Well here it is Friday the 13th, 2012 and I’m almost two weeks late with the first blahg of this year. 
It’s snowing like crazy here after a day of freezing rain yesterday. Today is as good a day as any to get this topic started. If you read my last blahg of 2011, and if you didn’t then I want to know why because the link is at the top of this page, then you will recall that one of my regrets of 2011 was not obtaining the 2011 Carlton Cards Sinatra Ornament. Over the past two weeks I’ve been looking into that ornament and discovered something significant about it. I will get to that a little later. First, I thought I’d show you my entire Carlton Cards Sinatra Ornament collection…incomplete as it is.
Carlton Cards, a subsidiary or reseller or whatever of American Greetings, first began issuing a musical Sinatra ornament in 1999. 
Since then, there has been a Sinatra ornament for every year except 2009. You can see my incomplete collection in the picture at the left. (Don’t forget you can click on the images to get a larger view.) See that empty spot at the upper right or upper left? That’s where the 2011 ornament should be. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I thought that maybe I’d take you on a tour of each individual ornament in my collection before I reveal the mystery of 2011.
Back in 1999, Carlton Cards issued their first musical Sinatra ornament with the title of “Ol’ Blue Eyes”. 
Sinatra is depicted standing in front of a poster for his own appearance at The Hollywood Bowl on Saturday August 14th. Sinatra did indeed play The Hollywood Bowl on August 14th, 1943. A recording of that concert exists among collectors. The following description appears on the back of the ornament box:
Frank Sinatra’s appearance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1943 was an historic one indeed. The venue was traditionally reserved exclusively for highbrow music, but after weeks of public controversy, Bowl directors agreed to book Sinatra for one night. 10,000 fans packed the house as Sinatra crooned his “Dancing in the Dark, “Night and Day,” “You’ll Never Know” and “The Songs Is You.” He finished with “All or Nothing at All” and was given a standing ovation. It was a moment for the memory books as “The Sultan of Swoon” conquered another of America’s famous arenas.
There is a small button on the ornament, as there is on all of the ornaments, and when pressed, it plays an excerpt from “The Christmas Waltz”:
It was a good start to the collection even though the image of Sinatra here is ten to twenty years older than he was when he performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1943.
The second ornament appeared in 2000 with the title “Swingin’ Sounds of Christmas”. 
It represents Sinatra in the studio in the 1950s or early 1960s. From the box:
Just like each snowflake that falls from the sky, Frank Sinatra was one of a kind! For 60 years, Ol’ Blue Eyes entertained America, reaching uncompromising fame as a music legend and Oscar-winning actor.
First heard on radio in 1935, Sinatra created an unmistakable sound and style with his smooth baritone voice, crooning his way into the hearts of generations of fans. From a teen idol to a show-business icon, immortalized by a string of popular songs and memorable film roles, Sinatra will forever be remembered as “The Voice,” the “Chairman of the Board,” and the man who “did it my way.”
In keeping with the giant snowflake depicted behind Sinatra, the ornament plays an excerpt of “Let It Snow”.
2001 saw the introduction of “Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas”. 
It was not one of the best images of Sinatra. Here he appears squat with a big head. The write up on the box wasn’t any better than the image:
Join Frank in Las Vegas as he casually flips a poker chip and offers one of his signature songs, “Luck Be A Lady, Tonight!” During the early sixties, Frank Sinatra and a small group of entertainers known as The Rat Pack held court night after night at The Sands Hotel in Vegas. Their actions and antics made news as they headlined and reigned over the entertainment industry.
Frank, Dean, Sammy, and Peter (Sinatra, Martin, Davis and Lawford to be specific), the names on the marquee, never referred to themselves as The Rat Pack. They were The Summit. The description even neglects to mention Joey Bishop! When it comes to the song played by the ornament, it was incorrectly identified in the description and is simply known as “Luck Be A Lady”.
On to 2002 and we have The Voice back in the studio. The image is a little better one of Sinatra. At least he has his signature fedora. 
