Ornament Review: Cool Yule - Frosty Friends #1 - 1980 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Cute beginning to a popular series

Cons: A bit simple overall; tips forward

The Bottom Line:

Cool, cute ornament

Popular series starts here

Humble beginning

Frosty Friends is Off to a Cool Yule Start

It would be easy to argue that Frosty Friends is the most popular series Hallmark has ever produced.  This series will celebrate it's 40th anniversary, and this little Eskimo and his animal friends are still finding great ways to have fun together.  The other items that Hallmark produces with the characters sell well each year, too.  Yet it all got a very quiet start with the charming Cool Yule.

This ornament features Frosty (the Eskimo) sitting next to a polar bear on a block of ice.  They are holding songbooks with red and green covers.  They are obviously having a blast singing together since they both have such smiles on their faces.  If you turn the ornament around, you'll find that there are musical notes and scribbles on the book.

And this ornament really is that simple.  It's almost hard to believe such a popular series spawned from it.  Yet you can see the charm, here.  Frosty is cute sitting next to his friend.  While this isn't my favorite in the series, I can see the appeal.

Speaking of series, this is the only one in the series to have a name other than Frosty Friends.  In fact, Frosty Friends doesn't appear anywhere on the box, and there is no series marker on the ornament anywhere.  Obviously, they decided to turn this into a series after they realized how popular it would be, which turned out to be a great decision.  You can find 1980, the year the ornament came out on the front of the block of ice under the words Merry Christmas.

They’ve also changed up Frosty’s look.  The parka is a lighter shade, and the bands are wider and in a different order than what Frosty is wearing now.  It’s interesting to see how the series started out verses the well defined characteristics the series has now.

Since Frosty and friend are sitting on a block of ice, it should come as no surprise that this ornament has a flat base.  You can easily set this one out to be displayed.  The loop for hanging the ornament is attached to Frosty, and you'll find this ornament does tip forward noticeably.

Because this series has proved to be popular, this ornament has become one of the most sought-after ornaments for many collectors.  As a result, the price continues to be high.  But if you are patient, you might be able to track one down without breaking the bank too much.  You'll probably still pay quite a bit for this one, however.

Even though I find others in the series to be better, I still find Cool Yule to be fun.  It's amazing to think about all that has followed from this relatively simple ornament.

Want to know what else came from this ornament?  Check out the rest of the Frosty Friends series.

Original Price: $6.50