Many establishments, including department stores and gift shops, have been selling snow baby sculptures for years. These ornaments and sculptures represent infants in a variety of wintry and Christmastime settings and range in price from well under $10 to well over $100. You can check out eBay, Young’s Ltd, or Department 56 to see what these ornaments cost. Each year, new Snowbabies are born, and after a year or so, they are put to rest. In particular, the original packaging for a model that has been discontinued can greatly increase its market worth.
The original Snowbabies were produced by Department 56, a Minnesota-based collectibles manufacturer, in 1986. Collectors of Snowbabies have been around since the toys were first released, thus the retirement of special and rare designs is especially meaningful to them.
The Original Snow Babies Collectibles
Carouselgifts states that in the 1890s, German confectioner Johann Moll produced the forerunners to modern Snowbabies as reusable cake toppers. Their appearance was inspired by sugar dolls that were popular in the early nineteenth century. While the original manufacturers were Hertwig and Company, other German porcelain houses quickly began turning out copies.
Catalogues from 1914 referred to Snowbabies as “Alaska Tots.” Back then, these exquisite one-and-three-quarter inch figures were sold at 90 cents a dozen. These objects are becoming increasingly rare and fetch anything from $50 to $100, depending on the position.
Classic Snowbabies
Department 56’s classic Snowbabies collection comprises all Snowbabies that aren’t part of any other special collections, such as regular figurines, music boxes and water globes. The legendary collection began with the first snow babies and continues today, with one example being 2006’s “Christmas Caravan.” If you own a classic Snowbaby, hold on to it, since it may be worth substantially more in a few years than it is today.
Miniature Snowbaby Ornaments
Miniature Snowbabies are some of the smallest ornaments ever manufactured by the firm. Production began in 1998 and ceased in 2004. For the most part, these figurines were released annually during the holiday season and had an ivory ribbon with the name “Snowbabies” stitched in gold or silver thread. Often hung as a tree ornament using the ribbon, each mini-Snowbaby was specifically designed to communicate a sentiment of love, friendship or inspiration. Currently, miniature Snowbabies cost $35.87 on average.
Most Desirable Snowbabies
The oldest and most prized Snowbabies from a collector’s point of view were created in Germany with the utmost care and made in restricted quantities. For instance, the faces of the Heubach’s figurines often look more lifelike in compared to those manufactured subsequently in Japan and other locations. Moreover, Snowbabies displaying blue snow are considered quite valuable, as they’re difficult to obtain — unlike those portraying animals, Santa Claus or “snow” porcelain crumbs. These trinkets aren’t official Snowbabies, but they’re often sold and displayed alongside the real thing because of how similar they seem. The value of these can sometimes exceed that of their name-brand counterparts.
Comparison of Snow Babies’ Increasing Worth Over Time
Maybe you’re wondering if the price of new snowbabies will rise over time. Only other collectors tend to be interested in modern figurines, therefore their value rarely rises over the initial purchase price. However, there are crossover collecting lures to be found in limited figurines created in smaller runs and rare valuable figures.