The write up on the box, for the first time, mentions the song the ornament will play:
The world will never forget the wonderful voice and the unique style of Frank Sinatra. He appears here, as a Carlton Heirloom Collection ornament, in a miniature recording studio complete with microphone and silhouetted musicians, poised to do what he does best — sing!
Press the button on the bottom of the ornament and hear old blue eyes belt out “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
Not only does Sinatra have his signature fedora, he’s singing one of his signature songs, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”.
The 2003 ornament finds Sinatra in another city that has been so closely associated with him. This time he’s in New York! 
Against a backdrop of famous New York City landmarks, legendary crooner Frank Sinatra sings his 1980 hit, “New York, New York.” This ornament will be sure to add a special touch of Broadway glitz to your tree this holiday season.
The image is a little young here for Sinatra, or half a Sinatra as the case may be, because he didn’t record “New York, New York” until 1979 when he was almost 64 years old. Still it’s a nice looking ornament and a great but abbreviated song.
Back in 2004 it was back to a full sized Sinatra. This is the only ornament to depict Sinatra in a white tuxedo jacket. 
The Sinatra portrayed here reminds me of the Sinatra swaggering through the role of Joe E. Lewis in the film “The Joker is Wild.” Presented with the title “Ol’ Blue Eyes” the description on the box reads:
No one sings a love song quite like Frank Sinatra, and this illuminated ornament captures the romance and grace of the crooner’s famous vocal stylings. Known simply as “The Voice,” Sinatra performs a delightful rendition of his hit song “Fly Me to the Moon” and this swingin’ ornament is sure to make any Sinatra fan’s Christmas the brightest one yet!
This is one of only two ornaments that ‘illuminate’. The clear plastic backdrop lights up along the bottom of the ornament while Sinatra swings “Fly Me To The Moon”.
2005 brought us another illuminated Carlton Sinatra ornament. 
This time it’s the 50s Young At Heart Sinatra in a romantic mood next to a lamppost that lights as he sings. Notice the silhouette of the lovers who are probably dancing to a Sinatra song.
“Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you’re young at heart.” The sweet lyrics to “Young at Heart” were first heard as the title song for the movie by the same name, where Sinatra played the part of cynical Barney Sloan. Second in the By The Light of the Moon series, this ornament features a suave Sinatra leaning against a street lamp that glows when he sings. With Frank’s dreamy voice center stage, romance is definitely in the air!
If you haven’t seen the movie “Young At Heart” you are missing out on a great film starring Sinatra & Doris Day. It would be the only movie they would make together and the only one you’re likely to see open with the lush voice of Sinatra singing the title song.
Sinatra is back with his swagger in 2006 with a trench-coat draped over his shoulder and his hat cocked at an angle. 
Now it’s the “Night and Day Sinatra” singing under the sun, the moon, and the stars. Although it’s a pose similar to some of his iconic record covers, the face sculpture reminds me more of Bing Crosby.
Listen to some great lyrics from “Night and Day” by the extraordinary crooner Frank Sinatra in this third ornament in the By The Light of the Moon series. It captures a classic Sinatra pose — that familiar glance, a tip of the hat and a coat slug over his shoulder. He’s on top of the world and knows exactly what he wants — night and day.
The description sums it up best. Sinatra was a swinger and so is the song:
Frank Sinatra made a return engagement to the Hollywood Bowl in 2007 in the form of a recycled Carlton Ornament. The 2007 Ornament was an exact replica of the 1999 edition but where that one had a red base, this one is blue. The only other significant difference is in the song that is played when you press the button. This time around it’s “All of Me”:
The ornament is the exact same size as the one issued in 1999 but the packaging is smaller and there would be no further write up on the box this year or in subsequent years.
In 2008 we see the reappearance of a half Sinatra although much bigger than the 2003 New York version. Here we have the young Frankie of the Bobby Sox years. Not only is it a half size Sinatra but the rich voice of Sinatra has been replaced with an instrumental version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”:
The ornament is a fairly decent likeness of the young Sinatra but the bold colours of his jacket and tie are a little off-putting.
