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Elf: Buddy the Elf gets excited to see Santa again: Notes: There were many references to other holiday films and specials in this movie...I definitely recall the George Bailey reenactment of Buddy the Elf walking on the bridge; the Island of Misfit Toys reference when the animals are floating on the broken ice float, and even the park rangers paid homage to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, I believe. I know there are others, but thus far, my Google searches have been fruitless. What others have you seen? Please comment below. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Clark Griswold lights it up A Christmas Story: Ralphie's least favorite christmas gift

Department 56 baseball is a really fun collection for baseball fans and even fans who enjoy historical architecture. I've bought both the Yankee Stadium accent for my brother and the retired Yankee Stadium from Christmas in the City. I've purchased the Fenway Park accent as a gift as well. They're great, don't get me wrong, but I think D56 can do so much more. They can start with more stadiums, sold in regional areas as exclusives. I also would like to see a scale of the entire stadium from an overhead view as opposed to just the facade. I like the idea of doing the old time parks as opposed to the new sponsored stadiums. A "3com Park" piece just doesn't have the same ring to it as a classic "Ebbets Field". Here is my list of the next five stadiums Department 56 should make: 1: Camden Yards (1992-Current, Baltimore Orioles) 2: Jacobs Field (1994-Current, Cleveland Indians) 3: The Astrodome (1965-1999, Houston Astros) 4: Dodgers Stadium (1962-C

Matt Lake at age 14 and a high school freshman began this site. Matt, now out of college and fully employed, is an avid Dickens Village collector. Pictured at left is his 2003 Dickens' Village display. An excerpt from his home page: "My family and I have been collecting Dept. 56 Collectibles since Christmas of 1994. My collection has grown a GREAT deal since 1994. We currently collect the Dickens Village, Disney Parks Village, Christmas In The City, Snowbunnies, NOEL Christmas Tree Ornaments, Tiny Trimming Ornaments, Merry Maker Monks, Little Town of Bethlehem, Profile Series, and other unique collectibles that they make." Matt - that's a lot of collecting! Your D56 extravaganza website has a tremendous amount of great content and links connecting the D56 world. From his "frequently asked questions" page: "My mom always had a Christmas village, and I was intrigued by it. My brother and I used to help her set up the village every year. In December 1

What got you started collecting villages? A combination of loving miniatures, seeing villages in stores, my Mother's putz houses from my childhood. How many years have you been collecting? 10 years What is your favorite D56 series? North Pole How many displays do you build per year? Christmas is divided into 3-4-5 displays, halloween & fall, 3 easter baskets & may exclude carnival & harbor from these & do them as summer displays. Do you keep a list of all your pieces that you own? Yes, except a few small non-village accessories and handmade accessories. What's the latest piece you've bought? D56 Turkeys/Geese in the Field What's the first piece you bought? A cheap little house at the drug store. How many people have you turned on to D56 collecting? Probably not any. I'm pretty much the only one in my circle that does this. Do you keep track of values of the pieces or not? The retail price, not the sale price I paid. I haven't included the off-bra

I remember as a child seeing my brother's collection of models he had built from the classic "monsters of the movies" - Dracula , Frankenstein , Creature from the Black Lagoon , the Wolfman , and I also remember our cousin breaking them all. What a terrible disaster, I thought. It was a marvelous collection. These reflections must be what are making me want to collect Department 56's " Universal Studios Monsters " series, which includes "Dracula's Domain" (pictured left), " Dracula's Castle ", " Frankenstein's Laboratory ", and " Creature's Lair ". There was also the retired " classic monsters " series, which included " Dracula's Castle" , " Curse of the Wolfman ", and " Frankenstein's Monster ". At Super Stop and Shop I picked up four strecthy versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman and the Creature from the Black Lagoon . They were only $1.99 each and

Sears : multiple collectors have spotted pre-lit trees already up in their local Sears stores. One person has said the new Ralphie with broken glasses accessory from A Christmas Story is available now for $ 9.99. Others have said the "A Christmas Story" stuff went on sale September 16 last year. There goes my November 19 date...bad memory, I guess... Target : all of their Halloween merchandise is out, and some of their Christmas stuff is starting to trickle out, like Ornaments. One collector found many of the M&M ornaments. Home Goods : They have a few Department 56 items on sale. "The Toy Shop" and "Town Church" accents were $16 each.

