A Brief History...

Department 56 originally began as part of Bachman's, a florist in Minneapolis. Each department at the store was numbered and the gift import division was numbered 56. Hence the name Department 56!

The Original Snow Village series was the first to be introduced in 1976. The village was originally made up of 6 lovely lighted ceramic buildings.

Gradually more and more buildings and collections were introduced including the Heritage Village Collection, and in 1984 the Dickens Village was introduced.

1986 saw the introduction of Snowbabies, beautiful bisque figurines, followed by Snowbunnies in 1994.

In 2009 Department 56 became part of ENESCO, one of the largest general merchandise catalog companies.

Over the years many collections have been added to the Department 56 family. Each collection unique in its own right.

Collections

There are several large collections that are part of Department 56. The most popular lighted villages are The Original Snow Village, Dickens' Village, Alpine Village, New England Village and Christmas in the City series. In addition to lighted villages, Snowbabies and Snowbunnies are two lovely collections of bisque figurines.

Click on one of the collections below to see the list of collectibles in that series. The listing includes the year the piece was released, year retired and how many current auctions are underway. By drilling down further on each collectible, you can see the details of the auctions.