I thought I would start a new thread to see if any of you plan to attend this coming weekend's Ornament Premiere at your local Hallmark store. Do you collect a certain type of Hallmark ornament? Any and all Hallmark Ornament comments welcome here!
Hallmark Ornament Premiere Weekend July 16-17
- Thread starter PamelaG
- Start date
I have my gmail calendar set up to send me reminders lol. We started a Hallmark collection for DGD around Christmas 2009. She has about 25 I think. We buy whatever catches our fancy & we can afford at the moment. I sometimes find them at yard sales & the folks that know we collect them we offer to sale them to us if they decide to get rid of them.
Now our niece(DH nephew's wife) is a BIG time collector. Every year she puts up 3-9 ft trees FULL of Hallmark ornaments!
We hope to go next weekend but since our car AC isn't that great it will depend in part on the heat...
Now our niece(DH nephew's wife) is a BIG time collector. Every year she puts up 3-9 ft trees FULL of Hallmark ornaments!
We hope to go next weekend but since our car AC isn't that great it will depend in part on the heat...
I've been collecting Hallmark Ornaments since 1984. I, too, collect whatever catches my fancy. Hallmark has had some really cute ornaments over the years although some of them are getting quite expensive.
In 1984, I bought two ornaments, Alpine Elf and Bell Ringer Squirrel. I have the Collector's Value Guide for Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments (1998 Edition) so I was able to inventory my ornaments each year. I need to get a more current value guide. I went back to see how many ornaments I bought each year and I was able to see some significant times in my life through my ornament spending - 1988 (24 ornaments) was the year I got a major promotion and life was rosy, 1990 (3 ornaments) was the year I decided to make a major change in my life, quit my job and moved to San Francisco, 1991 (20 ornaments) brought a new, better job and 1994 (21 ornaments) the year our daughter was born (had to have every First Baby's Christmas version that came out!).
I've been fortunate to patronize some amazing Hallmark stores. From 1984 to 1990, I lived in California and the local Hallmark store was amazing. The premiere weekend was a huge affair. When I moved to Guam in 1991, there was no Hallmark store on island at the time. A friend in California sent me the Dreambook for 1991 and I contacted the store (the one I shopped at from 1984 to 1990) to place an order. They were so helpful, I called in my order, mailed a check and my order arrived, not only very timely and packed securely, but with an extra ornament inside as a thank you gift. I continued to order from them until I left the Western Pacific in 1995. We moved on to Florida then (the start of our Navy days) and again found an amazing Hallmark store. This was the best one I have ever had - premiere weekend included refreshments, drawings, an incredible party. Outstanding customer service. In the years since then, I have not been so fortunate. It seems that customer service has gone by the wayside, as an eye for the bottom line seems to be more important. I still buy Hallmark ornaments, just not as many.
I buy the Daughter ornament every year, as well as a Dog ornament and something for Sophia's annual school photo. There used to be cute School Days photo-holder ornaments but I haven't seen those in a couple of years. Now and then, I'll pick up something else that catches my eye. I bought Mom and Dad ornaments for my parents for quite a few years and then after 1994, we became Mom and Dad. When my mother died, I inherited all of the ornaments I bought for my parents so they are very special. I also have New Home ornaments for each time we moved (1995, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008). As you can see, not only have we moved quite a bit with the Navy, we've also changed houses within moves as well.
I've got about 300 Hallmark ornaments, all in their original boxes. Decorating our tree takes about three days! It's a lot of fun, though, because as I unwrap each one, it has a special memory and memories are a big part of Christmas.
Do I have a favorite? I have several - on the whimsical side, I love Popcorn Mouse (1986). On the special memories side, Travels with Santa (1988) commemorates all the time we spent as kids in Belgium where we had a trailer at the beach we would retreat to every weekend - I bought one for my parents as well so now I have two. Mom-to-be and Dad-to-be (1993) are special reminders of expecting Sophia and Across the Miles (1995) commemorates my husband's first deployment.
If you are missing a particular ornament, one of the best secondary dealers I have used is The Ornament Shop. You can find them here: http://www.ornament-shop.com/
Will you be shopping this weekend? What's on your Dreambook Wish List? I've got four ornaments on my list - You're a Superstar (closest one I could find for my daughter's school photo), Daughter, Good Dog, and Where Everybody Knows Your Name to commemorate our trip to Cheers in Boston.
Happy Collecting and Making Memories!
In 1984, I bought two ornaments, Alpine Elf and Bell Ringer Squirrel. I have the Collector's Value Guide for Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments (1998 Edition) so I was able to inventory my ornaments each year. I need to get a more current value guide. I went back to see how many ornaments I bought each year and I was able to see some significant times in my life through my ornament spending - 1988 (24 ornaments) was the year I got a major promotion and life was rosy, 1990 (3 ornaments) was the year I decided to make a major change in my life, quit my job and moved to San Francisco, 1991 (20 ornaments) brought a new, better job and 1994 (21 ornaments) the year our daughter was born (had to have every First Baby's Christmas version that came out!).
