Whether you’re a fan of the vintage blow molds, the new ones, or some of each, this is really an exciting year to be a collector! In addition to so many of the fun character molds from the past couple years, including the new Snowman Mickey and Minions, Walmart went Full Speed Ahead with their lineup of at least 11 exclusive blow mold models this year with some timeless models. One especially hard to find blow mold is the Holiday Time Blowmold C9 Christmas Tree (Retail $69), a super-size blow mold version of the vintage ceramic tree so many have loved for generations.
This one seems to strike a balance between the new and the old, and a few weeks back I naively showed my wife an online picture of the tree. She quickly fell in love with it & gave me clear direction that I must find one for her. I checked our Walmarts & nearby towns when able for nearly a month, both in person and online, and there was no sign of the coveted tree anywhere. I was starting to lose hope that I would be able to find one this year! After some encouragement from fellow Blow Mold collectors like Louie Murillo with insight about tracking down the tree in the Walmart app, I set out again to obtain one for my personal collection. Thankfully, after much online sleuthing, I found a store in Denver who had one in stock. I contacted a colleague in Denver who isn’t a collector themselves (and also not too judgey to pick up a Christmas tree for me in October). After ordering online for pickup at that Denver store, the walmart app allowed me to list her name as the pickup person. She indicated the store experience was smooth, attached the prepaid UPS label I had emailed her, and dropped it at UPS 2 days ago. Today, my Blow Mold Christmas tree arrived!
Below is a description of the tree and what I discovered when unpacking it for the first time. For reference, the box itself is 31” tall, 21” wide and 20” deep. Even with my corporate UPS discount, it was almost $40 to ship, so finding a friend to ship it is definitely not a budget option!
In unpacking the tree, there is a tray on top where the insertable star and detachable power supply are located. Helpful instructions are included.
As you can see, there isn’t really any protection of the tree inside the box, except for the box itself and the cardboard tray up top. This is another reason why shipping is potentially problematic. Thankfully, while my box has a large gash in it from shipping, the tree itself appeared unharmed.
The bottom of the tree has a very large access panel with four screws holding it in. This made me optimistic about adding a light to the middle to illuminate the entire tree as well.
After removing the panel and seeing the interesting mess of existing wires, I decided it was best to leave well enough alone at this point as not to risk damaging any of the factory wiring.
My wife was also looking at me in horror as I took the panel off this tree she was claiming as her potentially new favorite blow mold, so that may have dissuaded me just a bit too…
After assembling the power supply as directed (I assume it was as directed. I’ve assembled similar ones many times & I didn’t actually read the directions… that would use up one of my 2 direction-reading passes of the year, and Christmas toy assembly is still upon us so I better save them!) I plugged in the tree. Note that the star is separate and it inserts in the top of the tree. The star is directional so if you insert it backwards, it won’t light up. There is an “A” sticker on the star and an “A” sticker on the tree. as long as those are both on the same side, the star should light up. (Apparently you’re not supposed to spin the star in the socket so a word of caution not to try that… well, I did read the warning section)
The bulbs on the tree light up beautifully, much like the bulbs on the vintage ceramic trees do, and the star glows nicely atop this delightful piece. Overall, the tree seems pretty sturdy. The bulbs on the tree could potentially be a breaking hazard, as they really aren’t designed to bear the weight of the tree so if it blows over or is dropped, I could see those breaking without too much trouble. Still, they seem firm enough to withstand some lighter punishment and hopefully will last for years to come if we can keep the riff-raff away or avoid unnecessary Blow Mold injuries!
In the end, my wife loves it and this tree is now her new favorite blow mold, which is extremely important to me as she hasn’t parked in the garage now in over a year because of all the blow molds so I was running a serious deficit in the “blow molds are a great part of our life” department! The timeless style from a new Blow Mold like this is encouraging, and it is great to know there is at least one designer and a buyer out there somewhere that has a little style, taste, and some idea of what the Blow Mold collecting community is looking for.
If you haven’t found one yet, don’t give up. You can follow Louie’s advice to scan the tree’s barcode in your Walmart app and then change store locations until you find one with a price on the tree or an indication of availability. I had to go through over 25 stores before I found one so you have to be patient and persistent (and hopefully know someone that lives close enough to where you find one). For folks that know stores that have them, please feel free to leave locations in the comments to help those who are still looking.
I hope you’re able to add some enjoyable pieces to your collection or display this year, and we’d love to hear about them. Drop us a note or a message and let us know what you’re adding this year.
Thanks for reading, and happy blowmolding!
Eric
Co-Owner
Blow Mold Store
p.s. The UPC image for the tree is below, in case you need it:
3 comments
Hi! I recently purchased an over 5 foot snowman (2 pieces) with a motor inside. the shovel that is supposed to come out of his hand is missing, so I’m not sure what motion is supposed to be happening. Have you ever seen one that is whole? Thanks so much!
I just saw someone selling one for 125$. I’m in desperate search of the tree but will keep holding out hope. I love this one.
I saw (4) at one Walmart before Black Friday I thought it was larger ceramic tree until I grab the box and discovered it was light weight. I read the box BLOW MOLD and quickly placed it in my basket with GREAT EXCITEMENT!
I found a TREASURE and continued looking around store debating if I should buy (2)🤔. Another shopper looked at my basket and commented that nice but to store. I told her it’s a Blow Mold she said I collected them is there another I said (3) more she QUICKLY darted that way and I went just to see if she loaded one in her cart. She sure did! I ended up purchasing (2). I buy things in pairs.
I enjoyed reading your story. The Love for Blow Molds!!!