Hallmark, Brodheadsville, Pa.

Number: 0968

Size: 5.25 inches tall

Price: $6.95

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