Hallmark hallmarks

Every year brings a new crop of Hallmark Keepsake penguin ornaments. Some are a little over the top, but there are usually one or two real standouts in the bunch. The little Goody Gumdrops ornament is probably one of my top ten overall favorites. It’s an excellent example of good things coming in small packages. The goofy ones with the tall Christmas tree hat and the two-wheeled cart show a lot of originality and are high up on my list of favorites. The Disney Club Penguin ornament mystifies me. I ended up with a bag full of penguins when I bought this batch, including one that is No. 30 in its series. I must certainly have one or two others that go with it, but I’ll have to look back to see which ones.

Tall Christmas tree hat with gold star, red bow tie and buttons

Acquired: November 30, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0740

Size: 5.75 inches tall

Price:$5.95

Santa hat and wreath on 2-wheeled cart

Acquired: November 30, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0741

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $5.95

Goody Gumdrops Hallmark Keepsake ornament

Acquired: November 30, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0742

Size: 1.5 inches tall

Price: $8

Disney Club Penguin 2009 Hallmark Keepsake blue penguin juggling human heads

Acquired: November 30, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0743

Size: 3 inches tall

Price: $12.50

Hallmark Frosty Friends, No. 30 in series

Acquired: November 30, 2009, Jay’s Hallmark, Port Authority Bus Terminal, New York

Number: 0745

Size: 2.5 inches tall

Price: $12.50

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

Red sledder day

This ornament weighs a ton and a half, but it’s a beauty. The three penguins have black flocking on their backs heads and wings and white glittery bellies. Their red sled is covered with glitter and it’s pointing downhill like there’s no tomorrow. I bought this ornament at a jewel box of a Christmas shop, or maybe it’s just a gift shop, in New York City’s West Village. It’s been open for decades, but I never noticed it until recently. The owner sounded like the end might be near. I didn’t go by this past Christmas, so I don’t know if they had any new penguins for me or even if the store is there anymore.

Three realistic emperor penguins on a red glittery sled

Acquired: November 21, 2009, Caravansary, New York City

Number: 0735

Size: 3.75 inches tall and 6.75 inches long

Price: $20.69

Cirque du penguin

I could probably fill a small tree with circus clown penguin ornaments. What? Penguins aren’t funny enough without putting them in big shoes and funny hats? Here are a bunch of comical penguins I bought on a trip to the mall. Some came from Macy’s and others came from Penney’s. That was two Christmases ago. Wait ‘til you see what theses two stores did to me last year. (That’s a few months away.)

Clown-like penguin with green coat and purple hat sitting on a big blue ice cube

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0725

Size: 5.75 inches tall

Price: $8.50

Flying penguin with butterfly wings and purple pants

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0726

Size: 3.5 inches long

Price: $8.50

Rocketeer wearing red helmet with white stars

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0727

Size: 3.5 inches long

Price: $8.50

Falling or jumping penguin in a yellow raincoat with a splash

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0728

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $8.50

Red Santa hat and coat with papoose

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0729

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price: $8.50

Mini red Santa hat and coat with papoose

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0730

Size: 2 inches tall

Price: $8.50

Red jingle bell body, green boots and coat with rainbow-striped top hat and legs, wearing big red bow and holding peppermint candy

Acquired: November 19, 2009, JC Penney, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0731

Size: 5.5 inches tall

Price: $4.99 (originally $9.99)

Same as No. 731, but no jingle bell body and holding candy cane

Acquired: November 19, 2009, JC Penney, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0732

Size: 5.25 inches tall

Price: $3.99 (originally $7.99)

Penguin in red and green striped ring with wire hands and blue and white bead legs

Acquired: November 19, 2009, JC Penney, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0734

Size: 6 inches tall

Price: $4.99 (originally $9.99)

Look, Mom! No feet!

Here are two very different ornaments that I bought the same day on my early Christmas shopping trip to Allentown, Pa. One thing they have in common is that they have no feet. It’s not like the feet came off like at least one other penguin in my collection. They never had any. The Christopher Radko ornament is supposed to look like a baby’s roly-poly toy, usually in the form of a clown, that was popular in the mid 20^th century. The penguin in the second picture resembles ornament No. 680 posted a couple of weeks ago, but they aren’t made of the same material, and if you look closely you can see several differences in the details.

Christopher Radko “Penny Roll” roly-poly Santa

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0722

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $50

Penguin with no legs holding green bag

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0724

Size: 3.5 inches tall

Price:$7

Doubling up

The holiday season got off to an early start a couple of years ago when I had to take my laptop to the Apple Store for service. While I was at the mall I decided to see what was up at the department stores. It was mid November, but the Christmas department was all set up at Macy’s, where I found a number of ornaments, including the fat penguin with tinsel earmuffs, a candy cane in each wing and dangling orange feet. It’s kind of funny that exactly one year later, I bought the same ornament at another Macy’s.

Roly-poly penguin with tinsel earmuffs holding two candy canes with dangling orange feet

Acquired: November 19, 2009, Macy’s, Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, Pa.

Number: 0723

Size: 4 inches tall

Price: $7

Acquired: November 19, 2010, Macy’s Herald Square, New York

Number: 0852

Price: $4.86 discounted (originally $9)

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