Thread: Halloween Village - Dept 56 vs. Lemax

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I have been on the verge of starting a Halloween Village collection for years but can never seem to commit to which one I am going to go with. I apologize if there is already a thread out there for this, I tried searching for one and found lots of stuff on Lemax but was hoping people could tell me why they went with Lemax over Department 56. It seems like Department 56 has a little more in the detailing of the pieces which is a big plus for me but both have great concepts.

Please tell me if you had it to do over again which you would go with or if you would even start a Halloween Village collection!
Thanks in advance.

We've got a fairly big Lemax display. We went with Lemax for a few reasons.
1. It was much cheaper when we started
2. Something about the glazes on the Dept. 56 stuff put us off a bit (seemed a little shiny and new).
3. I think we were also a little put off by the scale of the figures compared to the buildings with the Dept. 56 stuff – that might just be my imagination though.

That said, I'm not real happy with the durability of the Lemax stuff. (We seem to be re-gluing stuff each year, and a few of the motors have gone.) I think they can be too ambitious mechanically.

I find the Dept. 56 stuff more clever (and more detailed as you mentioned.) The early Lemax stuff was quite simple and very creepy. It was rare that a house would have even a single figure included. Now it seems very over-the-top..."There's space for one more monster here..." which just doesn't match our sensibilities. Your mileage may vary.

If cost is not a big concern, I 'd go with the Dept. 56 stuff. Otherwise, the Lemax stuff can be nice. But avoid stuff that looks fragile from the get-go. Sadly, seems like the price of the Lemax stuff has really jumped the last couple years as well, so if you aren't getting them on sale, (use those Micheal's coupons!) there may not be a huge difference in price anymore.

It's a lot of work to set it up each year – my wife does most of it. But the kids can stand and stare at it for hours, so I think it's definitely worth it.

I have a mixture of lemax & dept 56. If i had to pick I would go with dept 56.

I've been a fan of Lemax since finding it in a Micheal's store a few years back. Usually try to add a building or lighted table piece a year, but lately haven't much liked many of the recent designs (really liked the old gothic-style pieces they used to sell.)

Department 56 pieces (especially the buildings) were very nice but seemed really too expensive to start collecting, though I have gotten a few small pieces to mix in. Now unfortunately Lemax has become kind of expensive too, so those coupons are a must!

Really wouldn't change a thing as far as starting over - it always came down to, number one, cost, then, two, style, so Lemax won out in that front. But now you could certainly make an argument that it's caught up to the Dept. 56 line, so it would be which style suits your taste better.

If you do start collecting, I'd love to see your display!

Ive been with Spooky Town since I started 11 years ago in 2000. Im a Lemax guy.

When Halloween villages first took off, Department 56 was the way to go. Great style, great stories, reliable quality. Lemax surpassed them in creativity and variety about 5 or 6 years ago. The quality has gotten much better in the past two years. I haven't looked back since.

I have a large Halloween village and most of them are Lemax but a few are Dept. 56. I love the old Spooky town pieces but not the recent ones as much. The quality of the Dept. 56 is sooo much better but the people are just too big to look as though they could actually live in the buildings. Even though the quality of the people is outstanding. I say mix and match.

I have both D56 and Lemax Spooky Town. Generally speaking, I find D56 to be higher quality but more expensive because the D56 buildings are mostly made of porcelain. The Lemax items are less expensive because the are made of plastic. The Lemax buildings have very creative animation, but they are usually a bit too "wacky" for my taste. While Micheal's sells Lemax during the holidays (and that is very convenient), I have never seen Lemax for sale anywhere else. D56 items can be found at many specialty stores throughout the year...and often times at 50% off.

The above is a long winded way of saying that while there are differences in Lemax and D56, I recommend that you not limit yourself to one company. I would draw upon the best of both to create your village. I hope you enjoy making your haunted villages as much as I do. This is a link to a super village that uses both Lemax and D56. http://youtu.be/EIQjUFQi2N4

I keep looking at some of the other...um...self-contained... villages (like this Universal Monsters village http://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/48194_.html) The pieces look great in the photos, but I've never seen one in person.

Wonder if they would look out of place in a Dept. 56 or Spooky Town village.

Thank you all so much for your excellently detailed responses - this has been a big help. I hadn't seen the people for Dept 56 in person and didn't realize their absurd scale!! I went and looked them up and you are so right. I also assumed for some reason the scale on the sets would be different as to prohibit mix and matching so its good to know whichever way I go doesn't lock me in for good. Your reviews and information have been invaluable - thanks for your time, I can't wait to start collecting.