Sesame
Street
Eight Hallmark ornaments for the street where the air is sweet — a collection born from the show's 50th Anniversary in 2019 and growing ever since. Big Bird by the lamp post, the theme song playing when you press the button. Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck. Oscar the Grouch warning curious kids away from the presents. Tickle Me Elmo, motion-activated. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
The 50th Anniversary Launch — Why 2019 Was the Beginning
Hallmark had produced Muppet character ornaments since the early 1980s — but had never produced Sesame Street character ornaments until 2019, when the company acquired the Sesame Workshop license specifically to celebrate the show's 50th Anniversary. Sesame Street premiered on PBS on November 10, 1969 — created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop). The 50th anniversary in 2019 was celebrated with three simultaneous Hallmark launch ornaments: Big Bird (Magic Light & Sound), Cookie Monster, and Elmo. The collection has grown with two to three new entries per year since.
"Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" — 50 Years, Then Eight Ornaments
Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969 on PBS — and changed children's television permanently. The show was the first to use research from educational psychologists and child development experts to shape its content, the first to present racially diverse human characters as the consistent neighborhood, and the first to integrate live action with puppet characters in a way that made the puppets feel like genuine inhabitants of the same world. The Muppets created by Jim Henson for Sesame Street — Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, and eventually Elmo — became among the most recognizable characters in children's media worldwide. "Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away" is the opening line of the theme song, written by Joe Raposo, Jeff Moss, and Sam Pottle; it was recorded with Carol Spinney (who performed Big Bird) among others in 1969 and has been the street's calling card ever since.
The Hallmark Sesame Street Keepsake collection opened in 2019 with three simultaneous entries honoring the show's 50th birthday — Big Bird at 5.05 inches tall by the street lamp of 123 Sesame Street, with the lamp illuminating and the theme song playing at the press of a button; Cookie Monster in his iconic blue; and Elmo in his equally iconic red. The collection has added two to three entries per year since, covering Cookie Monster's Foodie Truck in 2020, Elmo with his puppy Tango and Oscar the Grouch's brilliantly conceived Peekbuster in 2022, Tickle Me Elmo in 2024, and the 2025 Skating with Elmo. Fifty-five years of Sesame Street, six years of Hallmark Keepsakes, the same characters who have been teaching children since 1969 now hanging from the Christmas tree.
"Features everyone's favorite yellow feathered friend, Big Bird, standing by a street lamp on 'Sesame Street.' Press the button on the ornament to see the street lamp illuminate and hear the Sesame Street song, 'Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?'"
— Hallmark Digital Dreambook, 2019 Sesame Street Celebrating 50 Years · QXI3727 · Big Bird Magic Light & Sound · 3.6" W × 5.05" H × 2.7" D
Tips for the Collection
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01The 2019 Big Bird is the collection's centrepiece — give it the prominence the lamp post earns. At 5.05 inches tall and 3.6 inches wide, Big Bird standing by his street lamp is the largest ornament in the collection and the one that most rewards prominent placement. Hang it at eye level on an outer branch with enough space that the full lamp post reads clearly. Press the button: the lamp lights up and "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" plays. A collector who gave it as a gift wrote that "my grandson runs to the tree to push the button" every time. Position it where that's easy.
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02Hang the 2022 Oscar the Grouch Peekbuster near the presents — it is specifically designed for that location. The Oscar Peekbuster (QXI7296) is the collection's most conceptually ingenious entry: a motion-activated ornament that detects movement and plays Oscar's voice warning curious children not to peek at the gifts. The ornament has a clear intended location — near the gift pile, not the tree. Hang it within range of where the presents are placed and turn it on. When a child (or adult) walks too close, Oscar speaks. Three LR44 batteries included.
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03The 2019 launch trio — Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Elmo — display best together as the founding set. The three 2019 ornaments were released simultaneously as the 50th Anniversary launch collection. Display them on adjacent branches as a set: Big Bird at center with the lamp post, Cookie Monster to one side, Elmo to the other. They are the founding three and they were always designed to work as a group.
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04All 8 Sesame Street Hallmark ornaments — 2019 through 2025 — are at Already Christmas. Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, the Foodie Truck, Tango, Oscar the Grouch, Tickle Me Elmo, and Skating with Elmo. The street where the air is sweet. All eight here.
Every Sesame Street Hallmark Keepsake
Big Bird · Cookie Monster · Elmo · Oscar · Tango · Foodie Truck. Click any to shop.
Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969 — and Hallmark waited fifty years before making an ornament for it, acquiring the license specifically for the 50th Anniversary. Big Bird standing by the lamp post at 123 Sesame Street, 5.05 inches tall, the theme song playing at the press of a button. Cookie Monster. Elmo. The Foodie Truck in 2020. Elmo with his puppy Tango in 2022. Oscar the Grouch detecting motion near the gifts and warning curious children not to peek. Tickle Me Elmo in 2024. Elmo on skates in 2025. Eight ornaments. The street where the air is sweet. Can you tell me how to get there? All eight here.
✦ Part of our Collection: PBS & Sesame Workshop Hallmark Series, Explored ✦