Model Villages Are a Holiday Tradition

Model Villages Are a Holiday Tradition

Little model villages have long been part of many American families' holiday decorating traditions.

The life-like model villages have small houses, shops, people and snowy trees.

This season, American designers and creative people give advice on how to create your own small winter villages.

Background

Dayna Isom Johnson is an expert on the crafts site Etsy.com. She said nostalgia¹ – pleasure in remembering something from the past – is an important part of holiday decorations this year.

"So it's no surprise that tiny Christmas villages are trending," she added. Trending means becoming popular.

"From...snowy layers to modern ceramics³ with clean lines, families are putting their creative spin on this...tradition," she said.

Models of little villages from the 1800s came to America with European immigrants. They were popularized even more by F.W. Woolworth, who sold very small, German-made cardboard⁴ houses.

In the 1970s and 1980s, ceramic² houses became popular. The company Department 56 began making theirs in 1976 and still do today.

Making your own village

Robin⁵ Zachary has a large collection of objects used to make model villages. They include things like cardboard houses, matchbox cars, bottlebrush trees and little people. She likes to set up a model village for the holidays in her New York City home.

She advises people interested in making their own villages to consider model train shops. "The scale is perfect for a holiday village..." she said.

Sarah Fishburne is the director of trend and design for the company Home Depot⁶. She said it is a good idea to put small Christmas villages on top of fireplaces⁷ or side tables.

"You could also place one on the floor surrounding your Christmas tree, or distribute your pieces throughout a bookcase," she said.

If you are making a Christmas village yourself, Fishburne said, get everybody in the family involved.

You can find sets of wood and cardboard small houses online. You can add the paint and other decorative⁸ elements. Some will fit nicely over a light to shine in the evenings.

Kelly Mandell is a blogger in Los Angeles. She turned birdhouses into a modern holiday village using special paint and a shiny material called glitter⁹. Snow and colorful trees added to the playful feeling.

You might even include village elements into the branches of a wreath, Fishburne suggests. Americans sometimes put circles of evergreen¹⁰ tree branches called wreathes on their doors.

Beyond the traditional look, Fishburne recommends creating something that shows your family's favorite activities. Are you all ice skaters? Do you love to bake? Is a visit to grandparents something you do during the holidays? You could show these things in your model village along with things that bring good memories.

Or you could take ideas from the places you have visited in your travels. Fishburne said her family always brings home a little building or other small object from a place they have traveled to.

Finally, if there's no space for a large village, Zachary suggests a different kind of family craft project: a village painting.

"Why not have the kids draw and decorate houses, then pin them up in a row on the wall? Make sure they make some trees, as well as any of your town's significant buildings," she says.

Words in This Story

decorate – v. to make (something) more attractive usually by putting something on it

craft – n. an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands

trending –adj. describing something that is currently¹¹ popular or appearing on social media

layer – n. an amount of something that is spread over an area

ceramic – n. made of clay that has been heated to a very high temperature so that it becomes hard

spin – n. a certain way of describing or talking about something that is meant to influence other people's opinion of it

scale –n. the size relationship that one thing has to another (usually similar) thing

distribute – v. to divide (something) among the members of a group — usually + between or among — often used as (be/get) distributed

1 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

2 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

3 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。

4 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

5 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

6 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

7 fireplaces   

壁炉( fireplace的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop was an old converted house with many large, disused fireplaces and tall, narrow chimneys. 那是一座老式的、经过改造的房子，店里有许多废置不用的大壁炉和又高又窄的烟囱。 来自新概念英语第三册
• When the central- heating was installed, the fireplaces were walled up. 安装暖气设备之后，便把壁炉封闭起来了。

8 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

9 glitter   

vi.闪光(耀)；n.闪光，灿烂光辉，耀眼，辉煌

参考例句：

• The child was attracted by the glitter of the Christmas tree decorations.这孩子被圣诞树上闪耀的装饰物吸引住了。
• Beneath its surface glitter,the fashion industry is a tough place to work in.时装业表面上光彩迷人，但其实是个辛苦的行业。

10 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

11 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。