Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Hang more than 3,000 ornaments on a tree and people might watch it fall over from the weight. But hang more than 3,000 in your store and people will flock to see them and sometimes spend hours poring over the different choices.
The Party Shop in the Lake Village Shopping Center in Warsaw is home to the only complete Hallmark Keepsake ornaments collection on display in the country, according to Dorothy Snyder, co-owner of the business with her husband, Norm.
Hallmark introduced its Keepsake ornaments in 1973 with 18 designs. Each year, new ornaments are added and, in 1997, more than 200 new designs are available. Although about five or six people in the United States also have all of the ornaments, The Party Shop is the only place they can be seen all at once. In fact, even the visitor center in the Hallmark headquarters at Kansas City, Mo., only displays about 1,200 of the ornaments.
A recent expansion at the business will allow cases to be installed for another six to seven years worth of ornament displays.
"As the line grows, there is a greater variety for people to enjoy," said David Hamrick, store manager and curator of the Keepsake museum. "We enjoy watching the kids and finding out why they like certain ones."
One of this year's most popular choices is the Lone Ranger lunchbox, which is already sold out, most likely because of the nostalgia associated with it, Hamrick said.
Hamrick and the Snyders agree that the ornaments are something families tend to do together, both as an activity in which they can share and as a way to introduce youngsters to the world of collecting.
Because the ornaments are collectibles, the rarer ones tend to increase in value. For instance, a tin locomotive originally selling for $9 in 1979 goes for $650 today.
Someone looking for a particular ornament to complete a collection or to replace a lost or broken one can rely on the folks at The Party Shop to either have it or to locate it elsewhere. If the ornament, regardless of age, is among the stock items (there are plenty in various years), the customer will pay the retail price. However, if it must be purchased from another source, it will carry a heftier price tag, depending on the cost to procure it by The Party Shop.
Hamrick boosts his ability to find requested ornaments via the Internet, where The Party Shop has a web page at thepartyshop.com. Although orders are not taken online, collectors can e-mail the store with information about the ornaments they are looking for. He also is a member of a local Hallmark Keepsake Collector's Club, of which the national club has more than 200,000 members.
Since Hallmark doesn't ship outside of the United States, it is not uncommon to receive fax and e-mail inquiries from overseas, including Australia, South Africa and India.
In addition to the Hallmark ornaments, The Party Shop carries other collectibles, including Department 56 Christmas village pieces, Snowbabies, Fontanini nativity figures and more.
The Christmas village and other holiday items are on display year round at The Party Shop.