What got you started collecting villages? At lunch with a friend from work and we walked into a Stats store in CA. We both fell in love with the Original Snow Village display and each bought the same house, the Morningside House. How many years have you been collecting? Over 15 years What is your favorite D56 series? Now, it is Christmas in the City How many displays do you build per year? A large Halloween display, at Christmas large mountain/outdoor scene of SV pieces, carnival, and CIC or NP Do you keep a list of all your pieces that you own? Yes and if I looked at it like I should, I wouldn't buy so many duplicates What's the latest piece you've bought? HOWL Radio and Franky's Hot Dogs How many people have you turned on to D56 collecting? Four Do you keep track of values of the pieces or not? Just have the latest Green Book value listed. When I want a reality check, I go to eBay. What else do you collect? Armani figurines,

These are the most popular stories on the blog...thus far! 202 views: Retail stores and Christmas/Halloween merchandise 99 views: Building a snow village landscape, part one 70 views: Off-Topic: The Top 5 Christmas Specials 53 views: Scattered D56 thoughts on a sunday morning 45 views: The most frequently asked for Dickens' Village items 36 views: Demand rising for halloween information 34 views: Ideas for ways Department 56 can extend their brand 33 views: The Snow Village Halloween amusement park

There are two new buildings for Sears ' Exclusive "A Christmas Story" line, confirmed from two different sources, the Yahoo! Department 56 Collectors Group , who were answered directly by Department 56 corporate , and the flickstongue.com , a news site for " A Christmas Story " information and discussions. The two new pieces are: "Schultz Optometry" item number 56.06283 "The Uptown Theater" Item number 56.06284 The new accessory is Ralphie with his broken glasses. There is no confirmation yet on a release date to Sears but last year I think the "A Christmas Story" pieces came out on November 12. Now I can't remember the Optometry or the Uptown Theater from the movie, but that doesn't mean I won't snag them right away! Flickstongue has a good list of links where "A Christmas Story" collectibles can be found Other posts related to "A Christmas Story": Top Ten Christmas Movies Most searched for Departme

Depending on which region of the United States you live in, chances are there is a fall fair which you are particularly fond of or loyal to. In New England, we have " The Big E ". It runs most of the month of September and is one of the biggest events in the area. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Big E has a bit of everything: concerts, vendors, fantastic food, crafts, rides, animals and more. Every year we get together with our friends and make a caravan up to the Big E...this year, we'll be going up on Saturday, September 22nd. We tend to go in the afternoon because it gets nice and cool in the evening and often it can get hot in the midday sun. Some of the highlights we look forward to: * The Super Corn Dog....yummm...getting hungry * The Samuel Adams Beer Tent * "The Christmas House" inside the craft commons - a great place to find ornaments. We've bought several there in the last few years. The Big E has tons of holiday craft booths, from snow

What got you started collecting villages? Looking for a lighthouse for my wife's birthday several years ago. A friend told me about a store in the town I worked in that had one. How many years have you been collecting? Started collecting in 1988 and went nuts for about 10 years, then stopped for about 6 years. Started on a very limited basis last year. What is your favorite D56 series? Snow Village How many displays do you build per year? None since 1999, then built one last year at Christmas. Do you keep a list of all your pieces that you own? Yes, an Excel File. What's the latest piece you've bought? 5533 Train Station off E-Bay What's the first piece you purchased? Craggy Cove Lighthouse for my wife's birthday. It's on the site as well. Do you keep track of values of the pieces or not? I used to, but now just a list the price I paid and the original selling price. What else do you collect? My wife does lighthouses etc, I have a garden railroad What's t

