Department 56 villages began with a series of six ceramic village houses in 1976 and come in many different series and sub-series (to see their "family tree" click here). It is nearly impossible to collect them all so most collectors focus on one or two series to collect. Nevertheless, along the way you sometimes encounter deals that are too good to pass up and end up with pieces from another collection. My primary focus is on the North Pole Series and I "dabble" in the Original Snow Village Collection and the Christmas in the City Series. Over the years I've collected around 800 pieces (buildings and accessories) in my collection...explore each village collection by clicking the links below: