My sister Lori has a real knack for getting me gifts that appeal to my inner childhood that's really never gone away. This year it was a simple little gift that is going to build into something much larger. In the photo above you can see Schwartz, Ralphie and Flick in the foreground about to take on the Triple Dog Dare. That was my gift this year. Checking the box I found that it's a Department 56 item. The same Department 56 that makes a huge Dickens village collection that my mom started and has now been passed on to me. Well of course I had to check out the website to see what else from Ralphie was available....

I ended up ordering Ralphie's house, the old man with the lamp, Ralphie in the bunny outfit and even found the elementary school to put behind the pole. In fact we found all sorts of fun holiday sets so we've decided to create a completely original holiday world starting next Holiday season. Mixing and matching various holiday scenes into one big village. Should be fun, stay tuned!