Starting a christmas village display

[McQueensMuse]

A lovely guy who I used to work with always had the most beautiful Christmas village display, I always told him it was the official start of my christmas when he posted the pictures of it all set up.

He very sadly died and I was thinking how it won't be the same this year not doing my daily check to see if his pics are up yet.

So, I've decided to start my own christmas village dedicated to his memory and so that his enthusiasm and christmas spirit lives on and wondered if any of you have one and if you have any tips for me starting out please?
I'd like my first piece to be a hotel as that's where we worked together.

What a lovely idea!
I have a Christmas village which is made up of different makes and models of teelight houses - it started unintentionally many years ago when my MIL was moving and getting rid of her collection, about 5 I think. I've added about 1 a year since then, and as I couldn't get the same type that she had, I've just got whatever takes my fancy.
I set it up along a long windowsill every year, grouped into similar house styles, so now I have three "villages". I put them up on 1st December and it's the official start of the Christmas season for me. I use either remote controlled LED teelights in them, or I run a string of fairy lights through them. We have a few peg people that my dc have made over the years that act as "villagers" (there's some carol singers, a courting couple, father christmas and a snowman).
Everyone always comments on it, it's absolutely lovely and one of my favourite things about Christmas!

This sounds wonderful and I’d love to see pictures if possible! My only tiny grinchy grumble is the grinding noise that the moving pieces make, I had a lovely carousel/ice skating piece that drove me up the wall!

lemax is the best brand imo so I would buy a hotel from that- get yourself your backdrop sorted (my DM does a large piece of white gauzey felt/pretend snow) and put up various trees and snowmen to bulk out the scene before you manage to get more pieces. I’ll see if I can find a picture!

the best prices are to be found just after Christmas (January sales etc. particularly ex-display) so you could add to your collection then for the year ahead!

This was one from Facebook she put up last year 😄

Thanks guys.
I'll have a look at Lemax.
I'm planning on just emptying one of the shelves on the book case and starting the display there... But I have a sneaking suspicion that the real estate may need to be increased as the years go by.
I can't actually believe that I haven't done this before 😁

Am also a bit sad that I can't send Michael pictures of it 🙁
But I can tell my kids the story of how it started because of a nice man who loved decorating for Christmas.

I think this is a lovely idea. I would love to see pictures in due course.

Lovely 😊

My son has a village. As a young child he was always obsessed with them in the shops. He started saving his pocket money each year and buys one each Christmas.

I love a christmas village. I have a gingerbread village and a scandi village. I would like them up all year! This is a lovely idea, there are so many styles to choose from.

Maybe a bit twee but I have a small collection of Christmas/snowy Lilliput lane houses that I have on a plinth with tinsel and fairy lights. I usually add one or two each Christmas

@McQueensMuse someone I used to work with and stayed in touch with had a Christmas village too. He died young and tragically (isn’t it always though) over Christmas a couple of years ago. I was talking to him about his lovely village in the days before he dies, and he and his family are in my thoughts at Christmas now. Every year since when I think of him, I think to myself about making my own village. Maybe I will get round to it this year.

I agree with Lemax! I thought about starting one too for many years, my grandfather had one when I was small but it was all given away.

Although I have literally just bought myself a Lego elf clubhouse with the intent to start a Lego winter Christmas village instead 🤣. Not as refined looking and will probably take up a ridiculous amount of space if I have more than 2 or 3 items but so much fun to build! They release a new one every year.

I was actually looking at lilliput lane cottages this morning as I have an idea to make a 3D vision board and was thinking of getting a wee lilliput lane cottage to represent my dream retirement home.
So it was looking at those that made me start thinking about Christmas villages.
I don't think they're twee, I think they're really sweet.

Lemax! I adore Lemax villages. If you live near a branch of British Garden Centres, they always have a working display of Lemax villages in the run up to Christmas (not yet, usually around October).

I highly recommend the ones with motion & sound! The Brewery is a good one

I am so excited about this.

Definitely Lemax! I have about 30 Lemax buildings and many figures / decorative bits. It's amazing and my favourite part of Christmas.

I've bought a few full price, but they always go to half price after Christmas near me, so I tend to buy a few then to save money. This will be my third year building the village!

It's magical putting it up and I'm sure it'll bring you so much Christmas cheer! Museum glue is fab for securing things, it's clear and non damaging to most surfaces, it keeps all of the smaller bits in perfect place and nothing ever budges.

I have a Christmas village with lots of Lemax . I love the houses / shops but I also love the people and dogs . I add new characters every year .

I'm going to do this too, thanks for the idea!

I just use houses, fake snow, little people, lights and fake tiny trees I have bought over the years. I throw in some snow globes too so not v strict on the village side! Last year it was on the hall table.

this is my Christmas village from 2023. Lego produce a new “winter village” set each year.
just starting to plan my one for this year

Love all these pictures.

@CollieDug

That's amazing. I'm a Lego fan but never thought of doing the winter villages before .

Hello. I haven't done it before but I am thinking of doing a Sylvanian Family Christmas Village this year as my daughter has so many of them, I just need to think how to set them up all christmsssy together. And where to put them all!!

That sounds like a lovely tradition to start. Our local garden centre does Lemax and has a huge display, so it's become a family tradition now that we go to the Christmas opening and choose one new piece (and sometimes some scenery) to add to our collection each year.

We've got a bay window in the lounge, so we made some shelves that fit on top of the existing windowsill. We painted them white, used foam to make some raised areas, then flocked it to look like snow. Last year we added a pathway.

There's a space underneath the shelves, and that's where all the wiring goes - so I can connect everything to the mains and put it on a timer so all the lights come on at sunset and turn off at bedtime.

We deliberately try and choose pieces which don't move/smoke/play music so it doesn't create a fire-risk or cacophony in the lounge every night! We also try and choose the pieces that look good from all sides, so our neighbours can also enjoy the display.

As you can see, we still have a few spaces left to fill for the coming years. We'll go and choose a new one next month! I'm excited already.

We have a really small Christmas village that fits on a big tray but my dd and I love putting it together each year which we do by arranging it as we fancy using fake snow and a mini string of fairy lights - it's pottery houses and shops bought cheaply from charity shops, and sits on a shelf in the back of the kitchen (where our dining table is) for all of December