There was no ornament in 2009 put out by Carlton Cards or American Greetings. Instead, Hallmark would bring out their own ornament for Christmas that bore the likeness of a festive tree and not Sinatra himself. The only reason this ornament is considered a Sinatra related item is that it does play a snippet of Sinatra’s version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”
In 2010 Sinatra made his return to Carlton Cards. The ornament that year was an elegantly dressed Sinatra in a black tuxedo. I’m not sure why Carlton Cards failed to issue an ornament in 2009 but I was glad to see the 2010 ornament bring Sinatra back with style and his own voice. No instrumental this year. It’s Sinatra himself and like the year for this ornament, “It Was A Very Good Year.”
So now this brings us to 2011 and the mystery of the 2011 Carlton Cards Sinatra Ornament. In the fall of 2011, my local Carlton Cards store began to stock displays for the 2011 line of Christmas ornaments. 
There was a nice place card picture for the 2011 Sinatra ornament that showed Sinatra rushing about with his Christmas packages. The image was familiar to me as the same image appears on the cover of Sinatra’s classic Capitol album “A Jolly Christmas”. Needless to say I was excited about adding this ornament to my collection
I always wait until nearer to Christmas or Boxing Day so I can pick up the ornament for less than the full cost. In Canada the ornaments usually run between $35 and $40 so a savings of 50% to 75% always inspires me to wait. On Boxing Day my wife ventured out to buy the ornament but found that there were none in stock. I was disappointed but I thought I would try another Carlton Cards store near Toronto. No luck there either. I couldn’t believe the ornament was sold out. I knew I’d have to bite the bullet and try ordering it at full price from an online source.
Carlton Cards and American Greetings do not sell these ornaments through their websites and the Canadian version of Amazon does not stock them either. I looked to Ebay and found a couple that were going for more than twice the retail value. When I checked the description posted by the sellers, they both noted that the ornament was rare because it had been recalled. I was not aware of any recall. I just assumed the Carlton Cards stores that I had visited had sold all of their stock. I emailed a few Sinatra collectors that I know and they were lucky to have purchased theirs in the fall of 2011 in the United States and knew nothing of a recall either. I went back to my local Carlton Cards store and inquired about the ornament. The Manager was very nice and she informed me that she didn’t know about a recall but that she had never received any stock of the Sinatra 2011 ornament. She referred me to American Greetings and their online site for further inquiries.
I will cut this short by telling you that I have received two different responses from American Greetings. The first came from someone in Public Relations:
All of the Sinatra ornaments were pulled from retail locations, due to a production error with the piece. Unfortunately there won’t be a Sinatra Ornament available for consumers from the 2011 program.
The second response was from Consumer Relations:
The 2011 Frank Sinatra Heirloom Ornament was recalled by the licensor because they were not happy with the final product. The ornament is not available for purchase from American Greetings or any of its retailers because of the recall. The ornament may be available for purchase from private owners as there were some sold before the recall. You’ll need to check the auctions web sites such as EBay or Amazon to determine the availability.
The same company and two very similar responses. Something was wrong with the product and they were not happy with the final product. I have received emails from other Sinatra collectors who have the ornament and they find no flaw in the product. I don’t own one, although I desperately want one, so I cannot comment on the product itself.
There was a video circulating of someone who had one and the ornament looked fine to me although Sinatra’s skin tone appears a little dark:
So what’s the mystery? I don’t know. Is it a copyright issue related to the image from “A Jolly Christmas”? :format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-4140776-1531865914-6380.jpeg.jpg)
If you look at the image on the left of the cover, it is identical to the design of the 2011 ornament. Is it a musical copyright issue? The same version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” that was used for the 2009 Hallmark ornament is reused here in 2011 by Carlton. Again, I don’t know. I’m sure someone at American Greetings knows the answer but they’re not telling. Hopefully we’ll see a 2012 Carlton Cards Sinatra Ornament but, for now, like the proverbial bucket, my collection has hole in it.
Tags: AMERICAN GREETINGS, CARLTON CARDS, FRANK SINATRA, HALLMARK, ORNAMENT