Tag Archives: Department 56 North Pole Village

Decor – Christmas Home Decorations

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CHRISTMAS… the weather has turned a little frosty and there might even be snow on the ground. (if you are lucky!)  If you live in a warmer climate, don’t worry about it because as soon as you put on some Christmas music to set the mood and start to unpack those Christmas decoration boxes you will definitely get into the holiday spirit!

After Thanksgiving, I pack up all the fall decorations and the boxes are stored down in the basement. Then, my husband brings up the Christmas decorations and it can take awhile because I have several boxes!  The process of decorating our house for Christmas can take several days but I enjoy every minute of it!  The interior house Christmas decorations I have collected over the years are not specific to a certain room and I can be creative with the different accessories, so I’m not limited to the same decorations in the same place every year and this keeps things interesting and fun!  I have fewer exterior house decorations and generally they are the same every year.  For the last couple of years we have decided not to decorate the outside of the house with lights to save both time and money – please don’t call us Scrooge!!

Like most holidays when I start the decorating process for the holiday season, I begin with setting up the Christmas decorations outside on the front porch.  Living in the Midwest the weather conditions can get very harsh and I usually keep all my exterior decorations under the roof of the porch to keep everything safe from the elements.  I start with a couple of pre-lite artificial Christmas trees and for the last couple of years I have added a pre-lite snowman bought at a Target after holiday sale.  I liked the size of the snowman but embellished him a little by gluing on larger black buttons, topped it off with an old black winter hat and this year I’m going to change the wire nose and add a large artificial carrot instead!  To complete the front porch, I hang a Christmas wreath on the front door.  I have three different wreaths that I rotate from year to year. One is a large pine wreath decorated with pinecones and red berry sprays, another is a wreath covered completely in velvet holly leaves and the third one is a pine cone wreath accented with holly leaves and red berries.

With the outside of the house done I can now start decorating the inside of the house.  In the entry hall I set up a whimsical 24” Santa displayed with two elves hanging onto the branches of a small Christmas tree.  Nearby I have a pair of black ice skates hanging from an antique sled with a Boyd’s moose named Mortimer.  Whenever I am shopping in the antique stores, I always look for holiday items – on my wish list is a set of old skis and poles and hopefully I will be able to find it before next year.  This year I have added a Christmas Kissing Ball and I think it will be fun for our guests’ arrival and departures this holiday season!  (Please look for the December Craft post for instructions on how to make your own Christmas Kissing Ball)

    

The next room of the house is our library; this is the room where all our books and vacation memorabilia are in bookshelves that fill up an entire wall.  On the other side of the room, I keep my Boyd’s Bear collection year-round in a small lawyer’s bookcase.  I add my Boyd’s Christmas figurines and I decorate the two shelves with pine branches to give it a festive Christmas look.  The bottom shelf holds the Boyd’s Bear Village and I decorate the display with winter trees and tiny snowflakes.  I also add a Boyd’s Bear Santa to one of the ivory chairs in the library.  On another side of the room, I have displayed for the last a couple of years our Fontanini Nativity set on an antique table that my husband’s Grandmother kindly gave us.  This heirloom table is very special to us because it has been in the family for a very long time. (Please see a previous December Décor post for more detailed information on the Fontanini Nativity Display)

The next room to decorate is the family room.  One wall of the room has a fireplace and mantel flanked by two bookcases/cabinets.  For the past few years I have displayed our Department 56 North Pole Village in the bookshelf but this year I will be doing something new and it will be displayed across the fireplace mantel.  The fireplace mantel is also the place where we traditionally hang our Christmas stockings.  Next, to complete the family room, I will set-up a display on the fireplace hearth with a traditional 29” Santa, his two reindeers and a small Christmas tree. (Please check out my previous December Décor posts for more detailed information on the Department 56 North Pole Village display and the Christmas stockings and Fireplace Mantel decorations) 

In the dining room, the Memory Tree set out for Thanksgiving will be moved to the family room.  (Please refer to last month’s Craft post for ideas and tips on how to create your own family Memory Tree)  In November I had displayed in the china cabinet three Currier and Ives porcelain houses I purchased at a local craft store a few years ago.  Our china cabinet has a mirrored back so you are able to see both the back and the front of the display of the houses.  I add a few small pine trees and additional figurines and these are set-up on a beautiful elongated mirror and silver stand.    This display is an example of a decoration that works for both Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons – I love when that happens!  This year I have added two new Craft projects to our dining room decorations – a Victorian inspired fruit arrangement that I made last month for our Thanksgiving table and a Cranberry topiary inspired by one I had seen in a past HGTV White House Christmas shows.  I think they are great additions to our traditional dining room design.  (Please look for full instructions on making both projects – the Fall Victorian Centerpiece is a November Craft post and the Cranberry Topiary is a December Craft post)

The last room on the main floor of the house to decorate for the holidays is the kitchen.  Now, this can get a little tricky because the room needs to function as a full service kitchen, so the counters need to stay clear of decorations because food and meals are being prepared and eaten at the table on a daily basis.  We have a fairly large kitchen that is open to the family room and these two rooms of the house are where we spend most of our time.

Several years ago I found the perfect Christmas theme for the holiday decorations in the kitchen – gingerbread and candy canes!!  Since there are several areas in the kitchen that I decorate for Christmas, I start with an area that has a long chair height counter with upper and lower cabinets.  This is the area my daughter does her homework and the counter needs to stay free of clutter.  So, in the space above the upper cabinets I usually set-up a Department 56 gingerbread train that is displayed with pine boughs, red berry sprays and this year I have added “white icing” snowflakes to give it a different look.  I also hang two holly wreaths with red berries and gingerbread snowflakes on the cabinet doors.

