Garden State Village Collectors

A club for collectors of Department 56 Villages





























The Garden State Village Collectors club was established solely for collectors of lighted village houses. Although most members indulge in houses marketed by Department 56, Inc., many also own village buildings and accessories produced by other companies such as Lemax, Midwest, Bristol Township, Pacific Rim and Enesco. In October of 1992, a handful of interested New Jersey collectors met to organize our club. They elected officers, prepared bylaws and laid the foundation for this successful group.

The club has seen a remarkable growth in membership. Our success is derived from hard work, dedication and enthusiasm. Since all work and no play makes for dull meetings, we sprinkle in a little humor, prizes, surprises, good food, delicious desserts, great photos, and lots of caring and sharing for our membership. We provide wonderful opportunities to enhance your villaging enjoyment. We spread the word about reputable dealers, and the not so reputable. We have located pieces for our members, been a terrific pipeline of information and a provider of a great source of creative villaging ideas. We are happy to share information about primary issues, the secondary marketplace, village related publications, accessory resources, retirement and introduction announcements, display tips and notice of village gatherings across the country and in Canada.

Our members come from all walks of life, both near and far. We are proud to boast participation from all areas of the Garden State and we have even attracted members from as far across the country as Texas. Our meetings have featured speakers from New Jersey, as well as from West Virginia, Rhode Island, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania.

The GSVC has been the recipient of numerous donations from generous retailers across the Garden State. We are most appreciative of their support and encourage our members to keep their generosity in mind when making village purchases.

We are Christmas people, as summed up by the words of Charles Dickens: "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year" (1843, A Christmas Carol). There are plenty more villagers out there just like you. They are not strangers-just friends you haven?t met. We invite you to attend a meeting to see what we are all about.

Membership in the Garden State Village Collectors club is open to anyone interested in lighted village houses or any of the other collectibles, such as Snowbabies, made by Department 56. The club holds five regularly scheduled meetings per year - January (our annual house tour), March, June, September and November. We hold our meetings The Morris County Library in Whippany, New Jersey.

For information about our club meetings at the Morris County Library in Whippany, please contact via e-mail:

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