When we first moved in to our house, we thought how great it was to have a fireplace.
And it is.
But the mantle that was put on the fireplace could be rented out as a bedroom.
It’s nearly 10 feet by 3 feet deep.
That first Christmas I put a tree branch that had broken off a tree on it with ornaments hanging from it. Really.
The second Christmas I think I tried to do some sort of arrangement with greenery and candles.
It just looked out of scale with the massive mantle.
By the third year, I was really annoyed with the bedroom sized mantle.
I think it was my husband who suggested we put a Christmas village on it.
Now, I’m not exactly the Christmas village type of girl. It’s a little tschotske for me.
At this point I was pretty worn down with ideas for the mantle so a Christmas village it is.
And I think we know my “Balls to the Wall” theory right?
And now I’m one of those crazy Christmas village people who are going to will the display down to a family member.
Just wait until they get my Halloween village display too……
when we bought our house in 2006 the couple who owned it had 6 sets of built-in bookshelves in the living room. completely filled with Christmas village items. all. year. long.
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Holy fuck! I'm jealous. I never was a Christmas village person until a few years ago my husband, shopping at the last minute and in desperation with the kids for gifts for mommy, stumbled upon these and since then has bought me about 2 new pieces a year. My village doesn't rival yours and I don't have the space you do, but yours is AWESOME. I love it. I want a gigantic mantle now too.
Your village is spectacular, I love how you used the people cute and fun ! What did you use for your snow and ice effect ? I kept seeing minitures at yard sales, and my favorite thirift shop ! I enjoy putting it up every Christmas now, I'm hunting for an old train station !
I use a combination of snow "blanket" and loose snow of three kinds. Glitter, large plastic flakes, small, grainy stuff. I actually have a train station that didn't fit into the display this year so I left it out.
i'm not a 'village' person, but if there's something to hand down to your kids, that's it! better than the mug collection I'm getting from my momma.
Looks great – and the perfect decoration for your mantle! Aunt Angela has a village that goes on tables the entire way around her living room – there's even a subway in one section on lower tables underneath! She gets a new building every year…
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Wow. That's the most serious Holiday Village I've ever seen. You are not fucking around. I like it. I like you. Let's be friends.
-ABC
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You are most awesome. I’ve never encountered such awesome before. If I look up the word awesome in the dictionary it simply has a photo of you.
Is that a mantle above the fireplace or are you just happy to see me?
Great, now your mantle made my mantel feel all sad and inferior and I just had to spend 10 minutes reassuring it that size doesn't matter and it is the perfect size for me and it's not the size of the ship but the motion of the ocean………oh wait, I may have gotten a little off track.
Oh yeah, and you are super awesome!
YOU ARE AWESOME !! and I mean it….. Seriously…… No, really I do.
Holy shit dude. Pretty sure I've now confirmed you were made with pure awesome extract. Nothing but the real deal here – love it! My jaw is actually a little bit on the floor right now. And I may be bowing down to you. You know, virtually. You may be kick ass awesome..but my couch is comfy.
Ummmmm…. You're really freaking awesome….
<3
I miss having a mantle big enough to really decorate. 3 feet deep might be a big much, but you've made it awesome! What a creative and tasteful person you are!
I say "Go Big Or Go Home!" We have a rather large mantle but it is like 6 feet high. I guess to not look strange with my 12 foot ceilings… Who knows. But If I didn't currently have a television inhabiting it I would SO cover it with Christmas.
I'm with Katie, we have no Mantel but I want one now! Of course it'd never look this freaking awesome! Consider me pretty Jealous of you and your awesomeness, and you Christmas Village!
I don't have a mantel and now I have mantel envy.
also? my grandma willed down her village. my mom has part of it. my son LOVES it.
I have a rather large picture on the wall. Two large vases to the left and a set of candlesticks to the right. There is still a ton of room but it looks pretty good.
Whoa! I am impressed. My brick mantle is dinky. I fully plan to create a new bigger mantle that fits over it.
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That's impressive. Just out of curiosity, what do you put on that monstrosity the rest of the year?
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As you know, I don't celebrate Christmas but I TOTALLY appreciate the effort you put into your mantle. Wow. Phenomenal!
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Well I guess one doesn't have to worry about room at the Inn. There's a room on your mantle.
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My what a big mantle you have!