(of a sort). My mother loved and collected Dept 56 porcelain houses, so much so that my sister and I were left to deal with over 400 of them after she died. She had gotten some for me as Christmas gifts, but I am not much of a collector of tchotchkes, so I don't think I ever displayed them. My boys were small and fragile porcelain houses don't do well with little boy hands trying to play with them. (Someday I'll tell you about the T. rex, velociraptor, and pterodactyl that visited Jesus in the manger.)
But now the boys are grown, I've sold all the excess houses, and kept a few special ones. I don't decorate nearly as much as I used to, but these pieces are important to me and don't take me too long to set up.
like the snow in the corner of the panes, the clay pots piled outside, and the poinsettias and plants growing inside the greenhouse.
Even at my advanced age, I can almost imagine that I can fit inside and garden along with Mrs. Claus. I'd love to have a real greenhouse so I could have the ideal conditions and space for all the plants I'd like to grow, but Mrs. Claus' Greenhouse is the next best thing!
Oh, Bonny! That is absolutely a wonder! Wow! I love it (being a bit of a Dept 56 collector myself for a few years when my kids were little... the girls loved moving the people all around, perhaps poor Sam had no chance for shenanigans, his oldest sister scolded him, lol)
ReplyDeleteYou have inspired me to share my Santa village this year (although, you have much better pieces than me, imo!!)
I love hte pieces you chose to keep Bonny. The reindeer! The sleigh! But the greenhouse is so cute - it's perfect!!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of these pieces, Bonny, so you have shown me something completely new to me. I love the greenhouse! That is fabulous for a Christmas display. I have toyed with the idea of getting a real greenhouse myself, but have never gotten one. BTW, my SIL sent us a beautiful Christmas cactus for the holidays, something I have grown to admire a lot from reading your blog. Hope I can keep it alive, LOL.
ReplyDeleteEven before I got to the part where you said the greenhouse was your favorite, I'd already decided it was *my* favorite part of the display! I really love it when small sets like this take the time to include interesting details (I notice the same kinds of things on my daughter's Lego sets).
ReplyDeleteYour comment about the dinosaurs in the manger reminded me of Emma Thompson's line in Love Actually: "There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?!"
That greenhouse is wonderful. I need to get out my houses. Thanks for the inspiration
ReplyDeleteWell, that's the best kind of display... only the pieces that mean something. I can't imagine having over 400! Did she set them all up?? I have one piece that my mom gave me years ago, The White Horse Bakery.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful display and I think it's always even more special when it has memories attached to it like yours does. I had Dept 56 houses and my mom did, too. It wasn't nearly as extensive a collection as yours but when I sold them, whooo boy it was worth a lot of money!
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of Dept 56! What a wonderful display and I think you absolutely kept the best pieces. That greenhouse is remarkable!
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas villages are always to charming and I've enjoyed and admired friends displays. I have never seen a greenhouse and yours is especially detailed! What a wonderful way to enjoy Christmas!
ReplyDeleteOh, Bonny. That little greenhouse is absolutely charming! How wonderful for you to have - and to set out every Christmas. (But . . . 400 pieces???? How on earth did she manage those???? My mom had some sort of "gnome" collection by some artist - not the kind like garden gnomes, but some "artsy" (?) and collectible kind of gnomes; I've forgetten the name of the collection/artist now because I had to get rid of all of them and I'm choosing to repress it all. Anyway. She didn't have 400. Thank god.)
ReplyDeleteoh I love your collection and the greenhouse is too cute! I am enjoying my decorations this year more so than usual :)
ReplyDeleteThe Dept 56 houses are so charming and full of detail. I don't believe I've ever seen a greenhouse though. How wonderful that it came from your Mom. I have a friend whose Mother also died and left a basement full of those houses. They really were a thing. My Mom had four or five and we divided them up after she passed. I do like having just a few. I wonder if they ever made a yarn shop.
ReplyDeleteWhat a collection!! Love to look at it . The lighting is perfection in the houses/greenhouses!
ReplyDeleteMy MIL has a huge collections of these. They are lovely, but I'm not much of a tchotchke person, either. When the day comes, I'll probably pick one or two.
ReplyDeleteThat greenhouse is really special!
One or two special houses are far better than the overwhelm of four hundred! I'm okay with having just four and even enjoyed setting them up this year.
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