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HOME » Hallmark Ornament Trees At Christmas

Hallmark Ornament Trees At Christmas

03/05/2018 by Marjorie Dawson 33 Comments

Have you visited the Hallmark Visitor Center in Kansas City? If you do you get to see the magic of the Hallmark Ornament Trees. Let me share a few treasured glimpses.

Seeing the trees close up means you can admire the wealth of detail in each tree’s deocrations, so, I hope you can enjoy some in my post today as you celebrate the upcoming holidays.

Hallmark Christmas Trees five

The History of the Hallmark Ornament Trees

Each of these artificial Christmas trees was created by the staff at Hallmark for their founder J C Hall.

The tradition started with everyone creating a special card and evolved into what is now a magnificent display and the Hallmark Christmas trees are known the world over.

The tree was revealed in the days before Christmas each year. Can you imagine the excitement? It must have brrn intense – right?

Imagine Mr Hall’s delighted reaction to the unveiling of each year’s tree and for 17 years the tree was a cherished holiday tradition. It only stopped when Mr Hall died in 1982.

Ready to take a look at some of the Christmas Trees?

Hallmark Trees Ceramic Angel

This Christmas Tree is Ceramic

This is one tree that certainly made a huge impression on me. The work involved is immense and it is truly a labour of love for Mr Hall. IThe impressession and presence of the tree really captures the spirit of Christmas.

The magical cookies and angels were breathtaking and I got as close as I could to see the wealth of fine detail. I wish they had a book of photographs of all the details of the trees.

Hallmark Tree Kansas City

Check out this Dough Craft Christmas Tree

It is as far away from a realistic Christmas trees as you can get. This is ‘dough craft’ and wow, just check out the details. Dough is actually a difficult medium to capture details with, but the artists really rocked the smallest details.

If you look at our recipe at the end of this post you can see what goes into making dough. Then imagine how you might go about creating one figure.

Hallmark Christms Tree one

The Schneeberg Collage Tree

This tree is, quite simply, beautiful. It was created by Robert ‘Bob’ Schneeberg for J C Hall.

Schneeberg’s collages were used on many of Hallmark’s finest greetings cards. It was almost impossible to capture the beauty of this tree, so I went for some of its lovely detail.

Hallmark Christms Tree Crazy Patchwork

The Hallmark Crazy Patchwork Tree

As an enthusiastic but not very good quilter I thought this was the most breathtaking tree. The colours are perfect, the labour involved must have taken forever!  Look at the ribbons, the tiny flowers and the little dachshund and the pieces of lace. The more I look, the more I see!

Visiting the Hallmark Visitors Centre

We loved the visit. The centre is not large but captures perfectly the pioneering history of Hallmarks Greeting cards, the exquisite ornaments and the creative artists who design such treasures for the world’s foremost greetings card company.

There is a tiny gift shop with a nicely curated selection of fun mementoes for all ages too. Well worth a peek!

I hope you enjoyed our glimpse into this magical world that Hallmark artists created. I feel so lucky to have been able to visit Kansas City and see it for myself.

Salt Dough Recipe:

  • A basic dough is made from flour, salt and water. Vegetable oil is added as this makes the dough much easier to work.
  • Knead for 10 minutes then cut into shapes or whatever your imagination inspires.
  • Bake in an oven for C150/F300 for 30 minutes and allow to cool before painting with poster or acrylic paint.
  • Varnish if required.
  • Children must be supervised for their own safety.

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Filed Under: Gift Guides & Reviews

Meet Marjorie, Writer and Photographer

Portrait by a window with teddy bears Taken with a smartphone.Marjorie is a cat lover, photographer and smartphone moviemaker who loves sharing her knowledge with learners.

Marjorie is a Cat Writers’ Association Professional member, CWA Muse® Medallion and Certificate Winner, and winner of the CWA Kuykendall Image Award for her photography.

 

Comments

  1. Sweet Purrfections says

    09/05/2018 at 3:34 pm

    I wish I could have visited Hallmark. I saw Lisa (who works there) but never thought about asking to visit the location. Such beautiful trees with a lot of history.

    Reply
  2. Adriana says

    08/05/2018 at 3:23 am

    WE love Christmas and this would have been a nice place to visit while in Kansas City. We really din;yt have time but I guess next time this is a must do!

    Reply
  3. Rachel says

    08/05/2018 at 1:21 am

    This place looks sooo cool! I love Christmas and I would love to visit a place with all of these Christmas trees! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Amelia Johnson says

    07/05/2018 at 5:00 pm

    I never knew this place existed or the history behind these Christmas trees…it figures that such creative people would be able to create such beautiful trees. I remember playing with salt dough as a child but can’t remember what we made…lol

    Reply
  5. Shannon says

    07/05/2018 at 12:21 pm

    Super neat!! I didn’t know about this.. so beautiful. The bow maker was my fav!!

    Reply
    • Dash Kitten says

      07/05/2018 at 5:54 pm

      Mine too. I could have stood there all day but there was a queue!!

      Reply
  6. Jana Rade says

    07/05/2018 at 10:31 am

    Wow, those are definitely creative and beautiful. I’m old fashioned that way – I like regular plain ol’ tree.

    Reply
  7. The Daily Pip says

    07/05/2018 at 9:49 am

    Gosh, I missed this and wish I had allowed a little more time for exploring Kansas City. I only left the hotel once – note to self, arrive early next year!

