Every Village Needs One

The Homie, Matt Dunn, is doing a guest post. Enjoy.

I can still remember when it started: driving down the street, my wife and I saw a banner covering the normal sign of a store that we had never noticed before. “GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!! up to 90% OFF!” the sign hollered at us (ever notice how tiny the “up to” is on those signs?). The store, a Christmas Shop, specialized in garlands, lights and such, which was like a siren’s song to a newly married, decoration-less couple, suddenly afraid the upcoming December would be bare in our apartment.

When we entered, we picked up some holiday trinkets, including an “Our First Christmas” tree ornament. Then I turned into the back room, where my Christmas life changed forever. This room contained the store’s Christmas Village collections. For those of you who haven’t met a village collector, these are collectible ceramic pieces from which one can assemble their own little town, as simply or elaborately as they would like. A few companies make them; the store we were at sold the Department 56 brand, which offers several different series with different themes. I was instantly hooked. We chose the Original Snow Village, which has a 1950’s Smalltown, USA feel to it. As a bonus, all the village pieces were 75% off (remember, the sign said “up to”): enough of an incentive that we figured we could buy a few buildings, some accessories, and that’s all we would need. It would be cute.

Isn’t that how all addictions start? Just two little buildings and some accessories, right? And that’s all we got, that day. I think we got one store, one church, a cute newlywed couple with limousine, and some street lamps. A nice addition to adorn the place of a recently married couple. The entire thing fit on a folding tray table in our apartment that first Christmas together.

You know how you never notice how many people drive the same model car as you until after you buy it? Suddenly, I realized these buildings and accessories were available at stores I had never noticed before. So during the next year, I found I could buy mailboxes and parking meters for my village. Of course, now I had parking meters, so I would need another car or two. Christmas gift suggestions? I wouldn’t expect anyone to pay for a building, but they could always find inexpensive accessories, like roads or trees.

After we acquired our 5th building, it no longer fit onto the tray table. The expanded village simply took up some of the top of the entertainment center; the next year, the entire entertainment center. Our tree was still the focal point, but it was getting competition. Shortly after this, we moved into a house, which was good for the village: I could set up tables on my enclosed front porch for my platforms (did I forget to mention the platforms I built from two-by-fours?). Terracing stacking white foam panels gave my “neighborhood” natural contours.

Eventually, I began to act like a civil engineer. All of my days playing SimCity as a teenager paid off. I could have all of my houses in one area, but also have a business district. Should the coffee shop be next to the police station, or the Ice cream parlor? Also, these people needed some recreation time, so a park could exist in the middle., with a bandstand for concerts. Around this same time, I found online communities offering tips to add some homemade elements to a village. I realized that my central business district could have a downtown parking lot (good thing I still had the meters). My park’s cabins were joined by homemade waterfalls, frozen ponds, and a football field. The latest addition: a night sky, created using a combination of white Christmas lights and blue fabric.

So why do I do this? I ask myself that question annually (usually while cussing under my breath and fighting with extension cords, invisible to the world, save for some legs twitching in frustration. My house doesn’t get that many visitors at Christmas to appreciate my work, and the buildings cost money. And while it is obvious from the wreaths on many of the buildings that my village residents reside or work in that it is Christmastime there too, there is no overt obvious expression of Christ’s birth.

One reason I endure this is that it does its part to get me to focus on the true meaning. How so? We all know that December has become a crazy month for everyone. We are running to malls or clicking on amazon, our homes are a mess while we decorate and hide gifts, work becomes more stressful, and the entire galaxy seems to be in a conspiracy to see how many different ways we can yank our hair out. Creating the village adds even more to that list for me. But then … it is completed. All of the details are done, right down to the snow that is piled up on the one side of the street, from a recently passed-by plow (created by using dropping the village snow powder generously on the streets, and running a paintbrush at an angle up the entire road). And then, every day, when I come home, I see this one town where no one is stressed. The children skate, the grownups dance at a ballroom or carry a tree home on the roof of their car, and they are content. Calmness can exist this time of year. For the people in my village, and for me, when I stop and look at it each time I enter my home.

Matt Dunn and his village reside just outside of Philadelphia. When not creating a winter home for his villagers, he also creates music (in a concert band), comedy (in an improvisation troupe), and poetry (wherever inspiration strikes). Some of his faith-inspired poems have been featured in The Great Adventure Blog.

Image used is public domain / Courtesy of Matt Dunn.