Heart of
Christmas
Five Hallmark ornaments — the complete Heart of Christmas series, 1990 through 1994. Each one a little red heart with an open-latch mechanism that reveals a Christmas scene inside. Santa filling the stockings. Bringing home the tree. Decorating the tree. A sleigh ride. A family Christmas dinner. Five years of Christmas tradition, hidden inside five red hearts. Open them up.
The Open-Latch Heart — The Series' Most Distinctive Feature
The Heart of Christmas series is designed around a single clever idea: a red heart-shaped ornament with an open-latch mechanism — "little red hearts that you can open up and inside is a Christmas scene." The heart hangs on the tree like any ornament when closed. When you open the latch, the heart opens to reveal a miniature three-dimensional Christmas scene inside — a tiny domestic tableau behind the red heart exterior. Each of the five entries hides a different scene: Santa at the stockings, the family bringing home the tree, decorating it, a sleigh ride, the Christmas dinner. The heart-as-locket format makes every entry interactive — an ornament you open rather than just look at.
"Little Red Hearts That You Can Open Up" — The Christmas Inside
The Heart of Christmas series ran from 1990 through 1994 — five entries, one per year, each a heart-shaped ornament with an open-latch mechanism revealing a Christmas scene inside. The five scenes together form a complete Christmas narrative: the stockings are filled (#1, 1990); the family brings home the tree (#2, 1991); they decorate it (#3, 1992); they take a sleigh ride through the winter (#4, 1993); and finally they sit down together for the Christmas dinner (#5, 1994). From Christmas Eve preparations to the Christmas meal — the entire holiday arc, told across five red hearts over five years.
The series is noted for its "intricate details and meaningful messages that capture the essence of the holiday season" — the tiny scenes inside each heart are fully realized miniature rooms and landscapes, not simple flat images but three-dimensional scenes that reward close inspection when the latch is opened. The eBay listings for the 1994 final entry describe it specifically as "Heart of Christmas Collector Series Open Latch Family Home Holiday Ornament" — confirming the open-latch mechanism as the series' defining feature. All five entries of the complete series — every scene in the five-year Christmas narrative — are here at Already Christmas.
"The Heart of Christmas series started in 1990 and continued for five years. This series features little red hearts that you can open up and inside is a Christmas scene. This is a rather cute little series."
— The Ornament Shop, Heart of Christmas series description · #1–5 · 1990–1994 · Open-latch red heart ornaments · Christmas scene inside each
Tips for the Complete Collection
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01Open the latch when displaying — the scene inside is the whole point of this series. The Heart of Christmas ornaments hang on the tree looking like simple red heart ornaments when closed. The open-latch mechanism is what makes them special: when you release the latch, the heart opens to reveal the miniature Christmas scene inside. Display them open on forward-facing branches where guests can see both the red heart exterior and the scene inside. A closed Heart of Christmas ornament is just a red ornament; an open one is a tiny world.
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02Display in number sequence — the five scenes tell a complete Christmas story from start to finish. The scenes form a narrative: Santa fills the stockings (#1) → family brings home the tree (#2) → they decorate it (#3) → they take a sleigh ride (#4) → they sit down to Christmas dinner (#5). In sequence from #1 to #5 the five hearts tell the entire arc of Christmas day. Display them left to right in order and the storytelling is unmistakable.
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03All 5 Heart of Christmas Hallmark ornaments — the complete 1990–1994 series — are at Already Christmas. All five scenes. All five red hearts. Open them up. All here.
Every Heart of Christmas Hallmark Keepsake
Five hearts. Five scenes. Five years of Christmas. Click any to shop.
Five red hearts, each with a latch. Open the first one — Santa at the fireplace, filling the stockings, 1990. Open the second — the family bringing the tree home through the snow, 1991. The third — decorating it, 1992. The fourth — a sleigh ride through the winter, 1993. The fifth — the family around the Christmas dinner table, 1994, the series complete. Five years of the heart of Christmas, hidden inside five little red hearts. Open them up. All five here.
✦ Part of our Collection: Hallmark Holiday Scene Collector Series, Explored ✦