Terri Koike’s collection of Hallmark Keepsake ornaments lives up to the name. The more than 500 pieces are reminders of family milestones and memories.

Koike, an administrative specialist at the city Division of Urban Forestry, began her collection in 1987, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, who used to frequent the old Hallmark store at the Koko Marina shopping center before he died in 1993.

"It was probably just something that caught his eye. He didn’t have a lot of them but I do remember that he had several Frosty Friends ornaments, and that’s why I collect those ones each year," Koike said.

"I’m sure if he was still alive, we would have so many ornaments we wouldn’t know where to put them all."

Koike neatly stores her collection in seven large bins. It grows a bit each year with the purchase of eight to 10 new ornaments.

"I take things out of the boxes and touch and use them," she said. "I never saw the sense collecting things and leaving them on a shelf."

There are ornaments commemorating each of her three son’s first Christmases, and others feature characters from their favorite movies, including "Harry Potter," "Star Wars," "Finding Nemo" and others.

Disney’s Winnie the Pooh is Koike’s favorite character. "I always make sure I buy at least two a year," she said.

She purchased the Snowman Band set — snowy characters playing the trombone, trumpet, saxophone and keyboard — because all of her boys are interested in music.

"My kids play these instruments, so these ones are special," she said.

Another cherished ornament is a bell from "The Polar Express" children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg.

"There’s nothing particularly special about it. It’s just a bell on a ribbon, but it brings back memories of reading that book to my kids every Christmas when they were young," she said.

"It represents the belief in Santa. You can’t hear the bell if you don’t believe. I still believe in the magic of Christmas. And I still read the book to myself every year."

Hallmark’s Crayola series, introduced in 1989, is among Koike’s favorite series. She said the replica of the big box of 64 crayons reminds her of school days.

"My parents used to buy us the 64-pack of crayons with the sharpener in the back," she said.

Others in the series include a mouse in a Crayola airplane, a teddy bear on a sled and Crayola’s 100th anniversary ornament of a rotating Ferris wheel.

The keepsake ornaments are used to decorate a large Christmas tree and a tabletop tree in Koike’s home. She chooses to display different ornaments from her collection each year. Although her intention was to create sets for her sons to keep and cherish over the years, she said they’re not really interested.

"I only have boys, so they think I’m kinda crazy," Koike said.

She is not alone in her passion for Hallmark ornaments. The Hawaii Keepsake Collectors Club, founded by Bal Patterson last summer, had 22 members at last count.

"I wanted to get together and be in touch with a great bunch of like-minded collectors who love the holidays as much as I do," Patterson said.

The club meets quarterly at Mark’s Hallmark Shop at Kahala Mall.

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Find the Hawaii Keepsake Collectors Club on Facebook or email hawaiikeepsakecollectorsclub@gmail.com.
 

Possessed is an occasional series featuring Hawaii residents and their unique or fascinating collections. Tell us about your collection by emailing features@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4892.