Every Department 56 collector knows the struggle of a good idea turned into a full blown obsession. It happens so seemlessly that you hardly feel the transformation. My collection started when I was younger. My mother is to thank for this obsession. She and my sisters collected Christmas villages. As I tagged along with her and my sisters to the mall one day, we entered the store that she so frequently did – the Christmas decoration store which sold Department 56. While there, we saw the Halloween display. I was looking at it, and Mom recommended I get something because it was neat. I was excited and got my very first piece: the Creepy Creek Carriage House and a set of accessories (trees, pumpkins, etc.).
As I continued collecting though the years with an ebb and flow of vigor, I got an average of 1 piece per year. It was not always a big item, but usually something.
Fast forward to 2013: I marry the love of my life. She hardly understands my obsession. However, she humors me as I tell her we are setting up the display on our kitchen table. I hardly get the first item out of the box, and she begins helping. She then tells me that if we are going to do this, we are going to do it right. Off she went making platforms, roads, tree stumps, gravestones, and anything else she can think of. She takes tulle and decorates with it as well. I helped as much as I could, but she is far more creative and skilled than I am. By the time she is finished, the village really came together nicely. We even went to the store and bought a couple of more pieces to really set off the display! She was hooked. This was the year, the display became OUR village.
2014 found us in a smaller apartment with our village in storage. We did not add any new pieces, nor did we display our collection. It was a dark time.
However, in the summer of 2015, our collection has exploded like a firework. We moved into a great neighborhood that loves to decorate for holidays – including halloween. We felt compelled to buoy are village to the next level. We have added many new pieces to make up for last year and this year. Now that we are in a house, and have a place to display our collection, we continue to build upon its numbers.
My wife and I will both be contributing to this blog – updating everyone as to our collection as the time passes. This blog will be for multiple purposes, including: instructional videos for sculpting or decorating, introducing our new items, and informing everyone about new releases and retired items.
Feel free to comment with stories of your own and let us know how your collections are doing.
56 Dead Creek Swamp 
Great to see another Halloween spirit writing about their Department 56 village! Great start to the blog; I can’t wait to read more about your collecting and crafting. Only three months until Halloween!
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Love your blog and 56 skeletons’. They make me feel sane! My collection also started innocently when my mother in law bought 2 pieces for my daughter when she was younger. No boxes, no knowledge of year released/retired. Got her a few of the lowest priced buildings and accessories I could find for Christmas presents. Then one year she lost interest in the midst of setting it up at Halloween. I viewed it as something that was started and had to be finished in order to get the boxes out of the dining room. The next year, though, it was mine from the get go and I’ve been adding pieces and creating displays as well as hunting for pieces on eBay etc. I try to buy rare pieces at rock bottom prices but also buy ones I’m drawn to andwon’t buy a highly sought after piece if it doesn’t appeal to me. I now know potential value, year of issue and retirement etc. I also know which accessories and buildings are related and find myself adhering when placing pieces. I had a lot of fun when I put accessories where they made sense to go. I now do a mixture of both. this year, for the first use, I will have a few Halloween pieces out fee orated for a Christmas!
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Thanks very much! It is always great to hear about others that get so into it. We are hoping to publish some posts later this month and throughout 2017.
We purchased several new pieces this year and are extending the display a little bit with some new platforms. The platforms did not get built in time for the 2016 display, but it will be fully ready for next year.
I just finished putting all of the Halloween pieces in the attic last night. We left it up through December in order to enjoy it a bit more. Even considered putting santa hats and snow throughout the display to decorate!
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