2024 Ornament Spotlight: Toymaker Santa
The North Pole’s nicest guy turns 25
Were celebrating the anniversary of the beloved Toymaker Santa series.
With his jolly smile and iconic apron, Toymaker Santa has been delivering the gift of cheer to your tree for 25 years.
The Toymaker’s Gift
1999 Membership Ornament
“In 1999, Toymaker’s Gift by Robert Chad was available to KOC members to purchase. It was a complement to the Toymaker Santa series, which debuted the following year in 2000,” says Art Director Charles Young. “This beloved series, which features Santa in his workshop creating a new toy, was designed and sculpted by Ken Crow until his retirement. The Toymaker tradition has been carried on by Robert Hurlburt from 2022
until today.”
From trains to basketballs to play ovens, trikes and drones, Santa has honed his toymaking craft throughout the years. But for this special, limited-edition anniversary ornament, he’s taken up a new hobby.
Toymaker Santa
25th Anniversary
Limited Quantity
“Santa is a maker, and since we make ornaments, we thought it would be a fun idea to have him take a short break from making toys and try his hand at making a Christmas ornament!” says Art Director Kurt Gaulke. “As if there would be any doubt, he did a terrific job!”
Kurt says that reaching this milestone anniversary is “not only a testament to the creativity of the Keepsake Studio but also to the meaningful connections we have with collectors.”
And speaking of collectors… “While I’m not at liberty to reveal Santa’s toy designs, I can say that he will continue to delight collectors with his playful attitude as he shares the joy of toys!” says Charles.
CORRECTION: The Toymaker’s Gift was included of the 1999 Membership Kit. It was not available to KOCC members to purchase.
“The North Pole’s nicest guy turns 25.” For Keeps 24 Summer 2024: 4
2024 Collection: Continuing Series
Cute as a Button
2nd in the series.
Mythical Mermaids
2nd in the series.
Holiday Barbie Ornament (Latin)
2nd in the series.
Sandal the Sandman
3rd in the series.
Young Santa
3rd in the series.
Santa Mickey
All About Mickey
3rd in the series.
Propeller Mario
Powered Up with Mario
3rd in the series.
Gnome for Christmas
4th in the series.
Stocking Stuffers
4th in the series.
“Christine”
1958 Plymouth Fury
The Car’s the Star
4th in the series.
Rocking Horse Memories
5th in the series.
Sweet Decade
5th in the series.
Earl of Snowfall
Noble Nutcrackers
6th in the series.
Holiday Parade
6th in the series.
Melody
Christmas Angels
7th in the series.
Brilliant Butterflies
8th in the series.
Cozy Critters
8th in the series.
Heirloom Angels
8th in the series.
Holiday Barbie
10th in the series.
Holiday Barbie (Black)
10th in the series.
Christmas Commemorative
12th in the series.
Happy Halloween!
12th in the series.
North Pole Tree Trimmers
12th in the series.
Cookie Cutter Christmas
13th in the series.
Holiday Lighthouse
13th in the series.
Cup of Cocoa
Christmas Cupcakes
15th in the series.
Season’s Treatings
16th in the series.
Wrapping Lesson
Making Memories
17th in the series.
Noelle T. Klaus
Snowtop Lodge
20th in the series.
Violet-Green Swallow
The Beauty of Birds
20th in the series.
Hibiscus Fairy
Fairy Messengers
20th in the series.
Father Christmas
20th in the series.
2011 Ford F-550 Fire Engine
Fire Brigade
22nd in the series.
Christmas Window 2024
Christmas Windows
22nd in the series.
Member Exclusive
Fishing Friends
Snowball and Tuxedo
24th in the series.
Toymaker Santa
25th in the series.
Mischievous Kittens
26th in the series.
A Pony for Christmas
27th in the series.
Surfs Up
Spotlight on Snoopy
27th in the series.
Snow Buddies
27th in the series.
Qui Gon Jinn™
Star Wars™
28th in the series.
CallAir A-2
Sky’s the Limit
28th in the series.
Union Pacific Legacy SD70ACe
LIONEL® Trains
29th in the series.
Peacock Princess
Madame Alexander®
29th in the series.
1960 Dodge D-100
All-American Trucks
30th in the series.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
Pittsburgh Steelers
Football Legends
30th in the series.
1968 Chevrolet® Corvette® L88
Classic American Cars
34th in the series.
Poodle
Puppy Love
34th in the series.
Poppy
Mary’s Angels
37th in the series.
Rod’s Barbershop
Nostalgic Houses and Shops
41th in the series.
Frosty Friends
45th in the series.
Miniatures
1972 Chevrolet® Cheyenne™ Super
Lil’ American Trucks
2nd in the series.
Cozy Lil’ Critters
6th in the series.
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429
Lil’ Classic Cars
7th in the series.
A Gumdrop Greeting
Petite Penguins
9th in the series.
A World Within
10th in the series.
Winter Fun with Snoopy
27th in the series.
2024 Collection: Final in series
This year brings one last chance to collect two series that are coming to an end. Collect the final additions to complete your collection.
