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Hallmark Ornaments: We started collecting the ornaments in 1996 when I bought my Mom 3 Barbie Ornaments for Christmas; 1996 Holiday Barbie, Solo in the Spotlight, & Evening Sophisticate. We started collecting several different series the following year and haven't quit yet. Our main focus is on the Barbie, Kiddie Car and Star Wars ornaments. We are also collecting these other series ornaments; Cool Decade, Gift Bearers, Lionel Train, Pony for Christmas, Town & Country, & Winter Wonderland
Our friends Harry & Ruth Barnett had a huge collection of Hallmark ornaments. They had been buying them for many years. Every year they would put them all on thier Christmas tree. Harry was very interested in trains so they had just about every Hallmark train ornament ever produced. He enjoyed all of his ornaments and was proud to show everyone of them to anyone who came by and saw the tree. He loved the "Light & Magic" ornaments. He made sure that everyone got to see what each ornament did and kept them in great working order.
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Kiddie Car Classics: It was 1997 when I started collecting the Kiddie Car Classics. The first Kiddie Car Classic I bought was the yellow 1961 Murray® Super Deluxe Tractor with Trailer. I had a full size Kiddie Car similar to this when I was a kid so it was an obvious first choice for me.
There are some sub-catagories to the Kiddie Car Classic Collection; Sidewalk Cruisers Collection: These are scooters, tri-cycles and wagons Kiddie Car Corner Collection: These are buildings, street signs etc... (introduced in 1997). Mini Kiddie Car Collection: These are one-tenth the scale of pedal cars and half the size of Kiddie Cars. (introduced in 1999) Collectors Pins: These represent some of your favorite Kiddie Car Classics. They only Kiddie Cars represented were the "Original 5" (Introduced in 1999) The Kiddie Cars are also broken down into "Editions"
Some Kiddie Cars were also produced as a "Series". There were 3 series that were produced.
The second series was the Vintage Speedster series,.... The third series was the Fire Brigade series, announced in Aug. 2000. The following quote is from the Aug. 2000 Hallmark K.O.C.C. Collector's Courier, "Fire engines have always been popular with Kiddie Car Fans, " said Don Palmiter, lead designer for the collection. "We're really excited to be offering this great new series!" The excitement didn't last very long as they only issued 2 cars in the series. In May 1999 Hallmark introduced the "mini" Kiddie Car Collection. One-tenth scale of pedal cars & about half the size of Kiddie Cars. In comparison, these were a size in between the regular Kiddie cars and the Keepsake Ornaments. Some of the most valuable Kiddie Car Classics are the "Original 5" (aka: Famous 5) These were the first five Kiddie Cars made and were released in October 1992. Each was a Limited Edition of 14,500. These can sell for over $150 each on eBay these days. The "Original 5" are:
I plan to have an "Original 5" Registry on this site. This would allow owners of any "Original 5" kiddie cars to register thier cars serial number here and be listed on this site. CLICK HERE to register the serial # of the "Original 5" Kiddie Cars you own.
There are some known variations: Here are some other possible variations: (if anyone can confirm these please let me know) In 2001 it was announced that all Kiddie Cars would now be limited editions and what would eventually be the "Final 9" Kiddie Cars were all Limited to 14,500 like the "Original 5" There is very little information on Kiddie Car Classics on the web to my surprise. So I have made a page that has the picture, Issue Date & Retirement Date of every Kiddie Car Classic. I also have pages with Sidewalk Cruisers, "Mini" Kiddie Cars, Kiddie Car Corner and Kiddie Car Keepsake Ornaments.
From my collection: |
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