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THANKS TO OUR DEALER SPONSORS

BARBER BROTHERS
215 West Central Street
Natick, MA 01760
1-800-982-6884

SEASONAL POOL & PATIO
357 Columbia Rd, Route 53
Hanover, MA 02339
781-826-0077

THE SURREY SHOPPE
2161 Acushnet Avenue
New Bedford, MA 02745
1508-995-4773

G&L CHRISTMAS BARN
Route 14
Windham, CT 06280
1-888-737-5600

SNOW GOOSE
8 Spring Lane, Plymouth MA
2 Tupper Road, Sandwich MA
1-800-293-8476

NUANCE
300 Country Road, Route 114
Barrington, RI
1-800-435-2902

DEMPSEY'S
466 West Center St (Rt 106), West Bridgewater
7 Marion Road, Rochester
508-586-6301 or 508-763-3811

DAVOLL'S GENERAL STORE
1228 Russells Mills Rd, Box 51
Dartmouth, MA 02714
1-888-282-0478

INGLESIDE CHRISTMAS HOUSE
79 Lower Westfield Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
413-536-4520

CHRISTMAS BARN & GIFTS
754 East Street, Route 106
Mansfield, MA 02048
508-339-8575

THE CHRISTMAS LOFT
Shelburne VT, Quechee VT, Stowe VT
N.Conway NH, N.Woodstock NH, Meredith, NH
and Hadley MA
1-800-962-6180

MERRY CHRISTMAS SHOPPE
785 Bedford Street, Route 18
Whitman, MA 02382
781-447-6677

CHRISTMAS DREAMS & COUNTRY THEMES
67 West Main Street, Rt 9
Wilmington, VT
800-245-5252

WINTHROP'S HALLMARK
Locations in Somerset, Plainville,
Bridgewater, Dartmouth, & New Bedford, MA

CALICO CARD & PARTY (Hallmark)
Pleasant Shops Mall, Route 18
Weymouth, MA
781-331-5528

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION

If you are a retailer who is interested in becoming a sponsor of The DepartMENTAL 56ers Club, please contact us for further details. Our membership is very loyal to our sponsors. Receive a free business card size ad in each issue of our monthly club newsletter (which is target marketed to our 120+ members), plus receive a listing here on our website and many other benefits which we'd be happy to review with you. Click here to reach us:Mental56er@aol.com

ATTENTION CURRENT CLUB RETAIL SPONSORS:

Make sure you keep us posted on your events, signings, special pieces, and sales for ALL collectibles...our members collect many things and are interested in more than just Department 56! Don't miss these sales opportunities! Send us an Email or talk to your club member liason and make sure we get this news to put in our newsletter and our website! Check out these "TRUE STORIES" about some of our members and see why you need to keep us informed! Click here to forward us your store's news:Mental56er@aol.com

When one begins a collection of something, be it coins, stamps or some type of displayed item, the urge to have a complete collection quickly sets in. And, as the collector searches for those missing items he/she often is drawn to another “must have”, which prompts another collection. There is an indisputable fact that collectors collect……lots of stuff. For proof of this, read on for a sampling of club members stories recently compiled at a meeting of the local DepartMENTAL 56’ers Club.

Barbara didn’t collect anything; house was too small, she didn’t need anything. Barbara went to a DepartMENTAL 56’ers holiday party as a guest and won a door prize, a piece from the Dickens collection. No, she said, this is all I’ll keep. Next year, Barbara won another piece…she gave in, joined the club and is now an avid collector of….New England Village, which she mixes with her two Dickens pieces. Barbara’s holiday luck held out again last year as she won a display of Snowbunnies. Well, you know what they say about rabbits…it happened, Barbara now collects Snowbunnies.

And then there’s Maryse, who had a modest collection of Dickens houses when she joined the club. Maryse traveled with the club to attend a display demonstration hosted by a club sponsor. She watched in awe as an adorable scene using North Pole pieces was built. Lucky Maryse won the display in a door prize drawing. Maryse now collects Dickens AND North Pole pieces, adding yearly to her two village displays.

