Hello Kitty
Three Hallmark Keepsake ornaments for the most recognizable character in Sanrio's universe — the white cat with the red bow and no mouth, created in 1974 and still on trees fifty years later. Hello Kitty on a green sled in 2017. Hello Kitty poking her head from a gingerbread house in 2018, red bow dusted with glittery snow. All three sculpted by Orville Wilson. The red bow, always.
The Red Bow, the White Cat, and Fifty Years of Hello
Hello Kitty was designed by Yuko Shimizu and introduced by the Japanese company Sanrio in 1974 — first appearing on a small vinyl coin purse, sold in Japan in 1975. The design is precise in its simplicity: a white cat with a red bow on her left ear, a small yellow nose, no mouth. The absence of a mouth was a deliberate design decision — without a mouth, Hello Kitty cannot express a specific emotion, which means the viewer projects their own feelings onto the character. She is happy when you are happy. She is wistful when you are wistful. She is whatever you need her to be. It is a design philosophy that has made Hello Kitty one of the most commercially successful characters in history — estimated at over a billion dollars in merchandise annually across her fifty-year existence.
Hallmark's three Hello Kitty ornaments, released across 2016, 2017, and 2018, capture three different seasonal versions of the character. Each is sculpted by Orville Wilson, and each places Hello Kitty in a Christmas context that preserves everything essential about her: the white, the red bow, the rounded proportions. In 2017 she is seated on a green sled in a pink scarf and a red Santa's hat. In 2018 she is poking her head out of a gingerbread house with glittery snow on her bow and optional lighting when attached to a light string. The character is the same in every version. The red bow is always there.
"Fans of Hello Kitty will love displaying this adorable Christmas tree ornament. Our festive holiday decoration features the pop culture icon poking her head out of a gingerbread house, topped with her signature red bow and glittery snow. Ornament can be attached to a light string for an optional lighting effect."
— Hallmark product description, 2018 Sanrio Hello Kitty Gingerbread House · Artist: Orville Wilson · QXI3066 · 2.5" W × 3.6" H × 2.6" D · Dated 2018Orville Wilson — Three Hello Kitty Ornaments
Orville Wilson is one of Hallmark's most prolific Keepsake artists, with an extensive catalog that includes Disney Princess, Barbie, and numerous character-based Keepsake ornaments. His work on the Hello Kitty series spans all three entries — each one requiring him to translate a design that is famously two-dimensional (Hello Kitty's original character art is essentially flat, the character typically depicted face-forward with minimal depth) into a three-dimensional sculptural object at ornament scale. The challenge with Hello Kitty is the same challenge the original designers faced: the character's power is in her simplicity, and adding dimension risks adding specificity that works against the character's universal appeal. Wilson's three Hello Kitty ornaments navigate this by grounding the character in seasonal props — the sled, the Santa hat, the gingerbread house — that add context without overwriting the character herself.
Size: 3.35" × 4.55" × 3.90"
SKU: QXI3614 · Not Dated
The founding Hallmark Hello Kitty — the red bow, the white cat, the signature proportions.
Size: 2.0" H
SKU: QXI3615
Seated on a green wooden sled with red runners. Pink scarf, red Santa's hat, traditional red hair bow.
Size: 2.5" × 3.6" × 2.6"
SKU: QXI3066 · Dated 2018
Poking her head from a gingerbread house, red bow dusted with glittery snow. Optional light string attachment.
Tips for the Collection
-
01Display all three together — the consistent red bow makes them read as a set from across the room. All three Orville Wilson Hello Kitty ornaments share the character's signature visual: the white form, the red bow, the rounded proportions. Grouped on adjacent branches or on a single branch together, they read as a unified collection even though each one presents a different seasonal scenario. The red bow is the visual anchor that ties them.
-
02The 2018 Gingerbread House has an optional lighting effect — position it near a light strand. The 2018 ornament (QXI3066) can be attached to a standard miniature light string for an optional lighting effect. No batteries needed — the light string provides the illumination. The gingerbread house glows when lit. Position it close to a light strand so the optional feature can be activated.
-
03The 2016 entry is the largest and most visible of the three. At 3.35" × 4.55" × 3.90", the 2016 Hello Kitty is notably larger than the 2017 sled entry (2" H) and the 2018 gingerbread house (3.6" H). Display the 2016 on a sturdy outer branch where the size is an asset — it is the collection's primary ornament, the one most visible at a distance, the one to place at eye level.
-
04All 3 Hello Kitty Hallmark ornaments — 2016, 2017, and 2018 — are at Already Christmas. Three years, one red bow, Orville Wilson every time. The complete Hallmark Hello Kitty catalog.
Every Hello Kitty Hallmark Keepsake
The red bow. Always. Click any ornament to shop.
Yuko Shimizu designed her in 1974 without a mouth so that everyone could project their own emotions onto her. Orville Wilson gave her a sled in 2017 — pink scarf, red Santa's hat, green runners — and a gingerbread house in 2018, her red bow dusted with glittery snow and the optional glow of a light string through the house. Three ornaments, one red bow, fifty years of the same white cat who says hello. All three here.
✦ Part of our Collection: Sanrio & Pop Culture Hallmark Series, Explored ✦