Mountaineers

It’s a short drive over the mountain from my house to the outlet shopping center where I found this winter sports trio of penguins. They joined the collection just in time to join the other winter fun penguins on the tree at the Trolley Museum in Scarnton.

Penguin trio on snowshoes, skis and sled, with flowing scarves and glittery bellies, “Let it snow” on snowshoe penguin

Acquired: November 27, 2010, Corningware Corelle Revere Store, The Crossings, Tannersville, Pa.

Number: 0884 0885 0886

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $6.73 total (50 percent off)

More Macy’s madness, part 3: Jingle all the way

I think I’ll be able to put together a musical tree next year. It seems like I have enough jingle bell ornaments to fill a tree of their own, but I know it’s probably my imagination. I wanted to do a music themed penguin tree last year, but too many of the musical ornaments went to the blue tree or to the winter sports tree at the Trolley Museum, like this on did.

Skier on a big white jingle bell

Acquired: November 19, 2011, Macy’s Herald Square, New York

Number: 0851

Size: 4.5 inches tall

Price: $5.39 (originally $10) 

Over a barrel

I don’t have a Crate and Barrel near where I live, but I’ve known about their penguin ornaments thanks to some nice gifts I’ve received and also thanks to the internet. I try to keep my online and mail order purchases to a minimum as a way of keeping a limit on the growth of the ornament collection. A lot of good that does, huh? Anyway, I was happy to see a Crate and Barrel when I was in northern Virginia for a conference last fall. For one thing, I needed to buy a wedding present, but I also wanted to get my hands on those penguins. These three are the first of the batch.

Glittery ball skiers with flat hats

Acquired: October 27, 2010, Crate and Barrel, McLean, Va.

Number: 0820 0821 0822

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: $2.95 each

Hallmark bargains

Here’s another batch of Hallmark ornaments that I bought at half price after New Year’s. The top one is musical and plays “Sleigh Ride” when you press the button in back by the penguin. The two Spin A Majigs at the bottom are “action” ornaments. When you turn the snowflake cranks at the bottom, the characters wiggle back and forth. All of these, except the bottom ornament, are on the “Winter Fun” tree I entered in the Festival of Trees at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Steamtown National Historic Park in Scranton. The show, which benefits Toys for Tots, officially opens Friday, Dec. 10 and runs through Dec. 31. Did you know that Walt Disney designed the Toys for Tots logo? You can see it here.

Acquired: January 5, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York City

Snow What Fun Sledders

Number: 0610

Size: 3 inches tall, 3.75 inches long

Price: $8.25 (originally $16.50)

Antarctic Antics South Pole Pals

Number: 0611 0612 0613 0614

Size: 1.25 to 1.75 inches tall

Price: $7.50 (originally $15)

Downhill Fun Spin A Majig

Kicking It Spin A Majig

Number: 0615 0616

Size: 3.5 inches tall and wide

Price: $7.50 each (originally $15)

Color coordinated

This penguin is an unusual color and has skis the same glittery shade of blue. It makes me wonder if it’s really supposed to be a penguin. The big belly and the tiny wings are proof enough for me.

Glittery blue skiing penguin

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

Number: 0393

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $4.99

Three wise penguins

For some reason, these three winter sports enthusiasts have taken on the guise of the three wise monkeys from Japanese lore — See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil. Maybe they represent Ski No Evil, Sled No Evil and Skate No Evil.

Kurt Adler ceramic trio of sledding, skating and skiing penguins in the guise of the three wise monkeys

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

Number: 0362 0363 0364

Size: 3 to 3.5 inches tall

Price: $3.95 each

Steel springs

These two round-bodied penguins, one flying, one skiing, have springy feet and wings, and both are decked out in snowy white with mesh scarves.

Acquired: November 28, 2006, Macy’s Herald Square, New York

Number: 0328, 0329

Size: 4 inches head to toe

Price: $4.20 each (40 percent off)

Similar stripes

These two aren’t part of a matched set, but they have a lot in common, so I’m posting them together. Both are clear acrylic and both are ready to slide downhill on a sled and skis decorated with candy cane stripes. I bought them the same day in the same store. I think it’s odd that I didn’t assign them consecutive numbers, but when you buy a dozen ornaments at once it’s hard to figure out which came first. I have two other similar ski ornaments that you can read about here.

