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A Livingetc report describes renewed interest in Christmas village displays, with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube helping collectors share elaborate scenes and connect with new fans. Collector Holly Hessler Lubrano says secondhand Department 56 pieces have become harder to find at affordable prices, though the scale of the trend and its market impact are not quantified.
A Livingetc report describes a renewed wave of interest in Christmas village displays, as collectors share miniature festive scenes on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The feature points to Department 56 collector Holly Hessler Lubrano’s nearly 300-piece collection and her observation that some secondhand pieces have become harder to find, while offering no market-wide sales figures or evidence that prices have risen across the category.
The report presents Christmas villages as both seasonal decoration and personal storytelling: collectors arrange miniature buildings, lights and figures into scenes that can recall family traditions or invent a small holiday world. It says social platforms have helped longtime enthusiasts circulate their displays and have drawn a younger generation into making and collecting them. The article describes the community as unusually devoted, but does not quantify its audience or growth.
Lubrano, who shares her displays as @villageatrois, says her collection is nearly 300 pieces, almost all from Department 56. She began collecting after moving to Williamsburg, Virginia, during the COVID period and finding a Department 56 Victoria Station building for $20 at a thrift store. She says much of her collection has come from secondhand sources, including antique shops, Facebook Marketplace and gifts from other collectors.
Lubrano told Livingetc that she no longer spends much time thrifting or antiquing for pieces because prices have gone up, and that items are harder to find on the secondhand market. Those comments describe her experience rather than a verified price trend across the market. She also said she would like Department 56 to do more to recognize or support resale and secondhand collecting.
The development matters to collectors and seasonal decorators because online displays make a hobby once centered on home shelves and family routines visible to a much wider audience. The feature suggests these posts can inspire people to create their own scenes and help collectors find one another, trade pieces and pass collections along when owners no longer want or can manage a large display.
There may also be implications for secondhand buyers: Lubrano reports increased prices and difficulty finding pieces, but the article supplies no transaction data, price comparisons or company figures to establish how widespread those conditions are. For now, the clearest takeaway is a cultural one: a long-running decoration tradition is receiving fresh attention through online sharing, while collectors are discussing the availability and resale of older pieces.
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From Putz Houses to Department 56
The feature traces the tradition to miniature Christmas decorations known as putz, a term derived from the German verb for decorating or cleaning. It says people in Germany and parts of Central and Eastern Europe made small buildings from materials such as wood and cardboard. The custom later travelled to the United States with Moravian immigrants.
In 1976, Minneapolis florist Bachman’s produced six miniature porcelain houses called The Original Snow Village. The report says the collection was assigned department number 56 in the company’s numbering system, giving rise to the Department 56 name. It now sells Christmas village collectibles and other seasonal lines. The article also notes that the modern display tradition includes products beyond Department 56, including holiday houses from Anthropologie and Fortnum & Mason.
““My mother collected these when I was a kid. So, there’s a real sense of nostalgia.””
— Holly Hessler Lubrano, collector known as @villageatrois, quoted by Livingetc
The Resale Market in Perspective
The report does not provide Department 56 sales figures, social-media audience data, resale listings or comparable prices over time. It is not clear how much the hobby has grown, whether secondhand prices have risen broadly, or whether the availability Lubrano describes reflects a wider shortage or her own collecting experience. The source also does not give the feature’s publication date, limiting a precise assessment of when the reported attention began.
Nor does the feature establish that social media alone caused renewed interest. It documents collectors’ experiences and presents online sharing as a factor helping the community connect, rather than as a measured explanation for changes in demand.
Collectors Keep Sharing Their Displays
The article describes an ongoing seasonal hobby, not a formal announcement or scheduled industry event. Collectors are continuing to post their displays and exchange pieces through community networks and resale channels. Lubrano says dedicated Department 56 clubs bring fans together, though the feature does not report a specific upcoming meeting or project.
Any clearer picture of the market would require future sales or resale data from retailers, marketplaces or Department 56. The source does not say whether the company plans new support for secondhand collecting; that remains an open question for collectors who want older pieces and for owners passing collections on.
Key Questions
What is driving fresh attention to Christmas village displays?
Livingetc reports that collectors are sharing their displays on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, helping the hobby reach new audiences and connect enthusiasts. It does not quantify the growth or identify social media as the sole cause.
What is Department 56?
Department 56 is a company associated with collectible seasonal decorations. The report traces its name to the department number used for Bachman’s 1976 collection of six porcelain houses, The Original Snow Village.
Are secondhand Department 56 pieces getting more expensive?
Collector Holly Hessler Lubrano told Livingetc that prices have gone up and pieces are harder to find in the secondhand market. The feature does not include market data to show whether that experience applies broadly.
Where do collectors find older Christmas village pieces?
Lubrano told the report that she has sourced pieces from antique stores, Facebook Marketplace and gifts from other collectors. The article also describes collectors passing on pieces when they no longer want or can manage their displays.
Source: rss
