A Dickens of a good find at a local flea market!

This past Saturday I was browsing a flea market while my wife was getting her hair done. There was a little Christmas shop inside the flea market. Of course, I asked the proprietor if she had any village buildings by Department56. She said yes, and showed me three older pieces from Dickens' Village. There was "M Fezziwig Warehouse", "The Flat of Ebenezer Scrooge" and "Old Curiosity Shop".

I don't collect Dickens, but I know th

at is what I wanted to give my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas. Perfect. I asked her if the lighting worked, and she tested each, and showed me all sides of each building. They were perfect. I was so excited. It was a very good deal, right?

It's funny, because before I chose Snow Village, I was going to choose Dickens for my christmas village, basically because I've always loved the movies, including every single remake. These pieces may end up at my office - which I have dubbed "The island of misfit pieces" -- it's where all of my buildings that don't make the cut at home end up. It's quite a hodgepodge display. I'll have to snap a picture this

year!

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Tomorrow is Labor Day, Next Up is Halloween!

Hooked on Department 56 has a great article on tips for creating your halloween village . The article features tips and informative links on all of the wonderful and scary options for outfitting your decorative halloween villages, including haunted sounds, spooky lights, and flying witches. The story also features information about The 2008 Haunted Rails Engine & Coal Car, and Rickety Railroad Station, two of Department 56's Halloween village pieces created to mark the ten year anniversary of D56 Halloween. While the train itself is ceramic and non-working, you still get the feel of the haunted railroad. The also is not limited to just D56, as it also mentions Disney Villains from Hawthorne Village. An excerpt from the story: "In 1998, Department 56 introduced the first Halloween village collection. Department 56 Halloween Village features spooky castles, flying witches, skeletons, and gravediggers. Many of the buildings are lighted with fiber optic light effects, that fli...

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Fresh in my mailbox was a brand new issue of Village D-Lights , a magazine designed for village collecting enthusiasts, featuring great articles, display tips product information and much more. This edition's cover features the "Canton Tea Trading", a new piece for 2008 for Dickens' Village. Here is what you'll find in this (February/March) issue: * The cover story describes some of the 2008 introductions for Christmas in the City, Alpine Village and Dickens' Village. * A great feature on Randy Miller, president of the NCC . * A spectacular ad by D56 for the "American Diner". * Ms. LitTown writes about the new Department 56 showroom, which is being prepped for the 2008 convention. * A letter from Mrs. Dickens * Brandon Taylor's take on variations of some of the pieces * A Valentine's Day feature on themed pieces for that special day There's also many regular sections of the magazine: reader submissions, letter from the editor, trivia, di...

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