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Get 10% off Villages when shopping on eBay!

Written by Admin on November 21, 2008 – 12:02 pm -

Right now eBay is heavily promoting its sellers, and if you have an eBay account you haven’t checked lately I suggest you take a look to see if you have a discount coupon waiting for you! I’m not sure how they’re allocating them, but I think most active users have them. You can save 10% of your purchase price, up to $100, by putting in the special code that’s in the email. You don’t need to buy everything at once - I bought something the other day and used the coupon, and when I next logged in the coupon was still there. So log in to your account on eBay and pick up some of those village buildings and accessories you’ve been looking for. Prices are great right now and lot’s of good deals out there. Many with free shipping, so you’re getting a double discount! Happy Villaging! Share and Enjoy: If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Read More →


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Posted in Shopping | No Comments »

Department 56 New 2008 Releases

Written by Admin on November 15, 2008 – 11:27 am -

Everyone is anxious to see what Dept 56 will come up with for new village buildings and accessories this year. If you were hoping to see the list here, be patient a little longer! Word is that D56 will be making that list available by mid-December, and hopefully will have lots of photos to go with the list. That’s the latest I’ve heard, so if I hear anything different I’ll post it. It remains to be seen whether the 2008 introductions will be a full-scale release, or whether the downsizing of the product line has already begun and we’ll get a mini-list. Either way, it will be a treat to see some new pieces! Stay tuned… Share and Enjoy: If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Read More →


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Posted in Department 56, Marketplace, New & Retired Pieces | 2 Comments »

Italian Chicken Holiday Recipe

Written by Admin on November 12, 2008 – 6:23 am -

I love to cook but hardly do it anymore since starting to work for myself, because I have NO TIME! Especially around the holidays when things get crazy and the last thing you want to is spend lots of time cooking. You want to get your Christmas Village set up, so who’s got time for cooking anything?! I found that I was stopping by the meat counter at the supermarket and buying a lot of their pre-seasoned chicken breasts - my favorite was the Italian Chicken with mozarella and parmesan cheese, some marinara sauce, and a kind of bread-crumb coating. It’s pretty good, but expensive. And I like my food just a little spicier than Mr. & Mrs. America, so I made my own variation of it at home, and it really kicks hiney! You can buy a family size package of skinless chicken breasts at Costco or similar for pretty cheap. You get a ton of meat, and you can prepare a big batch very quickly. And even better, it keeps beautifully and just tastes better after marinating for a day or so.  If you’re having company over and don’t want to slave over  a hot stove, then serve this up with some nice crusty Italian or Garlic bread and a big salad and they’ll never know... more


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Posted in Recipes | No Comments »

Department 56 to scale back productions

Written by Admin on November 11, 2008 – 6:44 am -

After much speculation about the fate of the Department 56 company, fueled by many inaccurate rumors that they were bankrupt and about to close, information was published on the parent company’s website at http://www.lenoxgroupinc.com. Found in the SEC filings section, here’s the short form for those who hate reading legal papers: “On October 31, 2008, the Board of Directors of Lenox Group Inc. (the “Company”) approved a scale-down plan (the “Plan”) for the Department 56 wholesale business which includes discontinuing its Everyday and Halloween product lines and most of its basic Christmas lines, as well as its Forchino collectible line.” “The Plan will be to focus the Company’s resources on lines that have potential to generate sustainable profits, such as Villages, Snowbabies, Classic Brands, Ebony Visions, Just the Right Shoe, Possible Dreams, Sandra Magsamen and a small assortment of Christmas products.” “The implementation of the Plan requires the elimination of 53 jobs over the next three months, including 30 employees at Department 56 headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, 7 employees at Department 56 offices in Petaluma,... more


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Posted in Department 56, Marketplace | No Comments »

2008 Department 56 Village Retirements

Written by Admin on November 10, 2008 – 8:34 am -

It’s that time of year again, and the list has just come out showing all the pieces that will retire in early December. Some pieces have been around for a long time, while others like SV Noah’s Ark just barely arrived. Anyway, here’s the list by village. I left off Halloween Village, but pieces still in the main Snow Village line that are Halloween-themed are included. I also didn’t list General Village Accessory pieces. Alpine Village Series® Item# Piece MSRP 56.56233 Burgermeister Haus $65.00 56.56319 Alpine Traveling Band $25.00 Christmas In The City Series® Item# Piece MSRP 56.59237 Pier 56 East Harbor $85.00 56.59244 Royal Flush Casino $85.00 56.59246 Baltimore Arts Tower $65.00 56.59249 Woolworth’s $80.00 56.59251 Ms Shannon’s School of Dance $75.00 56.59253 Caffe Tazio $80.00 56.59255 City Post Telegraph Office $65.00 56.59263 Lenox China Shop $80.00 56.59448 Luigi’s Gelato Treats $20.00 56.59462 Dockside Stevedore $27.50 56.59464 Lobster Trap Boardwalk Booth $35.50 56.59468 Learning The Charleston $15.00 56.5947 Sidewalk Coffee Break $18.50 56.59472 ... more


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Posted in Department 56, Retirements | No Comments »

