Christmas in July

That's probably the thought they're going with this weekend. I mean, they are premiering their Christmas Ornaments...in July. It's trendy, I admit. And for most it works, present company included.
Who?

Hallmark!!!!

Tomorrow and Sunday (July 10 & 11) is the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Premier Weekend! And I am so there! Good thing I don't have a lot of money to spend, otherwise I'd have no money when it's all said and done with. Yes, I'm addicted...and I have no desire to quit!!

It all started quite innocently three years ago. I bought my first, first edition keepsake ornament in 2007...Doorways Around the World. I'd always been intrigued by the HKOs, but never ventured into purchase mode for any of the series. I thought I'd dabble...give it a whirl. And it probably wouldn't have been that big a deal except for one tiny little problem: my mom. I love her...don't get me wrong...but sometimes she aggravates the schnikeys out me!!

Here's how it happened: I bought the Germany door.
Here's my mistake: I told her about it and how I was all excited about starting a series.
Here's where it went kaput: Christmas 2008 gets close and she tells me not to buy MY ornament this year...she will...and for future years for the series.
Wait....what?!?! Don't get me wrong, I'm not ungrateful or anything. But this was MY thing..to do for ME...I WANTED TO DO IT!!!! ARGH!!! (See what I mean about driving me CrAzY!?!)

So, I blame her for this addiction (yes, that's right, I take ABSOLUTELY NO responsibility). Because if she hadn't decided to steal my thunder, I wouldn't have had to go looking for a new series to buy.
I will say my addiction was postponed a year due to my move to CA. But Christmas of 2009, I started two new series. And I made it EXTREMELY clear to her that she was to keep her grubby little paws OFF!!!

And I plan on two, or more, this year.

Maybe even delving into one or two or three that started in the past few years that I missed...which would mean hunting the interwebs for last years, and previous years, editions and trying not to pay too much for them. What? I can't have a series starting with second/third/fourth in series. The series must be complete!!!
And I can quit whenever I want to...I just don't want to!!

For those wondering, here are the addictions:
*Doors Around the World: Germany (07), Mexico (08), Ireland (09), and Italy (10). Sadly, Italy is the last in this series (oh, and Mom has them all in my "hope chest").
*Visit From Santa: Santa w/Polar Bear (09), Santa w/Deer (10) - this is one I started last year.
*Mickey's Christmas Carol: Mickey as Bob Cratchit (09), Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge (10) - another I started last year...one of my favorite Christmas movies!!

New this year: *Frosty Fun Decade - "Look forward to ten years of fun with this frosty new ornament series. A different snowman will arrive each year to help commemorate the season.
*Oh So Sweet - "Each ornament in this new series will feature a delightfully decorated cupcake."
*STAR TREK™ Legends: "Each of the ornaments in this new series will feature a different character from the original STAR TREK™ television series." (This is a maybe. It'd be for Stephen, but he's not a fan of the original series...he's more of a "Next Generation"-er.)

Potential pick ups:
*Season's Treatings - this is only on the second year. The only problem...all the online prices for last year's are about $100!! This year's ornament is only $10.95. Last year's is apparently very hard to find and very popular...all it has on it is a couple mini cookies and rolling pin stamped with 2009. We'll see how that goes.
*Santa's Sweet Ride - on it's 4th year.

It's just too cute!! Only problem is it's four years in, and I'm not really a Santa person. If it hadn't been for the polar bear (and promise of future animals), I probably wouldn't have started the "Visit from Santa" series. I'm not fully committed to this one: 07 found Santa in a car, 08 was a plane, and 09 was a boat. I can't imagine there's much left in the transportation industry. We'll see...

And there you have it...one of my many addictions that I am refusing to seek help for (unless it's monetary help in the form of you giving me money to buy these!). On another day, I'll discuss a current, year-round addiction: Vinylmation!!