Why I switched to a Lego Christmas Village

In our last house we stored our Christmas decorations in the attic, the opening to which was in the middle of the garage about 14 feet from the floor.  We used a winch system to get things into and out of it – including ourselves occasionally.  Using a ladder with a large box that high up was just terrifying.  One day, as we were getting the Christmas boxes down from the attic for the season, one of the boxes slipped from the winch harness a foot or two from the floor.  That box happened to contain my fragile glass Christmas village.

The damage really wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I was still pretty upset.  I glued the houses back together, telling myself the cracks gave them character (like they had been through the blitz).  That year, and for several years after, I displayed the houses on a high shelf, far out of the reach of kid’s hands, and dog tails, and even me.  And then one year, after the kids asked to play with the little houses for what seemed like the 400th time, and I had said no for the 400th time, I realized that the Christmas village had become something that caused me stress rather than joy during the holiday season, and I wanted to change that.  I still wanted a Christmas village, I had fond memories of my Grandmother’s Christmas villages and tiny train sets from my own childhood, but I wanted one that I could let the kids play with and didn’t have to worry about them breaking.

The boy’s Christmas time Lego catalogue provided the answer – a Lego Christmas village.  I had seen the Lego Christmas houses previously and thought they were adorable, but it suddenly hit me what a good idea they were.  If they fell out of the attic, they could be rebuilt.  If the kids broke them they could be rebuilt.  If the dog knocked them off the table they could be rebuilt.  I could let my kids play with the Lego Christmas village, and the tiny houses, and people, and cars could become fond Christmas memories.  And it was just so cute! My Christmas village could again become part of the joy of the holiday season, rather than a source of stress.

Now I have several pieces from the rather small Lego Winter Village collection.  They come out with a new model every year, and every year I look forward to adding to my little village and sitting with my kids and putting the pieces together.  The only stressful part is making sure that I place my order before they all sell out.