More Than 100 New Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments Debut in October

Ornament Debut event begins Oct. 5-6 at Hallmark Gold Crown® Stores

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The celebration of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments’ 40th anniversary continues Oct. 5-13 at the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Debut. This annual event in Hallmark Gold Crown® stores heralds the arrival of more than 100 new Keepsake Ornaments to the 2013 offering.

“For 40 years, Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments have helped people create a scrapbook of memories on their Christmas trees,” says Jamie Lockard, retail merchandise director for Keepsake Ornaments. “It really is an honor to be a part of so many families’ Christmas traditions. We’re excited to introduce even more opportunities to capture favorite memories – or make new ones – through the ornaments in this year’s line.”

Some highlights of the new Keepsake Ornaments arriving at Ornament Debut include:

• Magical features in several ornaments help bring the story of Santa to life and add to family fun during the holiday. Press the button on Santa Signal all season long to hear from Santa. On Christmas Eve night, press the “Santa, Stop Here” button to activate the Santa Signal and guide Santa to your house. Santa’s Hotline allows you to dial up the North Pole daily, beginning Dec. 1, to hear an update on the holiday preparations. When you open Santa’s Magic Storybook, you can hear Santa read a story and see a hidden surprise light up.
• New licensed ornament designs join the dozens that are already in stores. Examples of the new licensed designs include Little Tikes’® timeless Cozy Coupe®, It’s Fun to Be Fancy featuring Fancy Nancy®, Yo Ho! Let’s Go! with Jake from Disney’s Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Finn and Jake from Adventure Time™, Mockingjay from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Toga! Toga! Toga! from Animal House™, Milton Waddams from Office Space™, The Joker from Batman™, and Mork from Ork from Mork & Mindy.

Shoppers also will find six special ornaments available in limited quantities, while supplies last. These ornaments include additions to popular series as well as licensed designs such as LIONEL® trains, Disney Snow White, Batman™ and The Hobbit™.

New mystery ornaments will arrive in stores for Ornament Debut as well. These ornaments come in the shape of the popular character “Frosty” from the Frosty Friends ornament series and are painted three different ways. Each ornament is sealed in a box and placed in an opaque bag, so no one can tell which design they are getting until they purchase and open the bag.

To make the event even more exciting, shoppers can receive bonus points using the Crown Rewards loyalty card and save with special in-store offers. The Ornament Debut event also marks the kick off to the holiday season as Hallmark Gold Crown stores offer their first look at Hallmark’s 2013 Christmas products. Visit Hallmark.com/stores to find the nearest Hallmark Gold Crown store.

40 Years of Memories

In 1973, Hallmark introduced six glass ball ornaments and 12 yarn figures as the first collection of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. A new tradition of Christmas decorating was started and a new collectible industry was born. In the last 40 years, Hallmark has created more than 8,000 Keepsake Ornament designs, to the delight of customers across the United States and even around the world. The annual introduction of the Keepsake Ornament line occurs each year in July during Ornament Premiere with nearly 200 ornaments released, followed by Ornament Debut in October when an additional 100 ornaments become available, and 10 more ornaments arriving Dec. 6-8 for the Gift of Memories Weekend.


About Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Hallmark makes the world a more caring place by helping people express what’s in their hearts and spend time together – a privilege few other companies in the world enjoy. Hallmark greeting cards and other products are found in more than 39,000 retail outlets in the United States, including the network of flagship Hallmark Gold Crown® stores. The brand also reaches people online at Hallmark.com and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and cable’s top-rated Hallmark Channel. Worldwide, Hallmark offers products in more than 30 languages available in 100 countries. This privately held company is based in Kansas City, Mo., and is led by the third generation of the founding Hall family. Visit http://corporate.hallmark.com for more details.