ORNAMENTATION: CHRISTMAS LASTS THROUGH THE YEAR FOR ORNAMENT COLLECTORS

This Dresden Christmas ornament made between 1870-1880 features an elf hanging from a $5,000 sack of money. This ornament is valued at $500.

This glass duck Christmas ornament was made in the 1940s.

This Christmas tree made from goose feathers in the 1890s is decorated with glass ornaments and a beaded cross.

These two Belsnickle papier-mache Santa Christmas accessories are valued at $150-$200, left, and $600-$700, right.

Joretta and Paul Allee displayed some of the antique Christmas ornaments they sell at the Antique Centre Mall at 2127 William. The Allees have about 250 antique ornaments.

Finding the right spot on the evergreen for each treasured ornament is anticipated by many with the same glee as winter's first snowfall.

When Natalie Mays of Scott City hauls out her Christmas ornaments, it's nothing short of an event. She and her husband Tony have boxes and boxes of them.

"My favorite ornament is the Gingerbread Fantasy," she said. "It plays 'Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy,' the peppermint poles spin, the round peppermint revolves, and the gingerbread couple twirl."

Mays began collecting Hallmark ornaments about six years ago. It was the combination of a First Christmas Together ornament Tony bought, along with beginning a job at Kirlin's Hallmark store that sparked the urge to collect ornaments, she reflected.

While holding another job, Mays works part-time at Kirlin's in the West Park Mall. Her collection is growing this year by "a whole shopping bag full," she said, chuckling. "I put them in layaway."

Mays is far from alone in her fascination with holiday ornaments. While her job affords an early glimpse of brand new ornaments, many who share her urge to collect make a point of shopping for them when winter snows are months away.

Ornaments typically begin arriving at Carol's Hallmark Shop in the Town Plaza in mid-summer and are on the shelves by late July or early August, explained manager Tracie Case.

Demand begins even earlier. "We have people calling, wanting to get on the list for next year's Holiday Barbie ornament," Case noted. That list has not been started.

Holiday Barbie was the most popular ornament this year at both Kirlin's Hallmark and Carol's Hallmark Shop.

"We had a waiting list of over 300 people" for the Holiday Barbie, said Karen Robertson, a sales clerk at Kirlin's.

Dated ornaments and series ornaments are among the most popular types of tree adornments, noted Phyllis Oliver, assistant manager at Carlton Cards in the West Park Mall. Themes may range from Victorian to cartoon.

Some series may continue as long as 15 years, Robertson noted.

Other series, like two Hallmark sports themes featuring Joe Montana and Shaquille O'Neal, made their debut this year. Those ornaments gave Holiday Barbie some stiff competition in the popularity race this season, Robertson and Case noted.

As Oliver pointed out, some fresh-from-the-shelves ornaments are designed to capture the look of the past. It is a spirit favored by many.

"The turn-of-the-century ornaments were very ornate, they had a lot of detail to them," said Paul Allee, an antique dealer at The Antique Centre Mall. "I've noticed they're attempting to emulate some of the old ornaments; the detail is pretty good on them," he said.

Tree ornaments likely predate Christmas cards, noted Harlan Smothers of Smothers Antiques in the Gordonville Antique Mall. "Some of the early ornaments were called Kugles, they were heavy glass ornaments from Germany. To my knowledge, they're about the earliest."

Smothers speculated that they date to the mid-1800s. "Then, they went into the thin, blown glass ornaments in all kinds of shapes," he said.

Ornaments also were made from many other kinds of materials other than glass, Smothers and Allee said.

Paper and cotton and tinsel often were used in ornament preparation.

Old ornaments are sought-after by many lovers of antiques and collectors today. Allee said Dresden ornaments probably bring the highest prices. "It is a pressed cardboard ornament. They are very, very early, very detailed, dating to around 1870."

Even some current tree ornaments have hefty resale prices.

However, for many collectors, the joy the ornaments bring is more personal.

"I hang them up every year," Mays said of her collection. Nevertheless, she is careful to save the original packing, tucking each ornament away safe and sound when the season is over.

Mays' enjoyment of ornaments hasn't necessarily rubbed off on friends nor family, though her husband does enjoy collecting certain items.

Her collection, however, has caused some changes for the family. Last year, we had to get a bigger tree," she said.