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Every year, I catch myself wondering how miniature Christmas-themed towns became a holiday decor staple. Yes, I’m talking about Christmas villages—those little decorative villages set up during the holiday season that are now available in a variety of types and configurations. Perhaps you’ve encountered some of these collectibles in the homes of relatives, friends, or even your own living room. They stand amidst the trees, lights, wreaths, and other festive furnishings that deck the halls (and streets) around the holidays, invigorating the rooms they inhabit with stories galore.
Though the stereotypical Christmas consumer might assume these products were born out of the baby boomer era, their origins can actually be traced back to the late 18th century. It all started with the Moravian tradition—which in turn derived from the tradition of Nativity scenes—of creating “putz” during the holiday season. With a name derived from the German verb putzen, meaning “to clean” or “to decorate,” these putz materialized as miniature home assemblages that were made of materials like paper or wood and were set up under Christmas trees. The Moravian church brought this tradition with them to the US when they immigrated to the country during the 18th century.
As Karal Ann Marling, a Minneapolis-based art historian and author of Merry Christmas! Celebrating America’s Favorite Holiday, notes, these putz ensembles “usually took the form of an elaborate landscape with animals, which may or may not have alluded to the creatures in the stable at Bethlehem or the passengers on Noah’s Ark…. The typical putz went beyond the limits of any biblical scene [and] into pure, exuberant genre.”
With illustrated publications on the rise in the early 20th century, putz knowledge soon spread nationwide. Outlets even provided written instructions on how to make small houses out of cardboard to complement consumers’ under-the-tree landscapes. (Evidently, DIY projects were all the rage back then.) Even businessmen like F.W. Woolworth took advantage of this trend by importing the village designs from German suppliers to the US and selling his own version.
By the 1930s and 1940s, suppliers turned to Japan for mass production of early Christmas villages. Their designs often included the ability to incorporate Christmas lights into the models’ backs thanks to having cellophane windows, allowing the houses to appear illuminated from within. The low cost and wide availability of these models made Christmas villages very popular decor throughout the US for many years.
But by the ’50s and ’60s, popularity dwindled a bit. World War II halted all US imports from Japan and Germany, and then the dawn of the television made for reduced living room spaces. Christmas villages wouldn’t make a comeback until the late 1970s, in part thanks to the utilization of new materials. Compared to their predecessors, like cardboard, materials like ceramic and porcelain allowed for not only more elaborate designs, but better durability.
This turn to new materials was largely made by what would become one of the pioneers and titans in the Christmas village business: Department 56. The company story goes that employees of a premiere Minneapolis florist called Bachman’s were inspired by a snowy night out during the holiday season, to the point of then creating six lighted ceramic buildings (Mountain Lodge, Gabled Cottage, the Inn, Country Church, Steepled Church, and Small Chalet) during the 1976 Christmas season, which would later become known as Department 56’s Original Snow Village series.
According to Tim Haney, VP of product development at Enesco (Department 56’s parent company), the village houses became an immediate success for the Bachman’s crew. This resulted in the official formation of Department 56, a name they derived from an accounting ledger Bachman’s used to designate their holiday giftware department. “While companies had sparsely dabbled in figurines prior, Department 56 was the first to define village standards and earn our sizable fan base,” Tim adds.
Following this success, Department 56 began introducing a variety of other series in the coming years through today—notable additions include their Dickens Village, New York City–based Christmas in the City, and a Disney series. The company also quickly implemented annual “retirements” of older models, which sparked an air of exclusivity and collectibility around the products. Collecting these miniature villages became a popular Christmas custom, with collections spanning from just a few small figurines to huge landscapes of sets.
The variety and collectibility of Christmas villages has contributed to their continuous popularity. Patti Priestman, co-owner of Christmas Village Shop in Ontario, notes how the growing range and sophistication of villages has maintained consumer interest. Her store prides itself as “offering the largest selection of Christmas village houses, figurines, Christmas trains, and accessory items in Canada.” “Animation is relatively new and growing in popularity, the houses and villages are getting more intricate and sophisticated,” she explains. “Shared family interests can come alive, since the product range has grown.”
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But besides the variety, what else makes Christmas villages so appealing today? Perhaps, as with other miniatures and artificial lives, the worlds they create allow one to live vicariously through them as a means of escape—it’s that sense of fantasy which resonates with collectors. Take for instance Varouj Baltajian, who runs the TikTok account @mrchristmasvillage. The 35-year-old’s Christmas village collecting spawned out of his obsession with playing the game SimCity 2000 as a child. “Being able to make my own city and keeping my citizens happy was so much fun,” he recalls. “So in 2015, when my mom downsized and gave me her Christmas village buildings, I saw it as an extension of that same experience. I get to make my own little city and come up with little stories for the townspeople.”
So, though Christmas villages may be associated with older generations, the growing variety and nostalgia they instill make them a worthy investment amongst younger demographics. What started as paper and wood figurines has evolved into porcelain villages that can go to lengths of lighting up, animating, making sounds, and playing music. Today, you can find them in all sorts of stores across the globe—from elaborate recreations of classic holiday films to more modern designs that lean minimalist. There’s a Christmas village for everyone. Like so many other variations of Christmas-themed decor, these landscapes prove to be timeless. As the miniature trend carries on with all the bells and whistles, the Christmas village offers a blissful escape where we can indulge in festive fantasies through small-scale collections.