I've been fortunate to patronize some amazing Hallmark stores. From 1984 to 1990, I lived in California and the local Hallmark store was amazing. The premiere weekend was a huge affair. When I moved to Guam in 1991, there was no Hallmark store on island at the time. A friend in California sent me the Dreambook for 1991 and I contacted the store (the one I shopped at from 1984 to 1990) to place an order. They were so helpful, I called in my order, mailed a check and my order arrived, not only very timely and packed securely, but with an extra ornament inside as a thank you gift. I continued to order from them until I left the Western Pacific in 1995. We moved on to Florida then (the start of our Navy days) and again found an amazing Hallmark store. This was the best one I have ever had - premiere weekend included refreshments, drawings, an incredible party. Outstanding customer service. In the years since then, I have not been so fortunate. It seems that customer service has gone by the wayside, as an eye for the bottom line seems to be more important. I still buy Hallmark ornaments, just not as many.
I buy the Daughter ornament every year, as well as a Dog ornament and something for Sophia's annual school photo. There used to be cute School Days photo-holder ornaments but I haven't seen those in a couple of years. Now and then, I'll pick up something else that catches my eye. I bought Mom and Dad ornaments for my parents for quite a few years and then after 1994, we became Mom and Dad. When my mother died, I inherited all of the ornaments I bought for my parents so they are very special. I also have New Home ornaments for each time we moved (1995, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008). As you can see, not only have we moved quite a bit with the Navy, we've also changed houses within moves as well.
I've got about 300 Hallmark ornaments, all in their original boxes. Decorating our tree takes about three days! It's a lot of fun, though, because as I unwrap each one, it has a special memory and memories are a big part of Christmas.
Do I have a favorite? I have several - on the whimsical side, I love Popcorn Mouse (1986). On the special memories side, Travels with Santa (1988) commemorates all the time we spent as kids in Belgium where we had a trailer at the beach we would retreat to every weekend - I bought one for my parents as well so now I have two. Mom-to-be and Dad-to-be (1993) are special reminders of expecting Sophia and Across the Miles (1995) commemorates my husband's first deployment.
If you are missing a particular ornament, one of the best secondary dealers I have used is The Ornament Shop. You can find them here: http://www.ornament-shop.com/
Will you be shopping this weekend? What's on your Dreambook Wish List? I've got four ornaments on my list - You're a Superstar (closest one I could find for my daughter's school photo), Daughter, Good Dog, and Where Everybody Knows Your Name to commemorate our trip to Cheers in Boston.
Happy Collecting and Making Memories!
I can't pick a favorite, but I will say this. My nieces and nephews come to my house..none of them have a tree like I do...and they go right for the talking ornaments. They love the cell phone that calls santa and the Hoops and Yoyo on the laptop. They love pushing the Star Wars buttons to make Darth Vader talk..and see the Star Trek guys beam up! That's so cool. I've really enjoyed that excitement the last few years.
I started collecting Hallmark ornaments with my first DS. Each year we would look over the Dreambook and decide on the ornament for that year and then purchase it sometime in October. I remember one year when we moved to a new state, we didn't get a chance to buy one in October. Time flew by and that December we all came down with the flu! We barely recovered and the first trip out of the house was to the Hallmark store to buy an ornament!! The ornaments we would pick out reflected something that occurred during that year. Of course when his brother came along, he also joined in the fun. Now that they are adults, for the past few years, I've been picking out the ornaments for them and they are always amused by the reasons for my choices. For the past ten years, they help put up the family Christmas tree every Thanksgiving weekend and put up their own ornaments. This has now become a nice family tradition that they enjoy doing as adults. After Thanksgiving weekend, I finish decorating the tree with other ornaments. However, after all these years, the tree is full of the Hallmark ornaments and reminders of years gone by...
I've been collecting Hallmark ornaments since we were first married. I've never counted them, but I have quite the collection. DS has the train for his first 5 years, dd has the girl kitten for hers. We have first Christmas ones for both of them...several of each. DS has quite the tractor collection, as well as the lionel trains. We have the Pbgh Penguin players, the Christmas Story ones, and so many more including the Hoops and YoYo laptop! Oh and the black ford truck with the tree in the bed...looks just like our truck!
I have the preview catalog, but am not sure if we'll be home over the weekend to visit the event. I'd love to because I got quite the goodie bag last year. I'd like to pick up the Tabletop Father Christmas for my Santa Collection if I go, maybe the Harry Potter golden snitch for ds, Season's treatings for me and maybe It's All in the Shoes from the W of Oz.
I have the preview catalog, but am not sure if we'll be home over the weekend to visit the event. I'd love to because I got quite the goodie bag last year. I'd like to pick up the Tabletop Father Christmas for my Santa Collection if I go, maybe the Harry Potter golden snitch for ds, Season's treatings for me and maybe It's All in the Shoes from the W of Oz.
I love the ornament premiere! I usually shop for ornaments intended as gifts, but last year I also made sure to get a really cute Baby's First Christmas ornament for DS.
I have my eye on a 2nd Christmas ornament for him this year...but it comes out in October...plus I already bought the "Where the Wild Things Are" ornament for his tree.
There are a couple of other ornaments coming out in October I would like to have for myself but we'll see...
I have my eye on a 2nd Christmas ornament for him this year...but it comes out in October...plus I already bought the "Where the Wild Things Are" ornament for his tree.
There are a couple of other ornaments coming out in October I would like to have for myself but we'll see...