Note: "Fort Frightful" is the codename given to this collector... What got you started collecting villages? I found a local Hallmark store that had a huge display. I thought they looked great, and started looking for my own. How many years have you been collecting? 7 or 8 years What is your favorite D56 series? It is a tie between the original Snow Village, and the Halloween series How many displays do you build per year? 2 – one for Halloween, and one for Christmas. I am a little slow taking down each series, so I display the houses for a good 4-6 months at a time. This past year, we didn’t get the Christmas display down until Mother’s Day! LOL Do you keep a list of all your pieces that you own? Yes What's the latest piece you've bought? Actually it was a lemax piece for Halloween called “Bridge of Bones”. The last Dept 56 piece was “building fort frightful”. What was the first piece you bought? It was either the Monopoly series, or the Snow Village Carousel – I

This data is from Google and shows the most frequently searched-for keywords for Department 56 licensed properties: Department 56 a christmas story Department 56 christmas story Department 56 disney Department 56 peanuts Department 56 grinch Department 56 harley davidson Department 56 harley Department 56 starbucks Department 56 baseball Department 56 wrigley field Department 56 wizard of oz Department 56 coca cola Department 56 budweiser Department 56 busch stadium

Yesterday I posted a survey for collectors and received dozens of well written responses which I think many readers will find very interesting. I know I did...I also think many of you will relate with each collectors' story. For the sake of anonymity, I'm going to give each collector a nom de plume - we'll call this first collector by the codename "Cumberland House" . Many of the D56 regulars will recognize her display from her website, I am sure. A picture of her magnificent display is below. What got you started collecting villages? I started buying the house to put under the Christmas Tree w/ a train. I didn't know they were collectibles until years later. How many years have you been collecting? 20 years. What is your favorite D56 series? It's a toss up but I guess NP edges out SV by a slim margin. How many displays do you build per year? Still working on permanent display. Do you keep a list of all your pieces that you own? Yes. I use Excel. What

My wife and I went up to the wonderful G+L Christmas Barn in Willimantic, CT, last night, racing to get there before it closed at 7 pm. We arrived about 6:30, plenty of time to peruse the "50% off" retired snow village halloween inventory. Well, we were a few weeks too late. There were only a few items left. We ended up getting a string of bat lights for $ 5.00 which we thought would go well with the ferris wheel in our halloween amusement park (decorating begins today, by the way!). Discouraged by what was left, what was there to do but look over the new buildings and accessories. We were torn between the Howl Radio Station and the Dead Creek Mill. We weren't sure where we were going to use the Mill if we bought it, but the radio station would be the official sponsor of our amusement park...you know, there's always a radio station broadcasting live from an amusement park. We then considered perhaps putting the Dead Creek Mill in a standalone display, perhaps in a ha

Every year when my wife and I hold our annual pumpkin carving party, we play the " It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown! " on DVD, over and over again for the kids who are too young to be wielding carving utensils and creating artwork out of the pumpkins...and they watch it, over and over again. I still like to watch it as well. Something about Peanuts tv specials holds a special place in everyone's heart during the holidays. This is why their collectibles are so popular, even beyond the Department 56 peanuts line. Snoopy.com is the official website for Peanuts, and there is a lot of good content up there, including a fantastic timeline of Peanuts history . "He'll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch and he respects sincerity. Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world." - Linus Discover more Department 56 peanuts halloween merchandise

Browse the many versions of " A Christmas Carol " in print Browse Dickens' Village buildings and accessories from Department 56 Read Chapter One Read Chapter Two Wow, it's not easy coming up with fresh content every day, even if it's on a topic you love. This is why occasionally I may miss a day or two (or three!) or I may veer off-topic once in a while. I've been getting more and more mail recently from readers, so I think eventually I'll be getting fresh content from my audience as well as from my brain...I've been meaning to start publishing Charles Dickens ' " A Christmas Carol " in twelve weekly installments, complete with D56 pictures, leading up to Christmas itself. Now is as good a time as any to begin: A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May

September 14 - Kristmas Kringle - meet artist Tom Bates - Fond du Lac, WI September 15 - Kris Kringl - meet artist Greg Beilke - Leavenworth, WA September 15 - Milaeger's - meet artist Tom Bates - Racine, WI Check out the stores by clicking on the links above. Each store has been added to our Google Map of Recommended Department 56 Shops . You can use the map to find directions and map out a cross-country trek!

