I admit it, I'm obsessed with Department 56. I've always loved the village displays at Yankee Candle in Deerfield, MA. That's where it started. From Christmas in the City, to Dickens' Village, to the original Snow Village and the whimsical North Pole village, they struck a chord with me, reminding me of how I've loved Christmas since I was a child.
When I first met my wife, she wasn't a Christmas nut like I am. She didn't think much of these expensive ceramic buildings either. She did, however, like Halloween, and so that's where it started. We both dove into collecting the original Snow Village Halloween set. We eventually built an amusement park-themed display, featuring the scaredy cat ferris wheel, spinning pumpkins, mummy carousel and more. She had her set, now it was time for me to select the one I was going to collect.
With a love of the movie, "A Christmas Story", when we spotted a set of buildings and accessories from Department 56 @ Sears, there was no choice. I had to have the entire set. My wife actually went and bought me the entire set (two years' worth of releases) over time. It was an exclusive at Sears -- I later found that no dealers sold this set. Soon she was helping to set up the display. I could tell she was starting to enjoy the villages.
Soon after our set was complete, we decided to expand our horizons. Which village to collect? More on that later...
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