Do you have a Christmas collection?
One of my sisters has a collection of crystal snowflake ornaments, given to her by her mother in law every Christmas for many years:
My other sister has a collection of angel ornaments. Eventually, she’d like to have a separate, ‘angel’s only’ tree:
My mom and I collect the Department 56 Dickens’ Village:
Here are some of my mom’s houses. My village is the one pictured in the header photo.
Five Reasons To Love Christmas Collections:
1. They simplify gift giving. Your loved ones know what to get you and/or you know what to get your loved one. You can avoid receiving a gift card to Costco when what you really wanted was, for example, more Christian fiction for your collection.
2. They have heirloom potential. Instead of a scarf or an electronic gadget which would be lucky to have a lifespan of a few years, your collection pieces can last and last, maybe even for generations.
3. They’re functional. They decorate your space!
4. They bring delight (assuming you choose to collect something you love).
5. They give you a reason to experience the exultation of ebay auction victory.
My mom started her Dickens’ Village first. Back in the 90’s she was visiting San Francisco and saw a village displayed in a store there. She was charmed, and bought her first building, Quilly’s Antiques. Since then, she’s added pieces here and there either through her own purchasing or gifts she’s received.
I was won over by the village, too, so she presented me with a church one Christmas and a farmhouse soon after. For the first several years, I wasn’t sure where or how to display them. I only had the two buildings and placed them awkwardly on a small coffee table in my front, formal living area. I rarely saw them, because really. Who spends much time in their front, formal living area?
As my kids grew, they began to take an interest in the little, glowing houses and in all the tiny people that surround them. It was their excitement that fueled mine. I went ebay crazy one year, trying to snag as many used houses for super cheap as I could. I 
moved the new, enlarged group of houses to the dining room table, so that my kids could kneel on the chairs, plant their elbows on the table, and have plenty of room to play. If we need to actually (imagine!) eat at the dining room table during December, no problem. The houses are grouped in the middle, like a table runner. So we eat on either side of the village and look at each other over the rooftops and chimneys.
I was weary this year after our Thanksgiving trip and not energetic enough to think about Christmas decorating the first few days of December. But my five year old daughter convinced me to find the energy. Why? Because she couldn’t wait to get out the village. 
We’ve had a few accidents. Houses and people have broken, but I’ve never worried about it. They’re all replaceable. In fact, I’ve now filled the length of my dining room table and have so many people walking around outside the houses that I’m on the verge of needing an interstate to handle traffic flow. Unless I make the leap to another surface, I don’t have room for village expansion. Thus, when one of my old houses came out of storage with a hole in its roof this season, I was actually happy to have an excuse to purchase something new.
Be still my heart, I found a bookstore!
And a little light-up street lamp to stand outside it:
If I ever do decide to expand I love this idea from the ‘Sew Many Ways’ blog, which you really need to visit because it’s FULL of amazingly creative, inspiring, and classy ideas.
Thanks to Karen from Sew Many Ways for granting me permission to use this image.
Merry Christmas, dear Inspired by Life readers!
Please share! Do you have a Christmas collection or two? What do you collect? If you were to start a collection what do you think you might choose?
Becky Wade
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Loved seeing the Dickens village photos! I have just a few (inexpensive) lighted buildings that I display on a table in the foyer. Being a mom of five boys, we collected nutcrackers for several years and usually display them during the Christmas season atop the hutch and on the mantel.
I love Nutcrackers! What a fun thing to collect. My 5 year old and I were at JoAnns last week and she spotted a princess and a popstar nutcracker. I snapped a picture of her hugging them. At our house, we have one (very large 4 foot tall) nutcracker that a neighbor gave us several years ago. He’s named Simon. 🙂
Metry Christmas Becky and family ! I love your collection and your Mim’s ! ! They are so cute but classy ! I think I will start to collect those from now on ! I have always loved Thomas Kincaid things but i have i kt sern pictures .but this is different and cozy imo! Where do you get them and what is the name brand or what do you call them to be able to buy some ? Thank you for sharing ! It gave me something to look forward to ! God Bless you and your family !
