There’s something magical about those tiny Christmas villages. I’ve had my collection for a few years and now have about 20 houses, but this year, I only got out about 6 of them to sit on my downstairs desk in the den. Just a little bit of cheer down there. I love to imagine living in a tiny town like this and how quaint it all is with the little people scurrying around in the snow. My sister gave me the idea to use those flat styrofoam squares that come in packing boxes and it’s a great tip. Add some snowflakes on top and it’s an instant village. 
Mr. Snowman is in the center of town.
Love the children swinging on the swingset with buildings all lit up in the background.
This lit tree grouping is perfect for the Town Square too.
Announcing Carols tonight.
Gazebo and lots of little people, even Santa showed up.
Christmas tree lot.
One of my favorite buildings, the Chicken Coop Produce & Gifts.
Reminds me of Mayberry and how fun it would be to live in a little town like this.
Christmas is over for the year and it’s time to start putting things away. When do you un-decorate for Christmas? My goal is to get it put away by New Year’s weekend.
I always feel the need to clean really good after Christmas, do you?
Hmmm…thinks for the styrofoam tip! I have the Dickens Village but haven’t put it out for several years now. I find it hard to display! I try to have decorations down by the 1st. We are having out of town company so I took ornaments off of the tree tonight & started repacking. I can’t help it…I put everything carefully back into their original boxes! I am leaving out a few snowmen & some red berries & greenery for accents — I plan on doing some painting in the next few weeks & redecorating. I love Christmas & all of the holidays, but feel a strange relief when they are over. This one seemed particularly stressful…too many in our community without jobs this year…someone close to me in a dire financial situation…loss of my MIL this past year…& on & on. But my 6 grandchildren made it all worth while when I saw their delight with their gifts.
Love, to follow your blog! May we all have a new beginning & a Happy New Year!
I always put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving and take it down the day after Christmas. I have a little OCD and I like my house to look ‘normal’ all the time.
I do like your Christmas village. I do feel like everything should be cleaned after you take down Christmas stuff. I feel that way in the spring and when school starts. All of those are signals for me
Have a great week.
Hi, Rhoda!
Love your village! I would love to have one! Maybe next year. We always leave our Christmas decorations up until the weekend after New Year’s. We usually have friends over for New Year’s Eve, and leaving the Christmas decorations up saves me from needing to rush to put away, clean and re-decorate for New Year’s. Plus, I love Christmas. I try to stretch it for as long as possible. I really enjoyed all your holiday posts! Great ideas!
Thanks, and Happy New Year!
Barbara
My husband’s family believes that it is bad luck to take down Christmas decorations before the New Year has begun so I usually wait until January 1st or 2nd. I will take all the good luck I can get!
I love your village, but as a librarian, I have to say, every good town needs a library. I have 5 libraries and nothing else, so I guess my libraries need a good town. LOL Our out of town family will be with us for New Year’s Eve/Day for our Christmas celebration, so I won’t be taking the tree down until after they all leave Saturday. P.S. Besides libraries, I collect nativity sets. My family says I can fill the house with them as long as I don’t put one in a bathroom!!!
We took our tree down today. Usually we do it after the 1st, but my daughter wanted to do it today.
I love your little village! I have one, too! Well, my “stores” and business part of my pieces are on the entertainment center and the “”houses” are on top of my big ol’ upright piano. I really need to replace both pieces of furniture but I would have to find new places for my village. My Christmas village things are from Dept. 56’s “Snow Village”. I try to buy something new each year. I leave them out through the month of January. We have more snow in January than in December where we live.
I usually put my things away on New Year’s weekend. But, I was so busy moving into a new classroom before Christmas break, I didn’t get my stuff out until a week or two ago. I love the lights in the house. Hmmmm……I might take my time putting them away. I clean while I’m changing my decorations, too. It’s amazing how dusty it all gets in just a few weeks.
absolutely gorgeous village… Our Holiday home remains up to January 6 …we celebrate Three Kings Day….after that…we celebrate…”…Octavitas”… more weeks to celebrate we have at the end of January “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian” then in February 2 we have Dia de la Candelaria…when it oficially end the Christmas with a bonfire with the Christmas trees remaining in the houses..There with the fire you pray to the Virgen de la Candelaria to burn all the bad form the past year.. and then you could start a fresh spring….
What has happened to your blog???? The printing is so small I can barely see it???? Your village is lovely!
One year my mother was coming to visit the end of January and I left my Christmas stuff up till then just so she could see it as she and I rarely get to enjoy Christmas in each others homes. She did the same for me one year. What’s another month to get to enjoy such fun decorations…..one can clean and reorganize any time!
PS: I loved your Chicken Coop Produce village piece. My husbands great grandmother attended at a one room schoolhouse called Chicken Coop School #66 in Oregon!
Another week to go before I can climb out from underneath all of the decorations and out of the self induced sugar coma and get my house back to normal and my body back on track with good nutritious foods and daily workouts.I cannot wait.We actually have not had our Christmas yet and won’t until NY Day as that is when all of the children are able to be in town.
I love the village.I have a quite extensive one myself but I have not had the time to set it up for the past 2 years but I am hoping to get to it next year.Seeing yours, makes me long for mine.
Love your village. I have some houses a little larger than yours but haven’t had them out in a few years. Maybe next year.
Your village is fabulous! I love these as my Dad always took the time to set one up each year. Just something about them makes me ‘get lost’ for awhile…day dream about living there perhaps! Thanks for sharing! Happy New Year!
I absolutely adore your village and definitely want to start collecting one of my own. I always admire them while visiting friends and family.
We start packing away the Christmas decor on January 1st! We usually leave the snowman bowls and plates out all winter, but the tree goes out to the curb and everything Christmas gets packed away 🙁
Hi Rhoda,
Thats is a super cute village. I just started mine this year. Got my very first village house which is a candy shop.
They are magical arent they?!
Useing the styrofoam tops to the boxes is a great idea!
I try to get it all put away by the first weekend in Jan , only because my sons birthday is Jan 6th. If we didnt have a birthday then I would probly keep it up longer.
thanks for sharing!
Hi! Your village looks sweet. I have a small collection of those houses which my hubby has given me over the years. This year I put them atop the bookcase in his library.
We undecorate on Jan 1. By that time, I’ve seen it long enough, and am ready to get back to normal.
Have a Happy New Year!
Your Christmas village is beautiful; I would have a hard time putting it away! I leave my Christmas decorations up until the first weekend of January and then it all comes down, and I start thinking about spring.
Happy New Year!
That’s no village…it’s a metropolis!! I love it!
We decorate late so we’ll keep things up until next weekend, probably, especially since we don’t decorate until a week of so before Christmas. As a kid, Little Christmas (Jan. 6) was the day we tended to “undecorate” — we’re a little lazier, er, I mean later at the shorehouse. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/user/lemaxnut
I am from Sydney, Australia and I am an avid villager, have been for the past 8 years. My collection consists of more than 250 buildings, 700 figurines, 500 plus trees, about 50 animated table pieces and 30 lighted accessories and trees. I have included my youtube link in case you are interested in seeing my work.
My Christmas 2009 display is still up, but will be coming down next week. This year I built a 4 ft x 20 ft window box display just to be different. But having done one, I have so gotten it out of my system – the physical contortions of climbing in and out the window and crawling around under the display to do the wiring is something for a younger man. Also, it required a completely new way of building which made it almost impossible to change anything or do running repairs.
I have added 20 new houses , 10 animated pieces, including 2 carnival rides, and a dozen figurine groupings since Christmas, like I needed anymore.
Have fun, its a great hobby!
Happy and prosperous 2010 to you and all your loved ones.