Candy cane skier

Acquired: April, 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 243

Size: 5 inches tall

Price: $7

Candy cane sledder

Acquired: April, 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Number: 245

Size: 2 inches tall, 3 inches long

Price: $4.50

Missing skier

At first glance, these look like two identical penguin ornament sets, except that one is missing the skier. Zoom in though, and you might be able to make out that the set on top is kind of flat while the one on the bottom has full-bodied penguins. You can also see a lot of nice detail on both sets: one has a tree and songbook, one is carrying skis, one holds a sign that says “Merry Christmas,” and one has a lantern and a pouch. I don’t know if the penguin ornament manufacturers think some people prefer flattish Christmas ornaments to the well-rounded variety, or if they think they’ll sell more ornaments this way to people like me. I think the latter. If they make it, I will buy it. Here’s how bad it is. I went to both, yes, both Christmas Mouse stores in Williamsburg, Va., hoping that the second one might have the missing skier to go with the partial set I bought at the first one.

Set of three flattish carolers

Numbers: 0236 0237 0238

Set of four 3-D carolers

Numbers: 0239 0240 0241 0242

Acquired: April 3, 2004, The Christmas Mouse, Williamsburg, Va.

Size: about 2.5 inches tall

Price: $2.50 each piece

Rubber legs

Is it good or bad to have “rubber legs” if you are a skier? All I know is that mine usually feel like rubber after a day on the slopes. This skiing penguin is made from glued-together pieces of a rubbery material. It’s not flexible, but has a soft feel to it. Another odd thing about this ornament is that it looks three-dimensional, but it’s almost flat. Even the skis, which look like they stick out in front, are almost flat to the penguin’s body. It’s a nice artistic trick on a nicely designed penguin ornament. I found it at a Christmas store in Old St. Augustine on one of my trips to Florida. It was a big store and I was prepared to fill up a couple of shopping bags, but this was the only penguin ornament they had.

Rubbery penguin skier

Acquired: September 2001

Number: 185

Size: 4.5 inches tall

One of my poles is missing

This tall skier has lost one of his poles. And after I took this photo, one of the skis fell off. I have an extra ski pole from a different ornament, but I don’t think it’s the right size and it’s white. Maybe the missing yellow pole will show up when I unpack next Christmas.

Tall wooden penguin on green skis with red ribbon scarf

Acquired: unknown

Number: 0051

Size: 2.25 inches tall

Set of five

Both sides of each of these five ornaments are painted the same; there’s no front and back, just two fronts. They were part of the windfall from Macy’s when their holiday shop included an all-penguin tree. After that, I had enough ornaments to do an all-penguin tree of my own.

Set of five flat wooden penguins skiing, skating, playing hockey, playing a drum and carrying a gift

Acquired: Macy’s Herald Square, New York City
Number: 0099 through 0103

Size: 4.5 to 5 inches tall

Linda tried to warn me

These goofy little skiers are made from cookie dough, hardened and covered with a protective coating. I love their faces, their funny hats and their candy cane skis, as well as their green and pink ribbon hangers. But most of all, I love them for where I found them on a ski trip to Jackson Hole, Wyo., with my good friend Linda Martelli. She tried to warn me about where my budding obsession with penguin ornaments was going to end up, but it didn’t stop me. I mean, how could I resist something as cute as these little guys. Over the years, Linda dragged me up some of the best ski mountains in North America: Mt. Mansfield, Whiteface, Vail, Snowbird, Alta, the Grand Tetons, Taos. I’m glad she did, because it’s how I learned to ski and how I learned to love being in the beautiful outdoors in winter. (She bugged me to get out on the tennis court too, but without success.) Even later on, when I was the one waiting downhill for her to catch up, I was glad to be on the slopes with such a good and patient friend. Even though she’s gone, I always have her with me when I’m on the mountain, thanks to a Swiss Army skier’s knife she brought me from a trip to the Alps. There are a lot of other memories too: trips to the beach on Long Island and Atlantic City, countless games of Scrabble into the wee hours while watching Mary Tyler Moore reruns, late nights after work singing along at piano bars in Greenwich Village followed by predawn breakfasts at the Empire diner, baseball games (she was a big Phillies fan) and the Ice Capades. One night she and I and our friend José Rivera decided to walk for miles back to our hotel after a night out in Fire Island. It was August and the Leonid meteor shower was on display overhead as we trudged home in the sand, looking straight up almost all the way. Linda died in August 1993 while I was in New Mexico getting ready to move there from New York for the second time. The Leonid meteor shower, that same one from our walk on the beach, was at its peak the night I heard the news. I sat on the deck behind my aunt’s house north of Albuquerque at dusk and watched as the first shooting stars whistled across the still blue sky toward Sandia Peak, and I imagined it was Linda slamming tennis balls across the heavens, teasing me to smack them back to her. No thanks, Linda, but thanks for all the memories.