Love. , your Sister in Christ and loyal reader and friend ,
Darlene Lindstrom
Luvnheal@gmail.com
Darlene, thanks for stopping by! I typically get the pieces for my village on ebay. I know my mom purchased a new item recently on Amazon. Some boutiques and department stores near where you live may sell the Dickens’ Village. The village is made by a company called Department 56. Here’s the page on their web site that helps customers find a store near them: http://www.department56.com/products/StoreLocator.aspx?smenu=store&ms=SL
Becky, I enjoyed seeing and reading about these wonderful Christmas collections. In the 1990’s, I began collecting a beautiful nativity set. I would receive a piece each year. Yes, collections do make gift giving easier! 🙂
I love nativity sets, Caryl! I have at least 6 different ones, spread all over the house. Some nicer ones. Some that are for the kids to play with.
I have a number of Fontanini nativity pieces. I haven’t continued as they changed the coloring, my are more muted tones than the newer pieces. I wouldn’t mind getting the wisemen as the brighter coloring wouldn’t seem as unusual as it would for most other pieces, but haven’t done that yet.
I googled Fontanini to jog my memory. Oh, yes! I recognize that nativity. They remind me of Renaissance art. I wonder if you could find some of the pieces you’re missing from the older collection online somewhere?
Becky, when I traveled frequently, I used to go into the Christmas shops and buy a Santa ornament that represented the location. Eventually I started writing the location and year on the bottom of Santa’s boots so I could remember where and when. Now, as I decorate the tree, I get to remember all of those trips. I also have a couple of Hallmark collections on the tree. I downsized my house almost eight years ago, and while I’m glad I did, I do miss all of the extra space I had when it comes to decorating for the holidays.
What a fabulous idea, Robin! I pick up ornaments on some of my trips, too. But it never occurred to me to pick up a certain type of ornament. It must be fun to see each region’s interpretation of Santa (and to remember all those trips as you hang each ornament).
I have Santa riding a dolphin from a trip to Florida and Santa in western attire from Texas. Just a couple of examples. I love them. And because it is Santa, I’m guaranteed to be able to find something in any Christmas store.
Love your post!
I am a Spanish teacher. I have a collection of ornaments that say, “Feliz Navidad” or are Mexican themed. Many have been gifts from students or friends. Some were bought for me in Spanish-speaking countries. Several years ago I purchased a smaller tree just for my ornaments. All the trim is red and green and instead of a star, I have a poinsettia on top. I so enjoy my Spanish tree!
Thanks for stopping by to share about your Spanish tree, Melissa! It sounds like you managed to do what my sister would like to do with her angel ornaments — fill a tree with them. 🙂 I’m so enjoying reading about everyone’s unique and creative and well-suited-to-their-interests collections!
I love anything vintage, so have been collecting Christmas elves for years. Now they’re so popular, I rarely find them, especially for $1. Since I also love miniatures, I collect tiny vintage plastic Christmas figurines and put them all in a printer’s shelf. My husband went through a mid-life crisis 🙂 and instead of buying a sports car, began collecting vintage Santa candles. Now he enjoys going to the thrift stores and antique stores with me. Have a blessed holiday season!
Ooh! I wish I could see your home’s collection of elves, plastic figurines, and candles! Your house must be so much fun this time of year. Snap some pictures and post them on my author facebook page, if you feel so inclined!
What a lovely village! I’ve always liked the ideas of those but never started a collection. Maybe it’s time to start. I especially love all the Victorian characters, and the bookshop is a must! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your pics, Becky. May you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!
Now’s a perfect time to start, Karen! A Victorian village would go well with your Christmas cross-stitch pieces, imo. 🙂
I have been collecting Notre Dame ornaments ever since my son began going to school there a few years back. They are of different locations on the campus; we are so proud of him; he is on his way to becoming a priest.