    

The last area that needs some Christmas attention is the area by the stove and oven.  Please be careful with the holiday decorations in this area because with the extreme heat from cooking you don’t want anything that is flammable or a fire hazard.  I have a basket of artificial vegetables on the counter and I add a cute “North Pole Candy Canes” container that holds some wooden candy canes and pine sprays.  I also hang some Santa towels from the oven bar handle.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our house decorated for the holiday season and I try to create decorations that are classic and traditional but fun and interesting.  Please let me know your comments or suggestions; I would love to hear what you think.

Decor – Department 56 North Pole Village

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North Pole Village 2012

The Department 56 North Pole Village is one of the highlights of our Christmas decorations.  It brings me great joy to create something whimsical for the family during the holiday season.  Even with the same main buildings displayed every year; such as Santa’s Workshop, Elves’ Bunkhouse, Reindeer Barn and Santa and Mrs. Clause’s Home and the North Pole Gate – the display can look different from one year to the next.

When I unpack the boxes from storage every year, I will try to arrange the various buildings and accessories in different ways.  Some years I will even display the Department 56 North Pole in a different room of the house.  Last year I added a mountain platform and a blue sky background.  Please, take a look at the photos below and see how the display has changed over the years.

So, if you have one of the Department 56 villages, think about displaying it in a new way or perhaps even in a different room.  Maybe purchase another building or accessory to add to the collection.  Suddenly, with a little creativity or spending just a little money, a Christmas village can look fresh and new.

    

History of the Department 56 Villages

Over 25 years ago Department 56 began as a part of the premiere retail florist, Bachman’s, in Minneapolis, MN.  Bachman’s used a numbering system to identify each of their departments and the number assigned to the wholesale gift department was 56.  Department 56 has been a leader in the collectible, home and holiday decorative products and is now a division of the Enesco Company.

Known for their Christmas Village and Snowbabies collections, the brand began with the Snow Village six ceramic houses in 1976.  Some of the names of the original houses were the Mountain Lodge, Gabled Cottage and Inn.  Currently the collection consists of over 225 pieces and accessories.

The Heritage Village Collection started with the porcelain Dickens Village in 1984.  The charming houses depict the time of Charles Dickens and are named for places or characters relating to the stories he wrote.  Some of the pieces are The Old Curiosity Shop, Scrooge and Marley Counting House and the Cottage of Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim.

The New England Village was introduced in 1986 and includes churches, such as the Old North Church in Boston, lighthouses and other buildings and places in the New England area.

The Alpine Village collection started in 1986 and some of the pieces have very European names, such as Josef Engel Farmhouse, Bessor Bierkeller and St. Nicholas Kirche Church.

The Christmas in the City collection was introduced in 1987 and depicts American life from 1930 to1940.  Pieces include the Palace Theatre, Ritz Hotel, Dorothy’s Dress Shop and St. Mark’s Church.

The North Pole Series started in 1990 and the first pieces introduced were Santa’s Workshop, Elf Bunkhouse and Reindeer Barn.

The Little Town of Bethlehem collection was issued in 1987 and there were only twelve pieces.

For further information on Department 56 Villages or to see what houses and accessories are currently available or to get additional ideas see their website.  www.department56.com

Decor – Fall to Christmas Change Over

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The week after Thanksgiving is a very busy time for me!  That’s when the Fall decorations are put away and the Christmas decoration boxes are brought up from the basement.   I really enjoy taking my time to unpack each box and deciding how I want to do this year’s displays.  Even when I’m using the same pieces year after year I try to set my displays in different ways or in different rooms of the house.  Sometimes the Fontanini Nativity set will be in the dining room and the next year it will be in the our library or the Department 56 North Pole Village will be in the family room bookshelf and the next year is will on the mantel over the fireplace.  This keeps everything interesting and it is fun to use different ideas or techniques to set up the displays.

In upcoming December posts, I will take you through all my preparations of the different Christmas displays I create in our home, such as: Fontanini Nativity Display and Department 56 North Pole Village.  Some other December posts detail my other Christmas decorations, such as: Themed Christmas trees and Christmas wreaths.  All of these Christmas decorations are created to make the holiday season a special one for my family.

Now, I wanted to discuss how to use some of the same materials for both Fall and Christmas.  When this is done in a creative way it can save time and expense when changing over the decorations from one holiday to next.  (Who doesn’t want to have extra time and save money at this time of year!!)

Pine garlands are a very versatile material for this purpose and I will show how with some simple changes it can be used for both Fall and Christmas decorations.  One of the most traditional ways to use pine garlands are on a mantel over the fireplace.  Below are two photos showing the same garland decorated for both holidays.  Keeping the same pine garland on the mantel, I switched out the fall decorations and replaced them with the Christmas decorations.  For Fall, the pine garland is decorated with colorful ceramic fall leaves and red berry sprays scattered throughout.    For Christmas, I used several ceramic snowflakes, large green glass pinecones ornaments and red berry sprays.

    

Small tabletop Christmas trees can be used in the same versatile way.  In my dining room I create a “Memory Tree” and placed it on a tea table.  This special tree is decorated with family photos in small bronze photo frame ornaments.  (Please see this week’s Craft post for more information on the Memory Tree or Wreath)  Below are two photos showing the “Memory Tree” decorated in two different ways for Fall and Christmas.  For Thanksgiving, the tree is decorated with golden feathers and oak leaves with acorns.  For Christmas, I replace the golden feathers with burgundy feathers and small glass pinecone ornaments.

    

As you can see, all it takes is a little creativity and by simply using different decorations to accent a pine garland or a tabletop Christmas tree the look can reflect the different holidays.

I would love to hear from you so, please write me to share your own ideas or comments.