Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

....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 ...

The Original Department 56 Collectors Group on Yahoo! Groups replied with a lot of really great ideas. Here are a few they came up with: "Since I am mainly a collector of the New England Village, I offer this as my suggestions of what I would like D56 to consider: L.L.Bean Outlet Daniel Webster Inn Paul Revere's House Lonfellow's Wayside Inn Plymouth Rock with Portico Fanuel Hall House of Seven Gables a shoe factory P.T. Barnums Museum A granite quarry or cutting house The Old Man of the Mountain (so we can remember what it once was) Ben & Jerrys Ice cream factory Quincy Market & any of the mansions in Newport RI There is a Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River MA but not sure if that shouldn't be a candidate for Halloween Village. Also why not a gym for Christmas In The City and a shoe store to go with the shoe factory." "I've always wanted to have a series of college and universities. I know another company does this a...

I admit it, I'm obsessed with Department 56. I've always loved the village displays at Yankee Candle in Deerfield, MA. That's where it started. From Christmas in the City, to Dickens' Village, to the original Snow Village and the whimsical North Pole village, they struck a chord with me, reminding me of how I've loved Christmas since I was a child. When I first met my wife, she wasn't a Christmas nut like I am. She didn't think much of these expensive ceramic buildings either. She did, however, like Halloween, and so that's where it started. We both dove into collecting the original Snow Village Halloween set. We eventually built an amusement park-themed display, featuring the scaredy cat ferris wheel, spinning pumpkins, mummy carousel and more. She had her set, now it was time for me to select the one I was going to collect. With a love of the movie, " A Christmas Story ", when we spotted a set of buildings and accessories from Department 56 ...