Wonderful idea! It’s so sweet that you’ve found a way to support your son through your collection, Roberta.
Hi Becky. I have a lot of collections for Christmas. I have 19 Santa Clauses. Some are Jim Shores and some are Possible Dreams. You know ? The kind with the cloth clothes. I also have 2 Coca Cola Santa’s. I love the Kneeing Stanta.
I have a collection of Nut Crackers also. I have a Christmas village from Norman Rockwells Stockbridge and a tiny cobblestone village. I have trees and lamp posts and people and a street to make it more realistic. I put it up for years and loved it . But that was before the cats moved in and took up residence. After that people and lamp post started to go missing , so sadly to say the village isn’t used these days.
Plus it’s a lot of work to put it up. Love your book case idea.
Blessings
Shirley
Wow, Shirley! I’m super impressed by the sound of your Christmas collections. I just looked up Jim Shore santas and those are gorgeous. Just my style. I may have to start a collection of those myself… 🙂
“people and lamp post started to go missing , so sadly to say the village isn’t used these days.” – LOL!
Each year I put up my “Nativitree”. It’s just bare tree branches decorated with only nativity ornaments. I have nativity ornaments of all fashions .. from veggie tales to precious moments, kids hand crafted, some representing different cultures and nationalities. The ornaments are nice and Christmas cutsie, but the bare twisted branches of the tree reminds me that Jesus birth was not at all pretty and the big old nails I lay at the base reminds me of the reason he came. So while the twinkle lights of my Nativitree make the house feel cosy and christmasy the tree itself is a curious thing and conversation starter for those who come on and say “hmmm, that’s interesting”. So each year I look for new and unique nativity ornaments … they are getting harder and harder to find.
(I do also have the regular traditional green tree for the kids)
A nativitree! I’m reading a wonderful Advent devotional at the moment (Finding the Messiah by Jane Rubietta which I learned about through one of Tammy’s posts here). Here’s a quote fro it: “We can’t have Christmas without a cross on the horizon, not really. Because Christ’s coming is rendered irrelevant if we understand it to mean that we can hitch a ride to easy street, that everyone will love us, and that we will always get the job, the raise, the trophy spouse, and all the blessings and riches in the world’s definition of favor.” Your nativitree reminded me of that. Of the relationship between Christmas and the cross.
Thanks for sharing, Lynn.
I love birds and started collecting all kinds . Then I started collecting bird ornaments. This year I have a small tree so my birds cover the whole tree. I have many different types of birds, and I love them all. My other birds are a part of the mantle decoration. I have a village, but I have not set it up since my grandchildren have gotten old enough that it no longer is cool to show an interest. In a few years they will most likely pass this stage, and the village will live again. Thanks for sharing yours.
I bet your bird tree is lovely, Pat! Wish I could see it. 🙂 Invite me over for coffee sometime soon so I can admire it, would you?
Let me know the next time you come to Denver.
We have a Christmas village that we’ve collected over years. It is fun to put up with the whole family, making up stories about the villagers and laughing together. I started an ornament collection for each of our children, adding one each year, so that by the time they became adults, they would each have enough ornaments to decorate a tree. It’s a nice tradition and gets them started without having to spend a lot of money all at once.
I have a collection of Hallmark Gone With the Wind ornaments. My mother started buying them for me years ago before I ever left home or had my own tree. The year she passed away I bought my own. The next year I met my husband, and he has bought them for me ever since. This year he bought my 20th ornament. Some years I was given a Rhett ornament, too, so I actually have more than 20. I hope to someday have a GWTW tree. Every year when I take them out, (I still store them in the original boxes) I think of all the love that has gone into them that started with my mom. Each is precious to me.
I collect my husband’s Father Christmas carvings. He carves them out of bass wood and paints the. Every year he makes the kids and I each an ornament for the tree. He also makes me a regular piece too. You can check them out at snowcottagecarvings.com