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Christmas
Ornaments
Posted 07/11/01
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I've never considered myself an ornament
collector. Heck, I collect action figures! And then I happened
to be perusing my toy room, and noticed that there seemed to be quite a few
ornaments hanging around. I was shocked to count over three dozen
hanging from various spots, and hidden on multiple shelves!
How
did this happen? It's all the fault of companies like Hallmark and
Carlton. In recent years, they've increased the number of licensed
characters they are using in their ornaments, and now they cover a broad
spectrum of cartoons, super heroes, and various classic toys.
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Superheroes have been popular for some
time. Superman and Batman themed ornaments are my favorite, but
Marvel characters like Spiderman have been well represented too.
With the demise of the WB stores, we probably won't see quite as many cool
animated Batman and Superman ornaments this year, but hopefully someone
will pick up the slack.
One of the unique things about the DC
based ornaments is the wide diversity of timelines covered. Silver
age and modern age, animated and classic, there's something for just about
everyone. |
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Another hugely popular theme for Christmas
ornaments are cartoons. Above you can see various Ren and Stimpy,
Pinky and the Brain and even South Park ornaments. Obviously kids
love cartoons, and Christmas is all about kids, so the connection is
obvious.
The Warner Brothers ornaments are some of
the best produced, surpassing Hallmark and Carlton for quality.
Cloth and various types of plastic are used to offset the basic resin
material, and the designs are always exceptional. |
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Enesco, makers of the Precious Moments
figurines, also produce various ornaments. One of the finest lines
was the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer set they did a couple years ago.
This year marks the fourth year that
Carlton is doing the Simpsons license, and the ornaments have improved
each year. My favorite is still the Santa Homer, though, and he's
the only Christmas ornament I've ever seen carrying a beer. |
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Hallmark has been handling the Star Wars
license for several years, along with the Star Trek license. These
ornaments have been tremendously popular with collectors of both
franchises.
Hallmark has also been doing various
classic toy lines as ornaments, like G.I. Joe, Barbie, and Hot Wheels. |
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No matter what you like, there seems to be an
ornament to go along with it. If you're a collector of action
figures, cartoon characters, or other toys, I'd suggest checking out your
local Hallmark, Carlton and gift shops. You might be surprised at
what you find! Start shopping now, because most of the stores start
releasing their ornaments by August. |
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