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A Livingetc feature reports that social media is bringing fresh attention to Christmas villages, drawing younger creators into a longstanding collecting hobby. Collectors describe nostalgia, community and rising difficulty finding some Department 56 pieces secondhand; the report does not provide audience or sales data to measure the trend.
Social media is renewing attention to Christmas villages, with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube helping collectors share elaborate seasonal displays and attract younger enthusiasts, according to a Livingetc report. The feature highlights Department 56 collections and the role of nostalgia and community, but provides no sales figures or platform data to quantify the trend.
The Livingetc report describes Christmas villages as miniature scenes built from small houses and other festive pieces, often arranged as annual home displays. Collectors post their creations online, where established enthusiasts and newer makers can find one another. The publication characterizes the online following as devoted, while its account centers on individual examples rather than a survey of collectors or a measured increase in participation.
One of the collectors featured is Holly Hessler Lubrano, who posts as @villageatrois from Williamsburg, Virginia. She told Livingetc that her collection is nearly 300 pieces, most from Department 56. Her interest connects to her mother’s collection: Lubrano recalled that her mother chose a new piece each Christmas, building the display over time.
Lubrano said she found a Department 56 Victoria Station piece for $20 after moving to Williamsburg during the COVID period, and that purchase helped start her own collection. She now sources pieces through antique shops, Facebook Marketplace and gifts from other collectors. The report also notes that some collectors dedicate entire rooms to displays, while others pass pieces on as their needs or interest in setting them up change.
The report points to a shift in how a longstanding seasonal hobby is shared: displays once assembled mainly for family and visitors can now reach wider audiences through short-form video and social posts. That exposure may help younger decorators discover the practice and gives collectors a way to exchange ideas, pieces and personal histories.
The appeal described is not only visual. Lubrano’s account links collecting to family memories, while the broader feature frames these displays as a form of personal storytelling. That interpretation fits a wider interest in homes that feel accumulated and lived in, but the article does not establish that Christmas villages are a broad retail trend or that social media has caused a measurable rise in sales.
Collectors’ accounts also underline a practical issue: sought-after secondhand pieces may be harder to locate or more expensive than before. Lubrano said prices have risen and that she spends less time searching thrift and antique shops. Her experience is a firsthand observation, not a market-wide price study, but it helps explain why trading and passing collections between enthusiasts can matter.
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From Putz Houses to Department 56
Livingetc traces the tradition to miniature Christmas buildings made in Germany and parts of Central and Eastern Europe, using materials such as wood and cardboard. The feature says the scenes were known as “putz,” from a German verb meaning to decorate or clean, and that the practice traveled to the United States with Moravian immigrants.
The commercial collecting history in the report includes a 1976 launch: Minneapolis florist Bachman’s produced six porcelain houses under the name The Original Snow Village. The collection was associated with department number 56 in the company’s numbering system, giving rise to the Department 56 name. The brand is now widely recognized for Christmas village collectibles, according to the feature.
The report also mentions other styles, including light-up holiday houses sold by Anthropologie and cottage designs from Fortnum & Mason. It presents these alongside the traditional village format, rather than documenting a single company’s new launch or a formal industry announcement.
““My mother collected these when I was a kid. So, there’s a real sense of nostalgia.””
— Holly Hessler Lubrano, collector and creator of @villageatrois, speaking to Livingetc
No Data Measures the Online Surge
The Livingetc feature describes renewed interest and a new wave of creators, but does not provide platform figures, collector surveys, sales data or a time series showing how quickly participation has changed. The scale of the trend and the role social media plays compared with other factors remain unquantified.
Lubrano’s comments about higher prices and harder-to-find secondhand pieces reflect her own experience. The source does not establish whether prices have risen across the Department 56 resale market, which pieces are most affected, or how much availability varies by location. It also does not report a response from Department 56 to her suggestion that the company support the secondhand market.
Collectors Keep Building and Sharing
The feature does not announce a company initiative, upcoming product release or scheduled industry milestone. For now, the next developments are likely to come through the collectors themselves: new seasonal displays, online posts and the circulation of pieces through resale, gifts and community networks.
Whether that visibility leads to sustained growth or changes in Department 56’s approach to resale remains unclear. More evidence, such as company sales information or broader collector research, would be needed to measure the hobby’s reach beyond the examples in the report.
Key Questions
What is the reported development?
Livingetc reports that social media is giving Christmas village displays fresh visibility and helping collectors connect with newer enthusiasts. The feature does not quantify the increase.
What is Department 56?
Department 56 is a brand associated with collectible Christmas villages. Livingetc traces its name to a 1976 collection of six porcelain houses produced by Minneapolis florist Bachman’s.
Who is Holly Hessler Lubrano?
Lubrano is a Williamsburg, Virginia, collector who shares displays as @villageatrois. She told Livingetc that her collection is nearly 300 pieces, most from Department 56.
Are Christmas village pieces getting more expensive?
Lubrano told Livingetc that secondhand pieces have become harder for her to find and that prices have gone up. The report provides no market-wide pricing data, so it does not establish how widespread that change is.
What remains unknown about the trend?
The report does not provide figures for sales, social media audiences or the number of collectors. It also does not confirm whether Department 56 plans to support resale or respond to collectors’ requests.
Source: rss