    I agree with you. Absolutely love the quilted patchwork tree! I do not have any quilting skills, but admire those who do!

    Reply
  8. Cathy Armato says

    07/05/2018 at 9:33 am

    Aren’t these beautiful? We loved visiting the Hallmark Center, it’s a very cool place. Great job sharing this beauty with everyone!
    Love & Biscuits,
    Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them

    Reply
  9. Amy Hempe says

    07/05/2018 at 8:16 am

    So much work went into those crafts! I’m glad you found places to visit this year. Next year you’ll have to compare the Florida beaches to New Zealand’s!

    Reply
  10. Beth says

    07/05/2018 at 6:34 am

    That must have been so interesting to visit! I give each of my kids an ornament every year on Christmas Eve. I saw a few familiar ones in your video.

    Reply
  11. Dorothy "FiveSibesMom" says

    06/05/2018 at 4:01 am

    I couldn’t wait to read this post when I saw it on the boost!!! I loooove everything about Christmas and Hallmark – from their ornaments to their movies and TV series! You were so lucky to see this in person! How awesome! Thanks for sharing this with us!

    Reply
  12. Kamira says

    06/05/2018 at 1:38 am

    Wow. I never knew about the Hallmark Ornament Trees. Thanks for sharing your experience and love the vintage video. Hmm..I think my favorite tree is the cerami and patchwork tree. Amazing detail.

    Reply
  13. Hindy Pearson says

    05/05/2018 at 4:22 pm

    Although I had hoped to not hear the “C” word again until at least November, the trees are lovely and seems like an interesting place to visit. My trauma was caused by one of my friend’s over the top shopping that started about 5 months before the holiday…and I seem to have gotten dragged into!!

    Reply
  14. Ruth Epstein says

    05/05/2018 at 3:15 pm

    What an amazing place and those trees are just stunning. I might be Jewish but Christmas Trees always so beautiful and these are especially stunning. Thank you so much for sharing this great visit of yours

    Reply
  15. HollyAnne says

    05/05/2018 at 1:27 pm

    So beautiful- what a great experience. The salt dough recipe gave me a throw back – my kids and I used to make salt dough ornaments every year

    Reply
  16. Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat says

    05/05/2018 at 11:42 am

    What original (and incredible) works of art! I had no idea they had these. The salt dough recipe looks familiar … my Mom was a preschool teacher … good memories.

    Reply
  17. Melissa & Mudpie says

    05/05/2018 at 10:38 am

    Christmas in May…I love it! What a pawsome place. This weekend I plan to pick up the new Hallmark Dream Book to see all the new ornaments coming out in July!

    Reply
  18. Seville at Nerissa's Life says

    05/05/2018 at 3:35 am

    Hmmm… I wonder if the peep could make a salt dough ornament of me with that recipe. What do you think? You think it might be the best ornament on the tree? purrs

    Reply
  19. Roby Sweet says

    04/05/2018 at 11:32 pm

    I would love to visit there! Hallmark ornaments are some of my favorites.

    Reply
  20. MrJackFreckles/Pipo/Angel-Minko says

    04/05/2018 at 5:55 pm

    Wow, that would be a fun place to visit! Beautiful trees!

    Reply
  21. Ellen Pilch says

    04/05/2018 at 11:26 am

    That looks like a great place to visit. We have several Hallmark ornaments.

    Reply
  22. Memories of Eric and Flynn says

    04/05/2018 at 10:38 am

    Those trees are beautiful! Thanks for sharing them.

    Reply
  23. Deziz World says

    04/05/2018 at 9:48 am

    Well, we’d never heard ’bout the hallmark christmas trees. The video was a bit too dark fur mommy to be able to see. Kittens Those cataracts really mess with your eyes. MOL Glad you had fun. Big hugs

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Raena

    Reply
  24. The Swiss Cats says

    04/05/2018 at 7:47 am

    What a cool place to visit ! Purrs

    Reply
  25. Comedy Plus says

    04/05/2018 at 6:21 am

    I want to go. What a fun place.

    Have a fabulous Thankful Thursday!

    Reply
  26. Sheltie Times says

    04/05/2018 at 1:03 am

    What a fun trip.

    Reply
  27. Laila and Minchie says

    04/05/2018 at 12:25 am

    What a treat! Thank you so much for sharing as our mum grew up in Kansas City and her uncle worked for Hallmark all his life.

    Reply
  28. Brian Frum says

    03/05/2018 at 11:13 pm

    It’s so wonderful you got to see all those magical Christmas Trees up close and purrsonal! Thanks for joining the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

    Reply
  29. Summer says

    03/05/2018 at 8:28 pm

    My human used to work with salt dough all the time when she was a kid.

    Reply
  30. ERin the Cat (Princess) says

    03/05/2018 at 6:40 pm

    What a lovely insight into a wonderful world that maybe we take too much for granted. Lovely artwork and obviously many skilled and passionate people work there.
    Toodle pips and purrs
    ERin

    Reply
  31. Lone Star Cats says

    03/05/2018 at 4:39 pm

    How cool! Momma collects Hallmark ornaments.

    Reply
  32. meowmeowmans says

    03/05/2018 at 1:40 pm

    Wow, what a neat place to visit! Thank you for sharing that with us, Marjorie!

    Reply

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