Belle
Disney Princess Celebration
5th and Final in the series.
Ring in the Season
10th and Final in the series.
2024 Collection: New Series
Year upon year of wonder. Begin a new tradition to your celebration with unique ornament series you can enjoy every Christmas.
Twelve Days of Christmas
1st in the series.
Each ornament in this series will feature a beautiful scene crafted from paper, representing one of the twelve days of Christmas.
The 12 Days of Christmas
1st in the series.
Cup of Cozy
1st in the series.
Each ornament in this series will be inspired by the tradition of leaving milk and cookies for Santa.
Cup of Cozy
1st in the series.
Christmas is…
1st in the series.
Each ornament in this series will feature different Peanuts characters in a fun scene and a “Christmas is…” sentiment on the base.
Christmas is…
The PEANUTS® Gang
1st in the series.
Howliday Helpers
1st in the series.
Each ornament in this series will feature a puppy that’s decked out in festive garb.
Howliday Helpers
1st in the series.
Vintage Greetings
1st in the series.
Each ornament in this series will be inspired by a vintage greeting from the Hallmark Archives.
Vintage Greetings
1st in the series.
2024 Sneak Peek
Here are two more sneak peeks from the 2024 Keepsake Ornament line featuring Terri Steiger’s Pull-string Reindeer available at Ornament Debut and Naughty or Nice? by Matt Johnson releasing in December.
Pull-String Reindeer
Naughty or Nice?
Ornament Spotlight: Howliday Helpers
Howliday Helpers
1st in the series.
Happy Howlidays
What’s furry, festive and, oh, so fun? Keepsake Artist Sharon Visker’s new series of mini, merry pups, of course! A dog lover herself, Sharon says this series is about all kinds of dogs: “the mixed and mutts and rescues.”
Featuring playful cartoon styling, this year’s design was inspired by a corgi mix. And, while future fur-babies in the series are a mystery for now, Sharon did throw us one bone.
“Every Howliday Helper will include a festive accessory—it could be a hat, a scarf, maybe even a little dog toy,” she says. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Happy Howlidays” 2024 Dream Book: 50
Ornament Spotlight: Christmas is…
Christmas is…
The PEANUTS® Gang
1st in the series.
Christmas is…
For Keepsake Artist Tim Bishop, Christmas is all about those special moments that make you appreciate the little things in life. And, as a new member of the Keepsake Studio, he says one of those moments was sculpting his first series ornament.
“This series is based on the iconic ‘Happiness is…’ idea. They’re simple scenes, yet really sweet, warm and heartfelt,” Tim says. “It’s important to me that a person sees this ornament and gets those feelings immediately.”
This year’s ornament, which reads “Christmas is… connecting with far-away friends,” features the beloved Charlie Brown eagerly opening his mailbox to discover a card with his name on it. Lucky us, Tim says there’s a lot more joy (and ornaments!) where that came from.
“Christmas is…” 2024 Dream Book: 32
Ornament Spotlight: Vintage Greetings
Vintage-Greetings
1st in the series.
Member Exclusive
Season’s Greetings
In 1924, artist Vivian Smith began her career at Hallmark. Now, 100 years later, Keepsake Artist Matt Johnson is giving her work a new life.
“I had the idea for a nostalgic series inspired by classic holiday cards from the Hallmark archives. My team knew we wanted to start with Santa, and Vivian’s beautiful card illustration was perfect.”
Matt worked carefully to interpret texture, color and shape from the illustration into 3D form. The result? An ornament filled with vintage charm and retro details—from the gifts wrapped in ribbon to the jolly sprig of holly on Santa’s hat.
“I love that we are bringing artwork from the past back to life,” Matt says. “I wonder what Vivian would think of the final result?”
“Season’s Greetings” 2024 Dream Book: 21
Ornament Spotlight: Cup a Cozy
Cup of Cozy
1st in the series.
Cup a Cozy
“As a newer artist in the studio, I’m honored and so excited to be working on my first series,” says Keepsake Artist Iman Zadrozny. “It’s all about those warm, holiday feelings, and each future ornament will include a novelty mug and cookie. They’ll all be made in porcelain, but I’m adding little details to give each ornament its very own personality. For this year’s gingerbread theme, I added a dollop of cream with cinnamon sprinkled on top.”
“Cup a Cozy” 2024 Dream Book: 19
Ornament Spotlight: Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas
1st in the series.
A Partridge, A Pear Tree…
And a new series! Keepsake Artist Gregor Benedetti is bringing the 12 Days of Christmas to your tree. These exquisite papercraft ornaments feature multiple layers of intricately cut paper, gold accents, the number for each day and the song verse printed on the back.
“With this format I can make multiple images within the layers, which allows me to add a lot more detail,” Gregor says. “It’s quite the process but, luckily, I’m not doing it all on my own. A lot of credit goes to R.J. Stebbins, a paper technical engineer wizard. After working with him on other projects, I knew he’d be able to translate my vision into a 3D paper look.”
Next year, the series continues with—you guessed it!—two turtle doves.
“A Partridge, A Pear Tree…” 2024 Dream Book: 14