collection

I'm a huge traditionalist when it comes to the holidays...specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas. Big family get togethers, old XMas movies (It's a Wonderful Life, Christmas Carol with Alistair Simm, Christmas Story...okay, that's not old), etc. I love the going to Kenilworth mall and seeing the huge train garden. My mom actually started collecting these Dept 56 houses and accessories which are the small intricate houses you typically would see in a Christmas train garden. She wound up getting me into it and now every year she buys our family a new Dept 56 house. Maybe one year I can put them all together and make that train garden myself for our family. At any rate, these houses often remind me of The Christmas Carol since they are replicas of old British homes (they even have a Dickens collection within the Dept 56 brand), so that's why I like them so much...