Department 56 is a major manufacturer of Holiday collectibles and nic-nacs, known for their lighted Christmas village collections and their Snowbabies collection. In 1993, Department 56 was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol of "DFS"

In 1976 starting out with only six hand-painted, ceramic Snow Villages, Department 56 was displayed at a floral shop called Bachman's in Minnesota. Since Bachman's had several collectibles and nic-nacs they named everything with a department, which is how Department 56 acquired its name.

Through the years Department 56 has introduced over 14 different Christmas collections. Some of the collections include The Original Snow Village, The Dicken's Village Series, The New England Village Series, The Alpine Village Series, the Little Town of Bethlehem, The North Pole Series, The Disney Parks Village Series, Snowbabies, Snowbunnies and many more. As part of their Snow Village collection they've also included a Halloween Village in addition to various other holidays such as Easter and Valentine's Day villages.

Growing from only 6 products to over 10,000 products, Department 56 has come a long way since 1976 to make decorating fun in your home all year long.