Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

Okay, so we're really space challenged, and we had no idea how many Snow Village pieces we had actually gotten. We set up a six foot x three foot table and added some height on both sides to give it the appearance of a valley. We definitely wanted to use my pieces from "A Christmas Story" (all except this year's pieces, which don't count in my opinion, because they weren't really in the movie!), so we decided to integrate them into the display. By the time we were done, we had unpacked about 24 buildings....there was no way they were going to fit, especially since we were now adding 2 cobblestone roads and 2 white fences. We chose our 4 anchor pieces: Ralphie's house, in the upper left corner. Higbees was opposite in the top right. The Creamery was bottom right and holding front position on the bottom left was the Long Haul Truck Stop, my wife's favorite. We had the Starbucks building next to Higbees, and the Christmas Shop right below Ralphie's ho

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 ``We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner,'' said the gentleman, presenting his credentials. It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word ``liberality'', Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back. ``At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,'' said the gentleman, taking up a pen, ``it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.'' ``Are there no prisons?'' asked Scrooge. ``Plenty of prisons,'' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. ``And the Union wo

One of our blog readers asked me to profile their favorite shop in San Bernardino, CA. The reader said "The store has a HUGE Department 56 display and carries all of the villages plus many gift items especially Halloween items. They are happy to ship anywhere in the U.S. (and maybe other places). The owner is the sweetest woman anywhere and her name is Sandy deDoes. Her helper is Harriet Houplin." They do not have a website yet but I asked them for some pictures of their layouts and some general information and they were excited to comply. They sent me a package with about a dozen photos of some really great displays (four are pictured in this post). They are located at 1036 North East St., San Bernardino, CA and their phone # is 909-888-8053. Casual Living offers a "The Village Keepers of the Inland Empire" Department 56 collectors' club. A handwritten note from Sandy: "I'm so glad you have a blog regarding collectibles. We have 2 furniture stores ne

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I mention " Wicked " because my wife and I just went to see it at the Hartford Bushnell , and it was unbelievable. The stage props and design were out of this world. The singing was great, too, even though it was on Sunday and we saw the understudies in some of the roles. It's highly recommended. If it comes to your area, definitely book some tickets. Speaking of the great and powerful Oz, Department 56 does a great job with their Wizard of Oz items as well. Some of my favorite pieces: Wicked Witch's Castle Wicked Witch Scares Dorothy and the Scarecrow

....as if they weren't upon us back in October, even. Today we made our annual trek to Yankee Candle in historic Deerfield, MA. We arrived at 5 pm, and unfortunately we missed an appearance by Department 56 artist Cynthia Markle, who is responsible for many of the village accessories such as trees, animals, and other accessories. We had never been to the Candle in the evening, and we were awestruck by the lights on display outside. It was spectacular. If you haven't been there before, this is the flagship store, about the size of 4 Target stores. The store is divided into several small villages of shops, with many themed ornament displays, candle displays, and of course a full section of elaborate D56 displays. There is an educational toy store, a home and garden store, a Bavarian cafe, a candy and sweets shop, and much more. Every year they add more. Of course, on the way home, we stopped at Bub's barbecue , a small restaurant which is usually packed. It's near Umass

Two different sources reported sales on items from their respective territories: The Satin Button in Roseville, CA is discounting all of their Halloween Village pieces (except HOWL Radio) at 25% off, and any order over $70 gets free shipping. I know it's already past the big post-Halloween rush. There are two Halloween pages, one for Snow Village Halloween & the other for General Halloween . There is also a Specials page which includes all Halloween items, not just Village. Back on the east coast, word is that Moscarillo's Garden Shoppe in Torrington has a sale of retired villages, accessories & snowbabies - Buy one - get one free. They have a good selection of Snow Village houses & accessories. More NP houses than accessories and about the same for Dickens & New England Villages. There is also a limited selection of Snowbabies.

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 If you haven't seen the current theater version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" on stage, check it out if you can. It's going to be at the Hartford Stage from November 23rd through December 29th this year. I've seen it, and it's wonderful. The show is on a round stage, and between carol singing and very good acting, it's the ultimate holiday experience. Here is the second part of my twelve part adaptation of the literary classic, "A Christmas Carol": He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again. "Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that,

Anyone on D56's mailing list should have gotten news of the 2007 retirements: everything from Snowbabies to Villages to seasonal items. Here is a complete list. Anything with a "*" means we have it in our collection, and a "!" means we just have to get it! The Original Snow Village Series: "Is That Frosty?" "Backwoods Outhouse" "Future Hockey Stars" "The Jingle Bells House" "NASCAR® Café" "McKenzie's Chevrolet" "Little Tots Baby Goods" "Happy Holidays Barn" "Village Phone Company" "Elmwood House" "Sparky's New Doghouse" "What An Adorable Baby!" "Telephone Line Repairman" "Toy Boat Whittling Lesson" "Dad's Christmas Tradition" "Soccer Moms Rule!" "Santa Comes To Town - 2007", Limted To Year 2007 Production "The Windmill Wishing Well" "Snow Village Mayor's Mansion&q

The Rhode Island Festival of Trees is happening on Friday, November 30, from 10am - 9pm, through Sunday, December 2nd, from 10am - 6pm. It takes place at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The Festival includes a public display of approximately 100 one-of-a-kind, professionally decorated trees, a showcase of hand-crafted wreaths and additional holiday décor, daily musical entertainment by students from local schools, a festive holiday gift shop, and an interactive Children's Activities area. The mission of the Rhode Island Festival of Trees is to present an annual state-wide, holiday event which will also help to raise funds for local non-profit agencies benefiting children, through measures of charitable contributions and donations. Also appearing at the festival will be Brian Jones, owner of AChristmasStoryHouse.com . Brian bought the original house from the film and now operates it as a museum and shop for all things &quo

These ceramic pieces were the "Original Six" village pieces released by Department 56 in 1976. They were all part of the "Original Snow Village" series. All pieces are lighted, hand painted and numbered on the bottom. As it says right on their corporate website , "One Christmas evening, a group of friends set off to enjoy a dinner of celebration at a small country inn nestled in a quiet river town. As they rounded a bend in the road, they saw the small, old-fashioned village decorated for the holidays. The lights, like fairies, glowed and sparkled amid the freshly fallen snow. All evening, the conversation was full of Christmas memories and the visions the tiny town had evoked. Amidst the jovial banter and magical memories, the idea for a lighted Christmas village was born. That spark of an idea became a reality when, in 1976, Department 56 introduced a series of six hand-painted, ceramic b