Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

With a week left, I thought it would be cool to compile some quick access links to Ebay auctions for halloween merchandise. You can find some decent deals if you have a few minutes to browse. I've included Department 56-specific items as well as specialized searches for general halloween merchandise. Halloween aside, check out the Grinch mention below! * All halloween merchandise auctions ending soon - A really strange mix of costumes, props, decorations and more. * General Department 56 halloween merchandise auctions ending soon - If I was going to pick something from page one, it would probably be the "Haunted Funhouse", which would go well with our halloween amusement park display. Bidding on that piece is at $ 26.98. * Department 56 Sleepy Hollow merchandise auctions ending soon - There are 22 listings here, and a few of them are lots. If I were going to start collecting this subset, I would want a complete lot of items for sale. Bidding on the lot starts at $ 49. * D...

I have to apologize for yesterday's post - I forgot to include a line telling readers to go back to the actual blog if the slideshow doesn't appear in their email or feed reader. The slideshow, like some rss feeds and other dynamic content, relies on JavaScript to play or show up in however you're looking at the post. Some email software and feed readers won't show JavaScript because of security settings. Here are some of the individual pictures from the slideshow. Images will show up in all readers.

Saturday night my wife and I hosted our annual pumpkin carving party in our space-challenged condo. We had 24 adults and 9 kids over, and everyone got to carve a pumpkin and check out our Department 56 Snow Village displays. We didn't create anything elaborate as far as landscaping goes, but the displays still came out wonderful, as both parents and their kids really appreciated the spooky spirit. We gave out prizes for best carved pumpkin, scariest carved pumpkin and cutest carved pumpkin. It's really a fun party and a good alternative to the traditional halloween costume party. You can create fun treats like mummy dogs (hot dogs wrapped in dough with capers for eyes), pumpkin muffins (use two pans of pumpkin bundt molds), and of course, a good amount of assorted candies and scary shaped cookies. For the kids, you can get Mr. PotatoHead-like face parts to place on the pumpkins instead of giving them carving utensils. You can also opt for markers or paints -- but I'm not re...

A brand new festive fall issue of Village D-Lights , a wonderful magazine of village collecting, display tips and product information, arrived in my mailbox on friday. I still haven't read through everything, basically because it is packed with a lot of good content. Here is what you'll find in this (October/November) issue: * The cover story is on the SSRG (Suncoast Southern Regional Gathering) and features many great displays of the award winners. * An interview with Department56 president Steve Ruelle. * A spotlight on Lorrie's Gifts and Collectibles * A profile of Snowbabies creator Kristi Jensen Pierro. * Tips on adding a staircase to your display. * Creating a Harvest-themed display * Updates on the new Greenbook - an updated version of the classic price guide. They are looking for a new name. Anyone with creative inspiration for naming the guide can visit the Village D-lights website and contact them with ideas. My idea for the new guide is "The Village Coll...

This list is courtesy of the Original Department 56 Group on Yahoo : A Christmas Story -- exclusive for Sears Buildings: Ralphie's House, 2005 School House, 2005 Fire House, 2005 Higbee's Department Store, 2005 Chop Suey Restaurant, 2005 Town Hall, 2006 Bumpus' House, 2006 Uptown Theatre, 2007 Schulz Optometry, 2007 Building Accessories: Leg Crate, 2005 Kids Getting Candy, 2005 Toys For Kids, 2005 Carolers, 2005 Triple Dog Dare, 2005 Lighted Tree Lot Accessory, 2005 Fire Truck, 2005 Car w/tree, 2005 Crabby Elves, 2006 Santa And Child, 2006 Town Tree-- Lit Accessory, 2006 Skud And His Toadie, 2006 Brother Can't Get Up, 2006 Ralphie At Mailbox W/Decoder, 2006 Santa Parade Float w/Tractor, 2006 Bumpus Hounds w/Turkey, 2006 Ralphie Needs New Glasses, 2007 Here is a handy snippet of current auctions on Ebay for "A Christmas Story" from Department 56 (if you cannot view...

What got you started collecting villages? I had been buying DV pieces for my BIL & a cousin as gifts, but never any for myself because we lived in a very small apt in NYC. I always said that someday, when we moved into a house, I would start my own village. That day came & did I go crazy!! Someone told me about a store that was going out of business & the village pieces were being marked down weekly. By the time they closed, I had 16 bldgs & a bunch of accessories & didn't pay full price for any of them. That was it, I was hooked for life! Now I'm in a bigger house & thinking about a permanent CIC (Christmas in the City) display. How many years have you been collecting? I started in '96 with my 1st 2 bldgs...Grand Central Terminal from CIC (for my DH who was a NYC Transit Cop & Grand Central was his post for many years) & North Pole (for my 4 yr old son, had to get a train station just like daddy for him too). When D56 started Time to ...