Cookie dough skiers on candy cane skis, with red and green ribbon hangers

Acquired: February 26, 1985, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Number: 0033 0034 0035

Size: From 2 to 2.25 inches tall

Sand dollar

This painted sand dollar was a gift from Jenny and Jason Babaz, family friends for almost 20 years. They got it for me during a vacation on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. They even had it personalized and dated. The Babaz family has kept me supplied with penguins through the years, including this other ornament from a previous post.

Skiing penguin painted on a sand dollar inscribed with “Uncle Don” and 1997

Acquired: December 1997
Number: 0150

Price: gift

Size: 3 inches diameter 

Learning the ropes

An emperor penguin is giving a Santa elf a skating lesson and it looks like it’s as hard on the teacher as it is on the pupil. Both have cushy pillows strapped to their backsides with ropes just like the one that serves as a hanging ribbon on the ornament. It looks like it is carved from wood, but it’s actually made of plaster or something that’s very heavy. This was a gift from my cousins in Albuquerque: John, Holly, Lee and Jackie Truitt. The artist signed the back “LS ’95.”

Hallmark 1995 penguin teaching an elf to skate with pillows

Acquired: 1995

Number: 0151
Price: gift

Size: 2.25 inches tall, 2.5 inches long 

Skating in style

I love how this penguin’s body is made of flat wood cutouts, but is assembled in layers to give it a 3D look. Of course, the round head helps a lot, along with the stickout blue bow tie and gold buttons. The wings almost look like a cape draped around his shoulders. He’s topped off with a felt Santa hat trimmed in white.

Layered wood skater in felt Santa hat
Number: 0111

Size: 4 inches tall

Standing tall

This ornament resembles many of the early wood skier ornaments in the collection, but he is the tallest of the bunch. I don’t recall where he came from or when I got him. One year I had a Christmas party to show off the collection, maybe the first year my tree was nothing but penguins. I was surprised and delighted that a number of the guests brought penguin ornaments to add, and this may be one of them. Unfortunately, I didn’t write down who gave what, but you’ll hear more about the ones I do remember later. Stay tuned.

Tall wood skier with red skies, green stocking hat and red and white striped scarf

Number; 0027

Size: 3 inches tall

Seeing double

It occurred to me today that the only Winter Olympics sport not represented in my penguin ornament collection is curling, so here are a couple more skaters. These two nicely painted wood ornaments are identical to each other. They are the same on both front and back. I think I bought one for myself and received the other one as a gift.

Two flat wood skaters painted the same on both sides

Number: 0109 0110
Size: 4.25 inches tall 

Big and little brothers

These two skiing penguins look an awful lot alike, but the one on the right is considerable shorter than the other one. Both are on 5.125-inch long skis. The tall one has the distinction of being ornament number 200, at which point it became clear to me that I needed to start cataloguing the collection to keep track of which ones came when and from whom. There is a big mystery surrounding No. 200. It was left in my mailbox at work with a note that said “From a secret Santa!” It’s kind of fun having a mystery, but I really wish I could tell the generous giver that this was a big milestone in my penguin tree collection. I bought the smaller one myself about three years later at the Holiday Shops in New York City’s Bryant Park.

Tall wooden penguin on old-fashioned style “popsicle stick” skis

Acquired: 2002

Number: 200

Size: 4.75 inches tall

Short wooden penguin on old-fashioned style “popsicle stick” skis

Acquired: Dec. 21, 2005, Holiday Shops at Bryant Park

Number: 282

Size: 4.25 inches tall

Price: $15

From the heart

Here's a skier, wearing a heart-shaped wreath, that's just right for continuing the Olumpic theme and also for sending a Valentine's Day greeting. It resemles another ornament that I bought the same day, which I'll have more to tell about in a future post. Happy Valentine's Day!

Skier with heart shaped wreath
Acquired: December 2004, Grand Central Terminal Holiday Market, New York City
Number: 259 (number and year corrected July 11, 2010)
Price: $12.50 (two for $25)
Size: 4 inches tall