The following are a small representation of all of the churches Department 56 has produced over the years. Following these examples is a constantly-refreshed list of churches ending soon on Ebay. Some of the Dickens' Village churches were of amazing detail. I couldn't believe the quantity I found... "Whittlesbourne Church" from Dickens' Village. "Countryside Church" was from the Original Snow Village and was released in 1979 and retired in 1981. "Cathedral of St. Nicholas" from Christmas in the City. "St. Martin-In-The-Fields Church" from Dickens Village. Released in 2000, retired in 2002. "The Cathedral of St. Marks" from Christmas in the City. Only 3024 of this retired piece were made.

If you happen to know any shop owners personally, or are loyal customers to a favorite shop, please send me their details so I can publish a feature story on them. I love promoting the brick and mortar retailer shops that we all love visiting. Online shopping and Ebay might be convenient and fun, but it doesn't compare to walking into a retail shop and meeting a knowledgeable store owner, seeing their village displays, and learning about their store history. It's more important than ever to help these independent retailers market themselves, as they face tough competition online and even from Department 56 corporate themselves, who recently started selling online. You can email me the basics about your favorite stores , and I'll take it from there.

If you live anywhere near the G&L Christmas Barn in Willimantic, CT, and you collect Original Snow Village Halloween, you should take a drive over there and see what Dave's got for sale. I received a postcard about a September-long Halloween sale. I can't remember exactly what % off he's giving, but I'll confirm the details and update this post. The G and L Christmas Barn website doesn't seem to contain any details on the Halloween sale. My wife and I will be taking classes there on building village landscapes. Should be interesting!

You can bookmark this post and it will always dynamically show this list of the "department 56" auction items ending soon on Ebay. You could also add the RSS feed to your favorite news reader. Mine is Google Reader . RSS stands for "really simple syndication" and it is a great way to syndicate your content across the web. If you're already reading this in a news reader, you may not see the javascript-produced list below. In that case, you'll need to come back to the blog . You can go directly to the " Department 56 Auctions Ending Soon on Ebay " RSS feed by clicking here. Sorry to get so technical on everyone! . If anyone would like to get a better understanding of RSS feeds, check out this helpful page on RSS .

Department 56 diners always make me hungry for a grilled hot dog. Gus's Drive In looks like a fun place to eat. You can't find too many restuarants with car hops these days. I was on a business trip to Chicago recently and tried to find Superdawg - a legendary hot dog emporium - and ended up at the shipping warehouse. Very dissapointed! This piece was introduced in 2001 and retired in 2003. It is from the Original Snow Village. Shelly's Diner , introduced in 1999, is going to be an anchor piece in one of our Original Snow Village vignettes this year. This 1993 piece from Original Snow Village, Dinah's Diner , is a new addition to our collection. My wife saw the burger and shake at the top and we had to have it. The North Pole Series Elf Land Diner was retired in 2005. The Black Cat Diner from the Original Snow Village Halloween is a favorite piece at our house. The cat on the roof looks strangely similar to our black cat, Azrael. She is not the cat from the Catzill

We're excited to announce the first contest this blog has ever thrown! Beginning now, we are accepting photo submissions of your halloween displays. On October 21, we will select the best overall display photo and the winner will receive a t-shirt which is custom printed with the display right on it. Simply email your photo and contact info and we will consider you entered. The top 5 will be included in the post which announces the winner. The winning photo will be creative, clear and of course, contain plenty of halloween pieces from Department 56. This can include Original Snow Village Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, Sleepy Hollow, or Dept56 halloween decoratives or Halloween Krinkles. Good luck! Below are some of the well done Halloween photos we've come across: This photo, titled Jean's 2005 Halloween is from the Yahoo! Department 56 Collectors group . They have many photos you can browse. It's a very dedicated and active discussion group. Building New Worlds is