Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

We were thinking of taking our son to visit Santa's Land USA and Spray Foam House in Putney, Vermont. It's one of those places where I think I may have gone as a child, but I have no conclusive evidence or specific memories.... From an article describing Santa's Land : "You won't find a brochure for it easily in Vermont (you might instead see flyers for Santa's North Pole in NY or Santa's Village in NH). The official Vermont Attractions Map does not list it. It has no billboards. Even the publicity material for Santa's Land USA's home town, Putney, VT -- which carries glowing descriptions of local businesses like Basketville and the Putney Food Co-op -- fails to mention Santa's Land USA. The only reason we even knew about this place is that one of us visited it in 1985. There must be some sort of elvin magic at work. The entire attraction, which covers many acres of pine-shaded woods, appears to be run by five people: the kindly lady in the gi...

Today saw the annual unveiling of the massive tree for New York City's Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree. The tree was cut down from a Putnam, NY, residence. From the article : "Christmas might not be here quite yet — hey, it was an unseasonably warm, very un-wintery day in New York — but the city’s most iconic Christmas tree made its debut Friday, when workers hefted a 74-foot-tall Norway spruce into place at Rockefeller Center in Midtown. The official tree-lighting ceremony is planned for Nov. 30. My wife and I plan to visit the city - along with our 2.5 year old, to partake in some festive holiday window sightings. I think we're going to head out there December 10. Related articles Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Has Arrived (newyork.cbslocal.com) It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (focusonthelittlethings.wordpress.com) Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrives (cnn.com) 74-Foot Tree Cut Down, Ready For Rockefeller Center (newyork.cbslocal.com)

Image via Wikipedia Our two year (and 2 months!) old has officially fallen in love with everything Thomas. From the moment my wife picked up a cheap Thomas and Friends DVD at Target , which he watched, mesmerized, he has evolved his love of trains to where his GeoTrax and Lego train sets are no longer sufficient. Now, his trains must be wooden, be propped up on a table, and the trains must be able to be manually pushed along. It does seem like a step backwards, after all, the GeoTrax ran on their own, as did the Lego set. The Thomas videos were a bit creepy at first, where the trains were speaking but their mouths were not moving. Yes, they were narrated ( George Carlin and Ringo Starr, nonetheless!) but it just wasn't quite right. They've since fixed this oversight and the newer films offer a true mouth-moving experience -- much more realistic. Now, to find the Sight and Sounds Deluxe set somewhere... Related articles by Zemanta Lego fish tan...

On this Fourth of July, 2010 morning, I drove around my new small town of Wethersfield, CT (claims to be the first settled town in Connecticut, despite a longstanding argument by Windsor). I saw many people out cleaning their yards, setting up flags, preparing for barbecues, smiling and ready for a patriotic Sunday. Smalltown Americana still lives! Happy Independence Day, Everyone! Related articles by Zemanta Yankee Doodle Fun Facts (neatorama.com)

Someone took the time to recreate "Christmastime is here" starring the Charlie Brown gang....with LEGOs!

Joining the social media trend which has become very popular for retailers and manufacturers alike, Department 56 has added a Facebook page . There is no indication as to whether or not this is the official page offered up by Enesco or not. The official company website does not show any Facebook or Twitter presence. This would be a great way for the company to reconnect with both collectors and dealers who it may have lost touch with.

This is the first chapter in a new online series of original fiction featuring Roan, an adventurous two-year old, who will take readers through their first holiday experiences all over again. Join Roan, who along with his two kitties and active imagination, will remind you why the holidays are so much fun in the first place. Hope you all enjoy this -- looking forward to reading comments.. Roan Picks A Pumpkin , Chapter One "Noooooooooooooo!" screamed Roan at the very top of his two-year old lungs. Azzy, the eldery female kitty, did a double take, as this was a very rude interruption of her morning breakfast. Cano, the fiesty young male kitty, rose to an alert and scrambled to make his way to Roan's side, ready to assume any challenge put forth. Roan stomped to the door but he was too late. Daddy had already left for work. "Nooooooooooooo!" he yelled again, this time in his Mommy's sleepy ear. "Roan, Daddy will be back tonight. Today is Friday, which mea...

I received a comment a few weeks back regarding  http://www.department56corner.com/  and asking if I'd include the site in my list of online resources. Done. The website is nicely constructed with a decent user interface. I especially like the fact that they made the "A Christmas Story" line prominent, with it's own tab, along with one of my other favorite series, "Halloween". Apparently, all retired D56 are 30% off. Here is an excerpt from their "About Us" page: "In 1996, Chimney Corner, now a division of GiftCollector.com, launched it's first website, becoming a pioneer in online retailing. Beginning with our flagship retail store, Chimney Corner, we have specialized in fine brands, tabletop and decorative accessories for the home since 1968. After more than a decade successfully operating online, GiftCollector.com has launched the Corner Stores, a series of new corner boutiques, Department56Corner is among the first of these corner bout...

The kind folks over at A Christmas Story House sent me images of the 5 new releases for Christmas 2010. These pieces will be available online at www.achristmasstorygiftshop.com or at your local Sears. There isn't any descriptive info yet, but the images are enticing:

I was just explaining to a friend about the recent downturns in the Department 56 retail market. I told him about how giftware such as Department 56 is more of a luxury and that in today's economy, people struggle to find disposable income for luxury items. He works for one of the major water distributors and he said they experience a similar downturn in a troubled economy. He suggested people will quickly turn to tap water if times get tight. I thought bottled water was more of a necessity because people are paranoid about public water, people like to carry sports bottles wherever they go, and I believed bottled water sales were booming. His contrasting opinion stated that the water industry takes even longer to bounce back than the giftware industry. At home, my wife and I went from two 24-packs of Poland Spring sports bottles per week to two 2.5 gallon plastic jugs to our current choice, a Brita water filter. Saves $5-6 per week. With our Department 56 purchases, we went from bu...