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A Livingetc report describes how Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are helping renew interest in Christmas village displays and connect collectors across generations. Department 56 remains central to the hobby for many collectors, while one collector says rising secondhand prices have made pieces harder to find. The report does not provide sales figures or evidence that the trend is growing across the wider market.
Christmas villages are miniature festive scenes made from small buildings and decorative pieces. The report says collectors share their displays online, where the images and videos have helped connect enthusiasts and encourage others to create their own scenes. Its account is based on interviews and examples, rather than figures tracking platform engagement, retail sales or the number of collectors.
Hessler Lubrano, who posts as @villageatrois and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, has a collection of nearly 300 pieces, most of them from Department 56, Livingetc reports. She began collecting for herself after finding a Department 56 building that her mother had wanted. She now shares her displays on social media and receives pieces from other collectors, including people passing on collections they no longer set up.
Hessler Lubrano told Livingetc that many of her pieces came from secondhand sources, including antique stores and Facebook Marketplace. She said prices had risen and that pieces were harder to find on the secondhand market. The report does not provide price comparisons, so the scale and timing of that change cannot be independently assessed from the material provided.
Online Displays Connect Generations
The report points to a way social media can sustain a hands-on seasonal hobby: collectors can show their displays, exchange ideas and find others who share an interest. For people inheriting or receiving older pieces, online communities may also help collections continue to be displayed rather than stored or discarded.
The appeal described in the report is personal as well as decorative. Collectors connect the buildings with family memories and annual rituals, while new creators use them to make scenes of their own. That helps explain why the displays can mean more to participants than a seasonal decorating trend, though the report does not establish how common those experiences are.
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From Putz Houses to Department 56
Livingetc traces the tradition to miniature Christmas decorations known as putz, a term derived from the German verb for decorating or cleaning. The report says rural communities in Germany and parts of Central and Eastern Europe made small buildings from materials such as wood and cardboard before the tradition travelled to the United States with Moravian immigrants.
The article dates Department 56’s start to 1976, when Minneapolis florist Bachman’s produced six miniature porcelain houses as The Original Snow Village. The name, it says, came from the department number used in the florist’s numbering system. Department 56 later became widely recognized in the collectibles market, though the source supplies no current sales or market-share figures.
Other contemporary options include decorative holiday houses from retailers such as Anthropologie and Fortnum & Mason, cited in the report. The modern displays therefore range from traditional, collected pieces to newer decorative interpretations.
““So, there’s a real sense of nostalgia.””
— Holly Hessler Lubrano, collector and creator of @villageatrois, speaking to Livingetc
The Trend’s Scale Is Unmeasured
Livingetc describes renewed enthusiasm among the collectors and creators it features, but does not establish whether Christmas village collecting is growing across the public at large. The report includes no audience figures, survey results, sales data or year-by-year comparison for social media interest.
It is also unclear how much secondhand prices have changed, which pieces are most affected, or whether Department 56 plans any action on resale. Hessler Lubrano’s comments reflect her own experience and views, not a company statement or a complete account of the market.
Collectors Keep Sharing Their Displays
The report points to continued sharing on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, as well as informal collector networks and Department 56 clubs. It does not identify a scheduled company announcement, new data release or other formal next milestone.
For now, the clearest development is the visibility collectors are giving the hobby online. Whether that visibility leads to sustained growth in collecting or changes in the secondhand market remains to be seen.
Key Questions
What is the news about Christmas villages?
A Livingetc report describes how social media is helping bring attention to Christmas village displays and connect collectors. It is a reported feature, not a sales announcement or market study.
What is Department 56?
Department 56 is a collectibles brand whose history Livingetc traces to a 1976 collection of six porcelain houses produced by Minneapolis florist Bachman’s as The Original Snow Village.
How large is Holly Hessler Lubrano’s collection?
Livingetc reports that Hessler Lubrano, who posts as @villageatrois, has nearly 300 pieces, most of them from Department 56.
Are Christmas village pieces becoming more expensive?
Hessler Lubrano told Livingetc that prices had gone up and secondhand pieces were harder for her to find. The report gives no market-wide price data to confirm the scale of the change.
Does the report show that Christmas village collecting is growing overall?
No. It describes renewed interest among featured collectors and creators, but provides no sales, survey or audience data measuring growth across the wider market.
Source: livingetc.com
