My brother requested I post some pictures of my Christmas Village. Only thing is, it's too big for just one picture so I took this video to show off my village. The village started with seven houses the my mother's younger sister made. Aunt Patty poured, fired, and painted the houses herself. She then made most of the trees, bushes, and animals. The bear, baby bears and the foxes were made by my Aunt. Two of the smaller houses were sent to my mom in a floral arrangement that my mom's older sister sent her for Christmas two years in a row. They are from the Thomas Kincaid collection. The houses my aunt made were Charles Dickinson style. It became a holiday tradition for my mom and I to buy at least one item each year for the village.
I inherited the village when mom died. I added the lighthouse and the ship. I also got one of my brother-in-laws to help build the base. It is a full sheet of plywood that we cut in half and added hinges so I could close it for storage. I painted the board and added the gravel roads, cobblestone roads and we drilled holes and added the lights. The table that it sits on was made by my middle brother. The base is four feet wide by a little over six feet long. I have the base overhang on one side of the table so I can use the table edge for more room. Two years ago I added stars hanging from the ceiling but chose not to put those up this year. I am currently looking for small snowflakes to hang with the stars maybe next year. That is provided my youngest son is living close to me because he is tall and real good at hanging things from high places. (My definition of a high place is anything out of my reach and I am only 5' tall) The mountain is just a folded sheet.
As I write this it is snowing. It has been snowing since 10:00 this morning. We actually closed school 45 minutes early to get the students home safely. We were almost too late because the buses had a lot of trouble making it to school. When I left for work this morning my sidewalk and driveway were clear of snow. When I got home at 3:45 the snow covered my shoes. I have posted some pics. It was too dark to video the blizzard. But it really dumped on us this time. It is supposed to warm up a little tomorrow then drop below 0 again for the next week.
I hope I can get out to go shopping this weekend. I have planned my first progressive party for a week from tomorrow and I need to get supplies and food. Also I am getting a little stir crazy and need a break before winter really takes hold and I have to with stand cabin fever. Here is the video and pics enjoy.
