Model Villages Are a Holiday Tradition

2022-12-12

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1
  • Little model villages have long been part of many American families' holiday decorating traditions.
  • 2
  • The life-like model villages have small houses, shops, people and snowy trees.
  • 3
  • This season, American designers and creative people give advice on how to create your own small winter villages.
  • 4
  • Dayna Isom Johnson is an expert on the crafts site Etsy.com.
  • 5
  • She said nostalgia - pleasure in remembering something from the past - is an important part of holiday decorations this year.
  • 6
  • "So it's no surprise that tiny Christmas villages are trending," she added. Trending means becoming popular.
  • 7
  • "From...snowy layers to modern ceramics with clean lines, families are putting their creative spin on this...tradition," she said.
  • 8
  • Models of little villages from the 1800s came to America with European immigrants.
  • 9
  • They were popularized even more by F.W. Woolworth, who sold very small, German-made cardboard houses.
  • 10
  • In the 1970s and 1980s, ceramic houses became popular.
  • 11
  • The company Department 56 began making theirs in 1976 and still do today.
  • 12
  • Robin Zachary has a large collection of objects used to make model villages.
  • 13
  • They include things like cardboard houses, matchbox cars, bottlebrush trees and little people.
  • 14
  • She likes to set up a model village for the holidays in her New York City home.
  • 15
  • She advises people interested in making their own villages to consider model train shops.
  • 16
  • "The scale is perfect for a holiday village..." she said.
  • 17
  • Sarah Fishburne is the director of trend and design for the company Home Depot.
  • 18
  • She said it is a good idea to put small Christmas villages on top of fireplaces or side tables.
  • 19
  • "You could also place one on the floor surrounding your Christmas tree, or distribute your pieces throughout a bookcase," she said.
  • 20
  • If you are making a Christmas village yourself, Fishburne said, get everybody in the family involved.
  • 21
  • You can find sets of wood and cardboard small houses online.
  • 22
  • You can add the paint and other decorative elements. Some will fit nicely over a light to shine in the evenings.
  • 23
  • Kelly Mandell is a blogger in Los Angeles.
  • 24
  • She turned birdhouses into a modern holiday village using special paint and a shiny material called glitter.
  • 25
  • Snow and colorful trees added to the playful feeling.
  • 26
  • You might even include village elements into the branches of a wreath, Fishburne suggests.
  • 27
  • Americans sometimes put circles of evergreen tree branches called wreathes on their doors.
  • 28
  • Beyond the traditional look, Fishburne recommends creating something that shows your family's favorite activities.
  • 29
  • Are you all ice skaters? Do you love to bake?
  • 30
  • Is a visit to grandparents something you do during the holidays?
  • 31
  • You could show these things in your model village along with things that bring good memories.
  • 32
  • Or you could take ideas from the places you have visited in your travels.
  • 33
  • Fishburne said her family always brings home a little building or other small object from a place they have traveled to.
  • 34
  • Finally, if there's no space for a large village, Zachary suggests a different kind of family craft project: a village painting.
  • 35
  • "Why not have the kids draw and decorate houses, then pin them up in a row on the wall?
  • 36
  • Make sure they make some trees, as well as any of your town's significant buildings," she says.
  • 37
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 1
  • Little model villages have long been part of many American families' holiday decorating traditions.
  • 2
  • The life-like model villages have small houses, shops, people and snowy trees.
  • 3
  • This season, American designers and creative people give advice on how to create your own small winter villages.
  • 4
  • Background
  • 5
  • Dayna Isom Johnson is an expert on the crafts site Etsy.com. She said nostalgia - pleasure in remembering something from the past - is an important part of holiday decorations this year.
  • 6
  • "So it's no surprise that tiny Christmas villages are trending," she added. Trending means becoming popular.
  • 7
  • "From...snowy layers to modern ceramics with clean lines, families are putting their creative spin on this...tradition," she said.
  • 8
  • Models of little villages from the 1800s came to America with European immigrants. They were popularized even more by F.W. Woolworth, who sold very small, German-made cardboard houses.
  • 9
  • In the 1970s and 1980s, ceramic houses became popular. The company Department 56 began making theirs in 1976 and still do today.
  • 10
  • Making your own village
  • 11
  • Robin Zachary has a large collection of objects used to make model villages. They include things like cardboard houses, matchbox cars, bottlebrush trees and little people. She likes to set up a model village for the holidays in her New York City home.
  • 12
  • She advises people interested in making their own villages to consider model train shops. "The scale is perfect for a holiday village..." she said.
  • 13
  • Sarah Fishburne is the director of trend and design for the company Home Depot. She said it is a good idea to put small Christmas villages on top of fireplaces or side tables.
  • 14
  • "You could also place one on the floor surrounding your Christmas tree, or distribute your pieces throughout a bookcase," she said.
  • 15
  • If you are making a Christmas village yourself, Fishburne said, get everybody in the family involved.
  • 16
  • You can find sets of wood and cardboard small houses online. You can add the paint and other decorative elements. Some will fit nicely over a light to shine in the evenings.
  • 17
  • Kelly Mandell is a blogger in Los Angeles. She turned birdhouses into a modern holiday village using special paint and a shiny material called glitter. Snow and colorful trees added to the playful feeling.
  • 18
  • You might even include village elements into the branches of a wreath, Fishburne suggests. Americans sometimes put circles of evergreen tree branches called wreathes on their doors.
  • 19
  • Beyond the traditional look, Fishburne recommends creating something that shows your family's favorite activities. Are you all ice skaters? Do you love to bake? Is a visit to grandparents something you do during the holidays? You could show these things in your model village along with things that bring good memories.
  • 20
  • Or you could take ideas from the places you have visited in your travels. Fishburne said her family always brings home a little building or other small object from a place they have traveled to.
  • 21
  • Finally, if there's no space for a large village, Zachary suggests a different kind of family craft project: a village painting.
  • 22
  • "Why not have the kids draw and decorate houses, then pin them up in a row on the wall? Make sure they make some trees, as well as any of your town's significant buildings," she says.
  • 23
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 24
  • Kim Cook reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.
  • 25
  • __________________________________________________________________
  • 26
  • Words in This Story
  • 27
  • decorate - v. to make (something) more attractive usually by putting something on it
  • 28
  • craft - n. an activity that involves making something in a skillful way by using your hands
  • 29
  • trending -adj. describing something that is currently popular or appearing on social media
  • 30
  • layer - n. an amount of something that is spread over an area
  • 31
  • ceramic - n. made of clay that has been heated to a very high temperature so that it becomes hard
  • 32
  • spin - n. a certain way of describing or talking about something that is meant to influence other people's opinion of it
  • 33
  • scale -n. the size relationship that one thing has to another (usually similar) thing
  • 34
  • distribute - v. to divide (something) among the members of a group - usually + between or among - often used as (be/get) distributed