So I get pieces in different thicknesses and place under the snow. Are they the small lights or larger ones, like the original lights that come with the houses? Since I’m in no position to start a village of my own (especially a Dept. Also to help figures stand up I use tacky wax. If you use the smaller lights how many would you put inside a house? Yellow make excellent candle lighting, white is very bright, I use red in the pub. From dollar store or Walmart. started over 20 years ago when my oldest child was 3, my then husband bought me 3 houses from the dollar store. I have had my village for quit a few years now. So I can get new ideas and buy an accessory. You can use the plastic wrap. But if you can find it. Maybe we could have an updated peek at your villlage? In my village, I have individual bulbs going to my Walmart and Lighthouse, but all the other buildings are connected to one long string of lights. Make a pond. So are Tupperware containers, paperback books, and miscellaneous kitchen items like bowls and such. Southern Fiction Author, Infrequent Blogger & Retired Clown. Hello from the UK, your Christmas village is sooo cool! In the last three years, my village has exploded without bankrupting me in the process. A lighted curio cabinet can spotlight your Christmas village display. A Christmas village, especially one that lights up, would be add an interesting touch to a basement or garage window as well as a way to show off some of your Christmas village pieces to people in the neighborhood. Those are both excellent tips! This was the original part with Blythe pond back in 1980’s. So helpful! I have a few skaters, but no lake for them … so this is what I will do for now. It’s super easy and will lend an eclectic feel to your Christmas village! If the windows have windowsills, you can use them to set up your displays as long as they are wide enough to support the pieces. This year, I have added a few ornaments, a snow-covered platform for underneath, and a firehouse with a few figurines (I am a firefighter in New Jersey). Fill form with stones then poor clear acrylic or elmers glue over them till mold is full. The edging on either end of the towels is perfect for making it look like a street or road with snow packed down from being driven over. It’s completely removable and sticks great. My son will get the ones from his grandma and my daughter will get what her father bought for me. 49. We made mountains to place behind the scene. Mine is on a thin sheet of styrofoam. I make roads and walls using fish tank gravel. Check their clearance isles. I’ve toyed with the idea of taking a nail file and trying to make the openings a little bigger for more light, but I’m too scared to try it! Dreaming of a white Christmas? I am trying to make one this year on my own….I really like your stream…Where did you get the Thomas train set? Christmas Village.. You inspired me to break out the Xmas village someone gave me years ago from Avon and set it up for the first time. Found. If you change your village for the seasons (some people do) use acrylic paint to add dirt or grass around it. Works beautifully, easy to setup and the perfect size! Saved from hotwirefoamfactory.com. It’s all the retired Charles dickens by dept 56. I’ve seen limbs sprayed with fake snow used in flower arrangements at “Ikebana” shows, and also limbs with glittery areas painted on them with nail polish containing glitter, so between the two ideas I will some realistic “winter trees” to add to my scene. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. I also used a paint pen to personalize the building signs, with grandkids names…for example “Stephen’s Garage”,”Delilah’s Pet Store”,”Clara’s Bakery”,”Chase’s Toy Shop”etc. Place bigger buildings in the front of your village, with the smaller ones up on a tier toward the back creating some distance perspective. EVERYTHING YOU NEED MY VILLAGE™ supplies all the accessories you need to create the most beautiful christmas scenery, such as landscapes, decorations and backdrops. Found some patterns during Covid. See more ideas about christmas villages, christmas village display, christmas village. Mar 2, 2019 - Explore Janice Greenfield Carter's board "Christmas Village Ideas", followed by 677 people on Pinterest. The red one is James by the way ALSO – the styrofoam base I am using will allow me to stick the trees in anywhere I wish, without having to worry about trying to support them. To make height in the village I use pieces of wood scraps. To use next. I use a 8 foot long power strip from harbor freight. Even on a $1 building. I’m going to remember that for the next village go-around! Thanks Kelly! Purchase Styrofoam to sculpt your mountains out of. To form then use small rectangular molds. Your set up has inspired me for new ideas. Required fields are marked *. Thanks for you great ideas. I got so many good Ideas from you I can’t wait to put up my small village. I got my Thomas train set at Wal-Mart actually, and they also sell expansion packs so if you want more tracks you can expand (something I’m thinking about to go to the next level this year!). You never