Fun Site to Help You Organize For the Holidays

Written by Admin on November 9, 2008 – 11:21 am -

As I was browsing around checking other Christmas-oriented sites, I ran across a very fun and very practical blog called 100 Days to Christmas. As you might guess, it has a countdown format where every “day before Christmas” has a post on helping you get ready for the holidays. Travel planning, food planning, recipes, give-aways and other contests, and lots of ideas to inspire even the Grinch into getting into the Christmas spirit. If the holidays seem to be overwhelming you and you just can’t get organized, take a look at this blog to help get you back on track (or just plan on track). If you’re a hermit and don’t plan on seeing anyone over the holidays, then this site probably won’t interest you. But if others are depending on you to lead the charge into the Christmas season, you’ll have fun reading this blog and get some helpful ideas. Today’s post was on making it a “Soup Sunday.” Make up a big batch of soup (I’m definitely going to try that Tortellini Soup recipe!) and let friends and family know that soup’s on Sunday.  Socialize and eat without making it a big production. How easy does it get! I plan to visit... more


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Posted in Christmas, Cooking & Recipes, Preparing for Christmas, Travel Tips | 1 Comment »

Hawthorne Christmas Villages - Something for Everyone

Written by Admin on October 26, 2008 – 12:16 pm -

Hawthorne Village House One can’t help but be amazed at the huge variety of Christmas and other villages produced by Hawthorne Villages. Whether you’re a NASCAR fan or yearn for a Norman Rockwell village, Hawthorne Villages comes out with so many licensed brand villages that you’re sure to find one that’s perfect. And if a model train for your village is what you need, they’ve got you covered there too. The exclusive distributor for new Hawthorne Village products is Collectibles Today. They have the full line of current villages and accessories, all brand new, and they offer a convenient installment payment plan to collection subscribers. Each village is considered a collection that you subscribe to. You can buy a complete collection at once, or do it on a monthly subscription basis to spread out the payments. These villages are not cheap, and many collectors find this to be very convenient. You can also buy pieces “a la carte”. The pieces are made of polyresin, the houses are lit, and the collections are lovely. An alternative that most of us like is saving big money by buying Hawthorne villages on eBay. You’ll need to be patient and... more


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Posted in Campbell's Soup Christmas Village, Hawthorne Villages, It's A Wonderful Life Christmas Village, NASCAR Earnhart Christmas Village, Norman Rockwell Christmas Village, Village Model Trains, andy griffith mayberry christmas village, elvis christmas village, precious moments christmas village, thomas kinkade christmas village | No Comments »

Lang & Wise Christmas Eve Village

Written by Admin on October 16, 2008 – 8:31 pm -

L&W Holiday Picket Fence While going through my stash of Christmas village stuff, I ran across a box of resin evergreen trees that I’d never used in a display before. They are a set of 6 small evergreen trees, absolutely beautifully done, that are part of the Lang & Wise Folk Art Villages collection. These creations are the work of artist Linda Nelson Stocks, and they really are quite special. I’d bought them because I liked the look, especially the fact that they don’t have snow on them. Makes them great for use in other kinds of villages besides Christmas Villages! Linda Nelson Stocks is an artist who grew up on the family farm in Illinois.  Her village pieces have that homey, folk-art look that gives her village a very nostalgic feel. There are lots of farm carts, sleighs, and animals, and you can build a wonderful farm display out of these pieces, no matter what brand of village you have.  The houses are lit, and similar in size to the Department 56 line.  In addition to the Christmas Eve village, there is also a Colonial Williamsburg Village that with very little effort and some imagination you could create a whole new Christmas Village! Or you could... more


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Posted in Christmas decor, Lang & Wise Villages, farm display | No Comments »

Model Trains and Your Village

Written by Admin on October 5, 2008 – 10:47 am -

Christmas Train There’s nothing like the finished look that a Village with its own train provides! All of the Villages have train stations, and the clever Village Nut will tap into the model railroad train world for inspiration on train sets and the terrain around them. See the right sidebar for some great books & videos that will help you along. The Bachmann White Christmas Express is a good choice for some Villages. When I first decided that my Village needed a public transportation system, I started to look at model railroad sites. The first thing I needed to know was what size train would look best with my Village - a big one that looks more proportionate to the people and buildings, or a smaller one that wasn’t to scale but was more available and cheaper. Holy Smokes! I thought this would be relatively easy, but I got hit in the face with terms like gauges and scales. I had no idea what these terms meant, and was frustrated by what I thought was an unnecessary amount of technical talk. I just wanted a nice little train for my Village! I didn’t want to become a model railroader. So, after I got hit on the head with a brilliant idea… just as Village Nuts... more


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Posted in Village Model Trains | No Comments »

JoAnn Fabrics starting to get Heartland Villages in

Written by Admin on October 4, 2008 – 9:41 pm -

I just called my local JoAnn Fabrics store here in WA because I need to find some cheap replacement light cords.  The clerk told me that they are getting their village stuff in every Monday, and have already set out lighting and some other accessories. I believe they carry the Heartland line?? Correct me if I’m wrong. Some of their houses are quite nice, but I really go for the cheap landscaping and accessories! No word on Lowe’s yet, they have Carole Towne. Share and Enjoy: If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed! Read More →


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Posted in Heartland/JoAnn Fabrics Villages, Marketplace | No Comments »
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