In department and specialty stores, the trees have been trimmed for this year’s holiday season.
And whether you visualize a Christmas tree to echo the latest trends or prefer to follow a more traditional decorating scheme, you’ll find ornaments of all sorts to dangle from the branches.
Mega-bunch of microchips
On the electronics front, a new generation of ornaments do much more than just hang from the tree. They light up, make music or noises and dazzle with movement. John Hoerst is floral and gift buyer manager for Delhi Flower and Garden Center in Delhi, Ohio, which operates seasonal Christmas shops. He says such decorations are sometimes called “pigtail” ornaments because they plug right into the sockets on a strand of miniature tree lights.
Hallmark Cards, known for its electronic “Magic Ornaments,” which showed up in 1984, is a major player in the movement and sound field.
“This year, one of the most innovative ornaments we’ve created is the first-ever voice recordable ornament,” says Ronnye Peace, a Hallmark spokeswoman. “Messages of Christmas,” a jaunty mouse with headphones, perches atop a battery-operated miniature tape recorder into which the consumer records a message.
Hot on the heels of last season’s electronic bell choirs, “Mickey’s Clock Shop” by Mr. Christmas will set the musical/movement tone this year. It features Disney characters-Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy-who pop out of their cuckoo clocks to sing 21 holiday and Disney tunes such as “The Hallelujah Chorus” and “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.”
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“People are mesmerized by this,” says Debbie O’Dekirk, merchandise manager for Lazarus, a Midwest chain of department stores. “They have hooks on them so you can actually put them into your tree.”
Mr. Christmas has also produced a mechanical “Santa’s Ski Slope,” which encircles the middle of a tree with moving figures, and is introducing “Santa’s Race Track” for the base of the tree this year, Hoerst says. His stores also carry “Sing-along with Santa,” a karaoke machine for kids.
Tradition sells
But beyond the gadgets and trendy motifs, “Christmas is a very traditional business,” O’Dekirk says, noting that Lazarus built its Christmas shop around the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” an enduring theme that is reflected in such phenomenally popular collectibles as Department 56 ceramic houses.
The demand for the miniature lighted houses, which are keyed to several themed villages, “never really stops for us,” said Hoerst. “They are our most popular collectible by far.”
Ron Greene, owner of the General Store and Christmas Shop in Kings Mills, Ohio, counts Department 56 among his most in-demand collectibles, along with Annalee dolls and Byer’s Choice carved figures.
“What’s been really popular are different kinds of Santas,” he says, adding that “religious things seem to be selling better.”
O’Dekirk has also seen a resurgence in the popularity of religious themes. “Angel tree toppers have been unbelievable.” They, too, have become animated with movable wings, and they’re turning up in tabletop collections as well.
“The other thing that is very strong this year is nativity scenes. People will collect them,” O’Dekirk says. Waterford, which traditionally produces high-end collectible holiday ornaments and plates, has introduced a nativity scene in crystal. “We had people ordering them in August.”
Besides “Christmas Carol,” another popular collectible with roots in a holiday story is the Nutcracker. Steinbach nutcrackers from Germany are renowned for their quality, and they offer a few non-traditional variations each year to appeal to collectors.
Glass, old and new
Perhaps because the Christmas tree tradition has German roots, classic German-style handblown glass ornaments continue to be a favorite of traditionalists. Other perennial theme favorites: Victorian, country, bears, Santas and an “all-crystal” tree.
One such collection of glass ornaments, by Christopher Radko, “is bringing back old 19th Century molds,” says Hoerst, although a few have modern touches. The “Shy Rabbit” figure sports a red AIDS awareness ribbon in its lapel, and a donation to AIDS research is made each time one is purchased.
“They’re expensive-$15 to $60-but are very collectible and appreciate in value. It looks like they might be another hot collectible for us.”
Cultural awareness is also reflected in a Christmas line of African-American Santa Claus and choir figurines. “We had a few last year, and customers were really receptive,” says Hoerst of the Delhi Garden Center.
All about Hallmark
Many ornaments are given as gifts, and often commemorate lifetime milestones such as “Baby’s First Christmas,” says Hallmark’s Peace. To further that individuality, Hallmark is marketing a new series of eight personalized ornaments on which you design the message.
And Hallmark has more than 230 ornaments in its “Keepsake Ornaments” line this year, including such unconventional figures as the U.S.S. Enterprise from “Star Trek” and “Holiday Barbie.” The Barbie ornament, first in a series, is a replica of a doll being introduced by Mattel.
Hallmark has been producing popularly priced collectibles series for 20 years, and more than 100,000 collectors belong to the Keepsake Ornament Club.