know what the village will look like.. Aug 18, 2020 - Explore Lauren Burkhart's board "Department 56 displays ideas!!!!! Department 56 Christmas Village Display Ideas Make the ultimate Christmas landscape for your Dept 56, Lemax, or Dickens snow village display with these easy tutorials and videos. Still, I know it’s important to give myself a clean canvas for construction. Thanks for the ideas! Lay out or glue up a block of Styrofoam in the basic shape of your mountains. Would have never thought about it. Some people build elaborate styrofoam molds for their foundation, but I haven’t reached that level yet. The boxes your buildings come in are a great resource for mountains. Look around and be creative. lol. I actually purchased a different train in the set than Thomas (I think his name is Charlie? This platform can then be used year after year as part of your family's Christmas celebration. Amazon.com: christmas village ski lift. Official Book Signing Event In Eight Days! The light shines through the openings in the windows but not through the walls because the clay is so dense. You can dig the styrofoam out a little to create a bank. You can also comb felt to raise the pile and make it look fluffy. I even got brave and free handed planned and built my own house and both my sons’ . 3) Mountains: Cut another piece of foam longways into 7" and 9" strips. Village Fantasies: 5 Stunning Places to Display Your Villages, All Christmas Villages: Setting Up a Christmas Village. It is going to look a little depleted, but I am truly looking forward to adding a little each year, and your ideas are great! Use touch-up paint to add flair. I have a Christmas train that goes around my tree, blowing fake steam in the air and making “real” steam engine sounds. Last one just came to mind. The stream idea looks fun, I probably will add that next year. Loved your ideas. I have that train track as my boys are Thomas mad! Make cut-outs in the edges of the layers to make room for each of your village pieces. I’ve been trying to find a small “old” car to add to the scene (on the “road”), but all to no avail until I saw a display of cars from the movie “Cars” … I bought the oldest model of those (can’t remember the character’s name) and considered buying the tow truck as well … but will see how the size goes with my scene before putting more money into it! The Dollar Tree houses are lightable but they don’t glow as bright as the more expensive kind because they’re ceramic instead of porcelain. You can purchase a string of 20 white lights for about $5 and pop all your buildings onto the one string. Having recently purchased 6 large white plush bath towels (from COSTCO), I plan to use 2 of them as my “blanket of snow” over whatever base I put down. Midwest CBK Metal Gondola Ornament. For a sturdier mountain form with newspaper wrapped with chicken wire then spray the foam. The foam in the cans for sealing cracks can also be used to make mountains. Saved by Heather Youngbloom. They don’t look great, but by the time you cover them with buildings, trees and puffs of fluffy fake snow, no one will notice. I only have 3 buildings but my collection is slowly growing! I […], …then you better come out to my next official event on Thursday, Dec. 17th at the Southeast Branch of the St. Johns County Library. This technique … I like your river idea, I use this blue like plastic rap that I found at the grocery store. I do have a skating pond I received as a gift a few years ago, I gues that’s a good start. Get. One resource for styrofoam is our local Electrical Appliance store … they have to pay to have the packing taken away and disposed of, so they are thrilled to give it to me! Villagerrs up i will. Just make sure you’ve got a flat surface so your building will sit on top. First, we started with a 4 x 8 ft sheet of 2 inch polystyrene insulation. Nothing like what you see from Department 56 or Lemax was even remotely possible for my budding town. I’ll give you tips and tricks I have learned over the last 30 yrs. Saved from bigindoortrains.com. Displaying your village scenes creatively will make your display more interesting. Quilt batting in white or even pillow stuffing makes great snow drifts. For three weekends leading up to Christmas, the village's snow-covered, Bavarian-style buildings are illuminated by more than 500,000 twinkling lights and the sounds of hand-bell ringers, marching bands, and carolers fill the streets. I go to The Christmas Shop in pigeon forge once a year tobsee their display. You can buy additional track as your village grows. So no tricks there. Taking the time to create a Christmas village is diminished when no one can see your decorations. I found these great birdhouses at Michaels, which made my handmade Christmas village come together in a flash! If you do not already have a curio cabinet and you have the room for one, then consider picking up a used cabinet and putting it to good use during the holidays and all year long. My kids are really enjoying it as well. I e always wanted a village, but they always seemed too expensive. Just be sure and ask if you can test them before buying