One of our favorite family traditions is our Christmas village. Each year the village expands to include new buildings, people, and other village decor. Our Christmas season would not be complete without our village. Here are photos from the past years’ village and this year’s village.
Christmas villages are not prominent in my Christmas memories from childhood. I only remember seeing one village, and I don’t remember where or who it belonged to. I just remember thinking how amazing and small it was, and that one day I would have one just as magical as that one.
When I got older, in my early 20s, I purchased a village set that consisted of a house, bed and breakfast, and tea house. It was so fun putting it together that first year. I couldn’t wait to expand it, but it stayed at three buildings until 2004 when my husband and I shared our first Christmas together.
My husband loved my village, and wanted to take part in expanding it. Each year we hit the after Christmas sales to get buildings, trees, people, and any other village item we could find. We love searching for the village pieces, assembling it, and showing it to our family and friends.
In the earlier years, we would light the village after completing the construction. A small celebration would follow the lighting. This tradition turned out to be an annual Christmas party with our family and friends celebrating the season, and enjoying the magic of Christmas.
Our village would be such a hit, that we decided to have fun with it. Each year we have a seek-and-find game where participants have to find three specific items in the village. The first to find their three items wins a prize. It’s so much fun!
The construction of the village takes approximately four weeks, and starts the day after Halloween. It takes a lot of planning to decide on the final layout of buildings, forest, roads, and tree/people placement.
As of 2015, our village consists of:
- 20 buildings
- 150 people
- 18 street lights
- 20 structures (tree farm, ice skating rink, etc)
- 5 roads
- 56 trees
- 12 bushes
- 4 fences
- 13 miscellaneous items (mailboxes, newspaper stands, cars, etc)
Before revealing this year’s village, let’s take a look at our earlier village layouts. Note: Even though we get new village pieces each year, the village doesn’t get assembled each year. We have moved over a dozen times since 2004, and our living arrangements didn’t always accommodate our expansive village.
2005
2006
2008
2011
And this year’s village…
Our new additions this year included:
Angelina’s Bridal Shoppe
Grandma’s house
Hunting lodge
toy and puppet vendors
As you can see, we put a lot of effort into our village. Our children love the excitement of building it, choosing the pieces, and everything else that goes into it. They are included from beginning to end, and it’s one of many Christmas traditions that we look forward to throughout the year.
Do you have a Christmas village or something similar? Post a photo or comment below!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
I love the story of the Christmas Village and the update of how it is growing….
Thanks, mom!