It’s no secret that I love decorating for Christmas. Even so, I’ve always held back a little from building a miniature Christmas village. Maybe it’s the expense, or the worry that my kids would break off the small parts, or the thought that if I took that step, there would be nothing left to distinguish my house from a Christmas museum. Well, here goes nothing!

I had already been playing around with my head with ways to DIY a village, possibly out of cardboard or paper, when my coworker and friend Beth found these adorable miniature wooden birdhouses. We used them for a group holiday project last year, and I turned mine into this pretty monochromatic village.

In addition to the birdhouses, I found a variety of unfinished wood and houses at the craft store. These were really inexpensive, ranging from about $1 to $10.

I did a few modifications, like removing the strings from the birdhouses and adding some embellishments with popsicle sticks and other wood pieces.

I painted the houses in all white for last year’s all-white Christmas, but I’m welcoming back some color for a red and white theme this year!

You can add tiny wreaths, doors, and as little or as much detail as you want.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland…

“Jewels”