Category: Christmas

Hallmark Christmas Ornaments

11/4/2017

Christmas tree ornaments didn't really become popular in America until around the 1840's. Immigrants from Germany and England were bringing over their ornaments with them. Ornaments available at that time were mostly hand blown glass ornaments and German hand cast lead ornaments.

Check out these antique German ornaments from RelicRecord.com

In the 1880's, F.W. Woolworth stocked his stores with German ornaments. By 1890, he was selling $25 million worth of ornaments for 5 or 10 cents each.

Corning, was the first American company to jump on the Christmas ornament bandwagon. By using a machine that was meant to produce light bulbs, Corning was making over 2000 Christmas balls a minute. This was in 1939.

Check out this Christmas ornament advertisement from The Corning Museuem of Glass.

In 1973, Hallmark joined the Christmas ornament fun and introduced their Keepsake Collection. In doing so, Hallmark introduced a new tradition of Christmas decorating along with a new collectible. The first collection consisted of 18 ornaments total, 6 glass and 12 made of yarn. These ornaments were only available for a short amount of time. Since then, Hallmark has introduced over 100 series of ornaments and over 8000 different Keepsake ornaments.

Hallmark ornaments available in my store

Gentle Fawn Christmas Ornament Hallmark 1989

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Hallmark Jolly Hiker Santa Christmas Ornament

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Why Christmas in july

7/11/2017

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A couple years ago, during one of our family Christmas get togethers, I mentioned to everyone we should do our Christmas in July. My reasoning was to cut down on family members not being able to travel due to bad weather. Also, as our individual families are expanding, it would open up more time to enjoy the holidays with them versus struggling to find a day that works with Mom, Siblings, Kids, Grandkids, Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, various in-laws, etc...

Well, I was met with scoffs, no ways, why's, you're insane along with some other Christmas family niceties. So, no Christmas in July for us. However, this did lead me to wondering why/how Christmas in July got started.
There seem to be numerous reasons why or how Christmas in July got started. Some say it's because of the different seasons between the North and South Hemisphere. Others say it has to do with breaking up the year to allow for more gift giving and partying, an excuse for a joyous family gathering.

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13483367

In the United States, the earliest mention of Christmas in July was in North Carolina at a girls summer camp. They threw a festive party complete with a Christmas tree, gifts and Santa Claus in 1933. In 1940, the term gained national recognition with the release of the movie, Christmas in July. The movie, however, was about a man who won a contest and bought gifts for family members and friends. Through out the 40's various organizations used it as a marketing ploy, The USPS, Military and Chruches. In the 50's more American retailers started using Christmas in July for summertime sales.

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Hallmark Christmas Ornaments

Hallmark ornaments available in my store

Gentle Fawn Christmas Ornament Hallmark 1989

Hallmark Jolly Hiker Santa Christmas Ornament

Why Christmas in july

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