and hold them up to a light to see if they’re porcelain (which will be brighter) or ceramic (darker, more like the cheap ones from the dollar store). You’ll want to create some dimension to your village with a few mountains and hills. I’m making a Christmas theme with houses, log cabin, and a church plus trees, etc. Ponds and water I use alluminum foil. For someone who wants to have a place for their ice skaters, but can’t yet afford the one you have … I plan to use an old (useless) CD as my “lake” and put a “frozen” fountain in the middle (where the hole in the CD is). Thanks for sharing!! For a while, my parents placated my pleas for white Christmases with snowglobes, but that didn’t last. For example, if you have an unused fireplace, you can set up part of your display inside the fireplace. I have a village that I inhearete from my x mother in law when she passed. Now I have seven houses. … This is a different way to show off some of your Christmas village pieces, and will be a holiday conversation piece. The Dollar Tree got in the Christmas Village game and suddenly, my miniature city planner dreams were within the reach of my little budget. Prepare the room that you feel is most ready to receive the Christmas Village. ", followed by 1370 people on Pinterest. I bought my animated skating rink two years ago and its since become the the centerpiece of my village. If the light cord doesn’t fit through the little notches on the bottom of your buildings, you can balance out the added bump of the cord with extra snow or the little gemstones you can pick up at the Dollar Tree. Your village is very nice. Plastic canvas and yarn. But hobby store that sell trains and stuff always have stuff for villages. Thank you for sharing your passion! Once dry pop out. Collection. Don’t get me wrong here — I love a good Christmas train. Use what ever make you happy. I also check with the goodwill stores. my mom added to my. Take a long strip of plastic wrap and scrunch it up into a narrow tube. The German term to describe this construction style is "Fachwerk". Hopefully mine will turn out as beautiful as yours…. I think they do not come with lights or holes in windows, but do you put the string lights inside those? On top of the tablecloth, I lay my first blanket of snow with those cheap, sparkly sheets also found at Dollar Tree. And I can pull 1 plug to turn it all off. Cut out the contour curves using the Hot Knife. Why Miniature Christmas Villages Are Such A Big Thing. These are great tips. A garage window will typically require a high table for the display to be seen. You could also use traditional C-7 screw in light strings, if one is missing the rest stay lit, ad you can just cut off any extra and put electric tape over the end. Five tiny buildings and a lighthouse covered in snow glowed from the surface of the dining room sideboard for years. BTW, according to my son, the red train’s name is James. I have a mirror as my skating pond. Wind it through your village like a babbling brook (hint: it can be a great way to cover exposed cords and such, too). You’ll be covering them with snow anyhow, so it doesn’t matter what the item is (just so long as you won’t be needing it until after your Christmas village is ready to come down for the year). Mix in food color to desired blue color and pour onto the base. I display mine on a 15foot mantle in my living room. Tall and skinny is a recipe for disaster. Thanks for the great info! I have one question — are the Dollar Tree (Cobblestone) buildings “lightable”? Someone had dontated them. The. And even what new buildings we could construct had to come from the low rent K-Mart district. To make fake snow I take a sheet of styrofoam from a craft store. It takes a little creativity and a tight layout, but it’s worth it to have one cord running off the table. Whatever size you decide for your stand, the higher you make it, the wider it should be. I used your tips for Dollar Tree add-ons and a saran stream with river rocks, and it came out so charming, I love it!! I’m a village snob. Roughly layout your village. Customize your Christmas village platform, make your own miniature houses and create a … lol I only want the dept 56 buildings. This cute little paper Christmas Village house is inspired by a beautiful architectural style from Germany called the Half-Timbered Houses. We cut a two foot section of it and carved it up with the sculpting tool from Hot Wire Foam Factory (not sponsored). Keeping a village display limited to one kind of Christmas scene can make it easier to develop, as stringing together unrelated pieces can lack cohesiveness and can ruin the visual impact of your display. Modgepodge works great for these and water. I have a church from the snow village that has a glossy finish and a set of trees that match so I put green in the trees. I will take lots of inspiration from your awesome village, thanks for sharing! I have painted them and added them and now my collection has over 50 houses. You can paint over building labels and rewrite them (some of the Dollar Tree houses have scrawled, barely legible signs for their store names), fix