The Christmas Village

Another year has come and almost gone and again I have set up my prized possession, my Christmas Village. 
As a child I always loved doll houses and, while living in Scotland, had the most amazing one full of hand-made wooden furniture .  I loved setting up the rooms, the people and rearranging the furniture.  I played for hours.  Sadly the house was too large to make the trip across the ocean to Canada and was given to the local Children's Hospital.
About 10 years ago I saw a Christmas village display set up in a shop and a flood of memories came back to my days with my doll house.  Right then and there I knew I was going to start collecting pieces for my new village.  As I was looking for particular pieces I decided on Department 56 "Snow Village" and "Christmas in the City" themes.  The pieces are beautifully detailed and were the perfect fit for me.
Every single piece holds special meaning for me; from the home with the tree house and tire swing in the backyard just like the one Grandpa built for the kids, The Centre for the Arts for my Mother's (and my) love of the theatre and all the shows we have seen, the Quilt Shop for my love of quilting, the Tree Farm because, this year, we are going to cut down our first Christmas tree, The University; a gift from my "university" kids, Downtown Shops; for my love of shopping, Woolworth's; a gift from my brother as my Mother used to take us there once a month to have pop and french fries at the lunch counter.... it was a big deal for us to be able to sit on the swirly stools and enjoy our special time together, the Apartment Building; as I grew up in an apartment building with my Mom and brother, the Dance School; for my love of dance and my dance classes, the Golf Clubhouse and Hockey Rink; because both my "boys" love both sports and the Garage in memory of my Father-in-law who owned his own business "Klassen Motors".
Each year I add more pieces and I love spending an afternoon putting it all together.  Every piece is special, bringing back all the happy memories of days gone by and my inner child.  It takes me hours to decide which building goes where as I have never displayed it the same.  I have gone from one small table to 3 very large pieces of plywood and next year I suspect I will need 4 as I want to add a train station to my railroad.

Til next time.... Enjoy!