I wanted to mention my wife's company, The Perfect Promotion , is giving away $1000 scholarship to the person who answers this question best: "What does Udder Hope mean to you?". The $1000 scholarship is the Rae Lasky Scholarship for Hope of Learning , and it is dedicated in the memory of my wife's boss, Jody, who lost her mother to breast cancer. Jody allocates all of her time and a portion of her business' proceeds to Breast Cancer Awareness during the month of October. This year she created a cow for the 2007 Cow Parade in West Hartford, CT, and named it "Udder Hope". Cow Parade has actually been a popular collectible lately, with the miniature versions of the life sized painted cows. You can enter the contest by going to udderhope.com and sending her an email with your own interpretation of what "Udder Hope" means to you. It's a legitimate scholarship and you could win it for your grand kids, friends, or family. It's not limited t...

* My blogging has become a bit infrequent, so I apologize. I've had to concentrate on getting my health in order by walking each morning and not drinking a zillion espresso shots to fuel my writing. I've also been incredibly busy with work projects. * Catzilla has been roaming our halloween villages. When we're home, we can shoo him away from nibbling on fences, trees, building tops, pumpkin pieces, etc...but I have to ask, what kind of damage does he do when we're not home??? * We went to the Sears nearby in Manchester, CT, to look at the line of "A Christmas Story" pieces, and they had the two new buildings, "Uptown Theater" and the "Optometry". I read that the "Uptown Theater" is from the literary source which spawned the movie, and that the Optometry is where Ralphie was assumed to go to fix his glasses. The new accessory piece of Ralphie with his broken glasses was not available there. They had several pieces from last year ...

The official website for the 2008 National Collectors' Convention has been updated with event information, hotel information (make reservations soon, the block of rooms are getting full), details of the charity auction, and more . Here are some of the special activities: * Department 56 Showroom tours Thursday and Sunday * Shopping for many items seen in the Showroom at the Department 56 Mall of America Retail Store * Thursday tours of Tiny Town and Stillwater with lunch or dinner at the Lowell Inn * Seminars by Department 56 artists and experts * Friday night Meet and Greet with the artists * Parade of Clubs The charity auction is for the Hastings Lewis House , providing safe shelter for women and children, and the Ronald McDonald House of Minnesota , which helps families of children who are receiving medical care. Feel like touring the area for Department 56 sales and shops? Try these shops on this Google Map of D56 Retailers...

One of my avid collector friends alerted me to to a few store visits in Massachussetts. "First stop was Yankee Candle where Kristi Jensen Pierro did a signing of snowbabies. Very busy there - lots of people. She said she didn't see any sales but then didn't look around much as there was just too many people." I believe she is speaking of the flagship store in Deerfield, MA, which gets more and more crowded the closer you get to Christmas. Doesn't stop me, as my friends and I have made an annual trip up there once a year for the last ten or so years. We typically stop in Northampton for coffee and then head on up to the Candle. It's much more commercialized than it used to be, since adding the home & garden shop and such. It's still great, tho. "Next stop was the Christmas Loft in South Hadley. Sad to see this small mall in just disrepair. They had some retired D56 houses 30% off - Never ever do they discount Snowbabies - can't say to muc...

We ended up with way more pieces than we thought we had - thus, we had to build three vignettes this year instead of two. Of course, we have the Halloween Amusement park, well documented in this blog, with the "Scaredy Cat Ferris Wheel", "Spinning Pumpkins", "Swinging Ghoulies", "Halloween Dance", "Witch Rides", "Halloween Water Tower", "Mummy Mischief" and accessories such as "Resting My Bones", "Halloween Outhouse" and the "Halloween Fall Festival" sign. I'll post some pictures once my wife finishes the layouts and decor. My job is to pull the pieces out of the boxes and place them, and hers is to finish the design. We also have a vignette on our bar, anchored by "Jack's Pumpkin Carving Studio". From left to right I added "Creative Carvings", the "Dead End Motel" and the "Black Cat Diner." Although it doesn't scale well, we added the ...

Brian Jones was kind enough to send us a bio of what led up to the purchase of the house from " A Christmas Story ", now a full-fledged museum for the movie, and more importantly, for fans of the movie. The path that has led 31-year-old Brian Jones from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to “that little house on Cleveland Street” is a result of his love for his favorite movie, “A Christmas Story.” Last Thanksgiving, the ongoing relationship between Jones and his favorite film took on a whole new meaning with the opening of A Christmas Story House. A Christmas Story House takes visitors on a nostalgic journey to the sights and scenes of the classic Christmas film. In addition to A Christmas Story House, visitors can explore the museum where items from the movie are on display, more than 100 behind-the-scenes photos are featured and movie-related memorabilia can be purchased. A San Diego native, Jones had always dreamed of becoming a naval aviator like his father. After gradua...