any chips/scratches or enhance some features. I know this post appears from several years ago. Try to have some kind of central idea that your display is based around. I have the list of buildings and the MSRP when new with series and how many were produced so I don’t get ripped off. His publishing credits include a weekly column in the "Lockport Union Sun and Journal" along with the "Spectrum," the "Niagara Falls Gazette," "Tonawanda News," "Watertown Daily News" and the "Buffalo News." Glue the layers using Foam Fusion. I moved into my own apartment last year, and was lucky enough to do a Christmas tree with lights and a Lionel train. Some tacky wax. One more thing — even though you’re on a budget, you should splurge on one thing every year. I do have some mirror lakes that i set up to. DONT ever use that spray snow in the can it will strip paint off the pieces. Not even the best of snowglobes could fully capture the Christmas world I desired. Good luck with your village! A glass top table can display Christmas scenes beautifully. I create different variations of color with the bulbs I use in the houses. My advice is to have fun. I’m using cardboard, foam boards, and BBQ wood chips (not cooked) using Dollar Tree paints and any thing your imagination will take you. Each year my husband gets me a building or 2 for my birthday. just wondering about the lights that you use, you mentioned that you use only one strand of LED lights. ... Lemax Christmas Village Medium Mountain Backdrop. A Christmas village is a chance to create a three-dimensional holiday scene in your home. A Christmas village, especially one that lights up, would be add an interesting touch to a basement or garage window as well as a way to show off some of your Christmas village pieces to people in the neighborhood. It works great and I can use it every year. 4.3 out of 5 stars 16. I love your idea for your stream of water! I’m making this on a tight budget. thank you. You can […], I really love your village!!! I have had my village for about 25 years collecting, hope to get all set up beter this yeear with your tips,Thanks Again, Very nice and thanks for all the tips. I get all my pieces on eBay. Cool ideas. I have had my village for about 25 years collecting, hope to get all set up better this year with your tips, Thanks Again. plain birdhouse; the small ones, which look like townhouses. The stream in your village is my favorite. Year. It has been a long time since I put together my display (over 12 years) but excited actually started on it last week and the tips will be very useful. Plus it’s what they sell in the bags at the craft store or dept 56. Feel free to email me. When you lay out your village, use your found items to create a gradual rise in your tiers for a more realistic effect (and to make it easier if you’re using a connected string of lights). Let this dry overnight. Plug each house in. Build Your Own Christmas Village | Aethguild Game. I would like to see your new additions. I look forward to constructing my village all year — so much so that it is my birthday gift to myself every November, ensuring that I have it up and glowing before my big day on November 11th. I don’t have a train. Lucky day for me. Make sure that there's room for a house or two, and that there's not too much traffic where the houses and decoration can get trampled on and broken. I used kids’ silver glitter paint to add the same effect to my cheap, dollar store houses. Thomas is a better investment because your kids (or in my case, nieces and nephews) will enjoy playing with your train year-round. For example, my nicer homes from the early days of my collection have glitter in the snow. It made me feel robbed in some ways of the true Christmas experience. I’ve worked on my own cheaper version since 1984—I love your “Thomas the Train ” idea. Instead of crowding all your buildings onto one level, adding some “mountains” will give you tiers to create a display where all your buildings can stand out. As for the cords. If you have gaps, you can remove bulbs to create a break or cover the exposed light with some extra snow to give your village a little extra glow in the hills. Just spray it into a heap let it expand and paint. In dollar stores and ebay for my. To glue foam layers together to build up thicker layers (for mountains or Christmas village scenes) use low-temperature hot melt glue (applied with a glue gun), after testing to make sure the temperature of the glue does not melt your foam. I am using some of your ideas – lights and plastic wrap for water, and hopefully a pond – but Thomas can wait til next year. I realize that’s not a statement that instills confidence in my sanity or connection to reality, but it’s the truth and I won’t deny it. Next, use the boxes that the village buildings, trees and accessories are stored in and randomly place them around your newly made snow field. This allows them to be joined together as an X and is a very stable base. I have to tell myself not to buy any more pieces. The grandkids are coming tonight to help grandma set it up. 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