And then there’s Kay who bought a church from the original New England Village. She thought it would make a nice holiday display. She later added a few more pieces; when Kay heard there was a collector’s club in the area, she eagerly joined. Talking with fellow collectors and traveling to sponsor stores, Kay began to take a closer look at other villages. And, she fell in love with the concept of other collectibles, such as Possible Dreams and Disney Classics. Last year, club members who took the holiday house tour were in awe of Kay’s diplays, including North Pole, Christmas in the City, Dickens, and New England. Also on display were the 50 or so Possible Dream Santas Kay has accumulated since joining the club. An entire bedroom was devoted to a detailed display of D56 Disney Village with Disney miniatures and other collectibles Kay found through her searches of sponsor stores.

Jim and Lorraine joined the club as collectors of New England Village. During their third year of being active club members, Jim and Lorraine broke down and added a large room onto their house. The room? It has floor to ceiling shelves which they use to display New England Village, Christmas in the City and Dickens Village. The Bay window is perfect for displaying Season’s Bay; one has to wonder what will happen when that village expands. Of course, it cannot move to the dining room, that’s where they display Lorraine’s Snowbaby collection; the living room? Nope, that’s for Silhouette Treasures. The basement playroom won’t work, that space houses a very intricate North Pole display. The club certainly appreciates the support Jim and Lorraine provide our sponsor stores!

Vacationing in Vermont in 1994, Lauren was poking through a gift store and found Snow Village; she had always wanted to place a holiday village display under her Christmas tree, so she bought a few pieces. Later, in search of a few additional pieces to add, Lauren stumbled upon Christmas in the City and realized she could fit a lot more buildings into a smaller space with the “city” look. Later,in 1996, Lauren helped found the DepartMENTAL 56’ers Club and through the years has added a few New England, Dickens and Season’s Bay and Disney pieces to round out her village. During trips to sponsor stores, Lauren was able to entice her husband into the village mania with the addition of some Creepy Hollow (Midwest Halloween collection)pieces. And, when D56 began the guest collection for Snowbabies, Lauren, an ardent Wizard of Oz fan, had to have it; the guest collection has now become a growing collection for Lauren. But, there’s more; traveling to a Bachman’s gathering in Minnesota, Lauren discovered Billy Buttons, Storybook Village and Monopoly. On another trip she discovered Zim’s the Elves Themselves. Lauren now regularly checks sponsor stores for new additions to these collections. Lauren’s husband is wondering if he can use those frequent flyer miles to fund her purchases!

Gerti had been admiring her sister’s Dickens collection for years, and wanted a village also, but she thought she shouldn’t collect what her sister had in her home. One day, she saw an Alpine Village display and she knew, this was the one! She started collecting that day. About one month later, Gerti noticed the DepartMENTAL 56’ers business cards in a sponsor’s store. She joined the club on it’s annual house tour one week later. On the tour, Gerti realized that many members collect more than one village and they.... well, they collect. Winning a New England Village piece at a club raffle two months later, started Gerti on her second village. Suffice it to say, Gerti’s collection has now grown to the point where she has decided she needed an addition to her home. That, she says, will hold whatever new pieces come along. As Gerti continues to add to her two villages, she also adds to her sister’s Dickens collection . Shopping in our sponsor’s stores, helps Gertie find many other collectibles that she gives to family and friends.

It's so true! Collectors collect...EVERYTHING! So make sure you keep us posted on all the collectibles in YOUR store!

THANKS TO OUR DEALER SPONSORS

OTHER FAVORITE LINKS

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION

ATTENTION CURRENT CLUB RETAIL SPONSORS:

It's so true! Collectors collect...EVERYTHING! So make sure you keep us posted on all the collectibles in YOUR store!