Department 56 Original Snow Villages for Christmas and Halloween

Department 56 is famous for their different snow villages for Christmas that are any collector’s dream. I am not a big collector myself but I love having decorations for all the different holidays and seasons. Having just gotten married a little while ago something I knew I wanted to start getting is some of the pieces for these villages I personally really like the Halloween and New England ones but keep reading to find out all of the different series they offer.

For those of you how don’t know who or what department 56 is, their company started around 1976 when they realized the first of the Department 56 Villages and they specialize in making collectibles, giftware and many of their collectibles for holiday decorating or gift giving. Since their vision of recreating the perfect Christmas scene with some ceramic collectibles they have continued to roll out more and more lines. Over the years it has expanded to close to 10 different Christmas Villages (that I know of) probably more, 1 Halloween village and an additional sleepy hollow scene and one scene commemorating Williamsburg, Virginia, the 1st capital of the United States. These can appeal to almost anyone since they capture scenes that will appeal to lots of different collectors and varied interests whether it is small town America, Victorian England or Halloween!

Dept 56 originally started in order to capture an old town in a picture perfect scene of a town decorated for Christmas. The idea of snow villages became a way to capture holiday traditions in a small town in the height of winter and the Christmas Season. There are so many different villages that you can choose from. You can get Elfland or the Northpole, the Original Snow Village that tries to capture Christmas in Main Street America, the New England series, Dicken’s Village or A Christmas Carol Village, The Alpine or Christmas in the City collections. All of these series have different houses and buildings to collect, as well as, accessories, that you can sprinkle around your town to make it come alive. 

In my house growing up, we had a snow village, although not from department 56. As a kid I loved to look at these different buildings and their intricate details. It was great for letting me use my imagination. Yes, they can be expensive especially if you went out and bought each item separately. However, the fun thing about collecting and collecting the snow villages in general, is that you can watch it expand over the years.  Some people have massive collections as they have collected more and more through out the year.  You don't have to do this though, you can make your town as big or small as you like.  As new collectibles are released you can add them to your collection or you can even ask people to give them to you as gifts. When we were little and my mom was building her village my dad would take us to the store right before Christmas and we would pick out a new building to add to the growing collection.

They even have villages and other figurines that are made for collectors of other things, like Mickey Mouse, for example. They have a Disney village which is a perfect gift for fans of Disney, especially Mickey and his friends. They also make Disney Princess Jewelry Boxes that include some of the Disney Princess favorites like Ariel, Snow White, Tinkerbell, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White which make a great gift for girls at Christmastime or Birthdays.

Another Christmas Village for holiday movie lovers is the "A Christmas Story" Village so that you can relieve all of the chaos that ensues because Ralphie wants a BB gun for Christmas. They have 8 buildings and is a great idea if you are looking for a village that appeals to the whole family.

Playing off of the success of the Christmas Villages dept 56 began a line focusing on another holiday we love to decorate for, Halloween. The Department 56 Halloween collection has the Original Snow Village for Halloween that includes about 14 current pieces and 27 retired pieces. If you are trying to buy retired Department 56 pieces online there are many places you can look like ebay and amazon marketplace. As with most collectibles though retired pieces can get pretty expensive.

Another option for Halloween decorating is the Peanuts collection and also the Legends of Sleepy Hollow. The classic story of Ichabod Crane and the headless horseman is infamous and told often around Halloween making these collectible pieces a great addition to your Halloween décor.

Collecting isn’t for everybody partially because it is expensive and partially because it increases the amount of space you need to store it when it isn’t displayed or IS displayed. If you aren’t looking for snow villages the company has other gifts and collectibles that aren’t as much a long term investment. They have ornaments for your Christmas Tree that include some of the characters like Rudolph, Santa and Frosty from the classic Christmas movies.

They also have gifts and collectibles aside from these original villages. They have a couple commemorating Peanuts so you can get a snoopy or Charlie brown Christmas or Halloween. These are smaller pieces so you can either get a couple that are your favorite pieces just to accent different parts of your home or get them all if you are a big fan of Peanuts.

Department 56 Possible Dreams-
These are great for those who love Santa Figurines and it features him in different scenarios including western, sports, cooking, and by the sea. They have all sorts of Santas and so you should be able to find one that fits your style. Recently I have liked the western theme for my Christmas Tree (blame it on my love for Texas) and I would love to add some of the Santa’s geared towards cowboys. They also have some ornaments with Santa, like one with him playing baseball and football.

 For the most part, the answer to this question depends on where you live.  You need to find an authorized dealer to get these.  Look in your area for stores that sell collectible figurines or are super Christmas Stores. 

There are some major holiday stores these days and one of the biggest is Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan (which actually has been around since 1945).  Bronner's is the size of one and a half football fields and is the biggest Christmas store in the world.

Another Christmas store I have come across in my travels is Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.   They are the South's largest Christmas Village and have a restaurant and Inn.  If you don't know where Pigeon Forge is I wrote an entire hub dedicated to it.  It is a great place to stay if you are visiting the Smoky Mountains.

Don't be suprised if some of these places have certain figurines and others don't.  It's part of the fun of collecting.  Also check online retailers like Amazon Marketplace and Ebay where you can find them without looking for an authorized store.