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A Livingetc report describes how Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are bringing renewed attention to Christmas village displays and their collectors. Department 56 collector Holly Hessler Lubrano says sought-after pieces are harder to find secondhand, though the scale of the trend and its market impact are not quantified.
Social media platforms are helping bring fresh attention to Christmas village displays, according to a Livingetc report on collectors of Department 56 and other miniature holiday decorations. The feature describes a loyal community sharing elaborate scenes online and a newer generation taking up the hobby, while one collector says popular pieces have become harder to find on the secondhand market.
The report describes Christmas villages as miniature scenes assembled from houses, shops and festive figures, often collected over many years. Some enthusiasts build large displays across shelves or dedicate rooms to them; others create smaller scenes as part of their annual holiday decorating. Images and videos shared on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube have helped the scenes reach audiences beyond established collectors, though the feature gives no platform data or measures of audience growth.
One collector featured is Holly Hessler Lubrano, who posts as @villageatrois and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has nearly 300 village pieces, most from Department 56, according to Livingetc. Lubrano began collecting for herself after finding a Department 56 piece associated with her mother’s collection. She says her own collection has grown through secondhand purchases, gifts and connections with other enthusiasts.
Lubrano told Livingetc that demand has made some secondhand pieces harder to locate. She also said she would like Department 56 to do more to recognize the resale market. Those observations reflect her experience as a collector; the report does not provide sales figures, resale-price data or a company response. The feature also highlights other styles, including light-up holiday houses sold by Anthropologie and cottages from Fortnum & Mason.
Collectors Connect Beyond the Display
The online attention matters because it gives collectors a way to share displays, trade knowledge and find others interested in a hobby that can involve years of collecting. For people who are downsizing or no longer setting up a village, the community can also provide a route for pieces to find new homes. Lubrano told Livingetc that many items in her collection came from other people, including gifts from fellow enthusiasts.
The report also connects the hobby to a broader preference for decorations that carry personal or family meaning. That is an interpretation presented by Livingetc, not a measured shift in household design. Still, the examples show how collectible decorations can function as more than seasonal objects: they may preserve family memories and become part of a recurring tradition.
For buyers, Lubrano’s account suggests that locating particular older pieces may take more effort than it once did. It does not establish how widespread scarcity is, whether prices have risen across the market, or whether social media caused the change. Those questions would require broader data than one collector’s experience.
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From Putz Houses to Department 56
Livingetc traces the tradition to miniature Christmas houses known as putz, a word derived from the German verb meaning “to decorate” or “to clean.” The feature says people in rural Germany and parts of Central and Eastern Europe made small festive buildings from materials such as wood and cardboard. The custom later travelled to the United States with Moravian immigrants and entered commercial production.
In 1976, Minneapolis florist Bachman’s produced six miniature porcelain houses under the name The Original Snow Village. The collection’s number in the company’s system was 56, the origin of the Department 56 name. Livingetc describes the company as a leading name in Christmas village collectibles, but the supplied report does not include independent market rankings or sales figures.
Lubrano’s collecting story reflects the role of family memory in the hobby. She told Livingetc that her mother chose a new piece at Department 56 each Christmas, and that recollection shaped her own interest. After moving to Williamsburg during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lubrano found a Department 56 Victoria Station piece for $20 at a time when she was exploring the local secondhand market. That purchase became a starting point for her collection.
““My mother collected these when I was a kid. So, there’s a real sense of nostalgia.””
— Holly Hessler Lubrano, Department 56 collector, speaking to Livingetc
How Large Is the Online Boom?
The report describes renewed interest and an active online community, but it does not quantify how many people collect Christmas villages, how quickly audiences or sales are growing, or how much social media has changed demand. It also does not provide prices over time or evidence that secondhand scarcity applies across brands and regions.
Department 56’s position on resale, the scale of its current production and any plans to support secondhand collectors are not included. Lubrano’s comments should be read as her personal experience and view, rather than as a company-wide market assessment.
Collectors Keep Sharing Displays
Collectors are continuing to post their holiday scenes and connect through social platforms, while Lubrano says she has met other enthusiasts through sharing her work. Livingetc also notes that Department 56 clubs bring fans together, though Lubrano said she had not yet attended one. The report does not identify a specific upcoming event, company announcement or next publication milestone.
For now, the clearest next development is continued seasonal sharing and collecting, with secondhand availability an ongoing concern for some enthusiasts. Whether the online attention will lead to a measurable change in sales, prices or company policy remains to be seen.
Key Questions
What is driving renewed attention to Christmas villages?
Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are helping collectors share displays with wider audiences, according to the Livingetc report. It does not quantify the size or pace of that attention.
What is Department 56?
Department 56 is a maker of Christmas village collectibles. Livingetc traces the name to a 1976 collection of six porcelain houses by Minneapolis florist Bachman’s, numbered 56 in its system.
Are Department 56 pieces getting harder to find?
Collector Holly Hessler Lubrano told Livingetc that pieces she seeks are harder to find secondhand and that prices have risen in her experience. The report does not include market-wide data to confirm how common that is.
Where did Christmas village decorations originate?
Livingetc traces the tradition to European miniature Christmas houses known as putz, made from materials including wood and cardboard. The custom later travelled to the United States with Moravian immigrants.
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