Department 56 Articles

Getting To Know You

• Department 56 Collector - Ann's Village Hobby By : Teri's Department 56 Community
  "I was a single parent when I bought myself a Lionel train set for Christmas, something I wanted as a child, but was told girls don’t play with trains. That started our family tradition. After Thanksgiving dinner the Tree went up, and then the train brought presents. When I started the village, the presents became the bases for the houses."
• Department 56 Collector - A Full Blown Case of Villagitis By : Eileen Endres
  Have you ever noticed that many of the Department 56 clubs define themselves with words like addicts, dreamers, wacky, maniacs, jesters, flakes, madhouse, etc?
• Department 56 Collector - Scenic Backdrops By : Teri's Department 56 Community
  "At first those little lit houses did not interest me in the least," recalls Lois Rouse, North Carolina Department 56 collector, whose first hobby was building dollhouses. "I would buy Department 56 accessories to use in my dollhouses."
• A Passionate Department 56 Collector
  For most Americans, the celebration of winter ends around January 6th, officially the twelfth day of Christmas, but for Nancy Tarantino of Huntingtown, MD, the pleasures of this underrated season are celebrated well into the new year.

Collectibles

• Click the Light Fantastic By : Teri's Department 56 Community
  Department 56 introduces new cordless lighting solutions for 2006.
• Insuring Your Collection By : Teri's Department 56 Community
  Tragedy can strike at any moment, destroying your home and its contents. Disaster can take many forms: theft, fire, flood, tornado. Treasured collectibles can not easily be replaced in the heart, but proper insurance can get you right back in the hunt.
• Tips for Buying, Selling, and Trading On-line By : Teri's Department 56 Community
  When dealing with someone you just met through cyberspace, you need to take precautions to protect yourself and the investment you've made in your collectibles. Communication is the key to a successful transaction.

Display Ideas

• A Quick Guide to Groundcovers By : Leanne Tremblay
  Whether you are creating a shoreline for Department 56 seaside town, a spooky Halloween graveyard, or historical peek at a Victorian Dickens’ village, you’ll need to think about groundcovers. With a little imagination, you can transform everyday items into grass, sand, leaves, gravel and more.
• A Quick Guide to Snow By : Leanne Tremblay
  Creating a Christmas display with Department 56 villages is a fun and much anticipated annual project. Besides collecting houses, store fronts, people, trees and other village necessities, you will probably want to add snow to your village surroundings for a realistic holiday look. After all, "dashing through the snow" without the snow just isn’t the same.