Do not let the miniature size fool you: a Christmas village will be a larger-than-life addition to your holiday decor. Offering limitless potential for creativity and customization, Christmas village displays are a beloved tradition in millions of homes worldwide, and displaying your Department 56 village well is what turns a shelf of buildings into a town.
With an astounding array of themed buildings, characters, and accessories, each meticulously crafted with stunning detail, Department 56 is the original Christmas village creator, and the brand behind the holiday village tradition for nearly half a century. Today their collections feature hundreds of pieces, so you can design a festive scene as unique as you are.
St. Nick’s Christmas & Collectibles has been a proud Platinum retailer of Department 56 villages for decades, and we are honored to have helped countless families start their own collections. Here is our guide of Department 56 village display ideas to spark both your inspiration and your Christmas spirit.
Choose Your Holiday Village Theme
From the beginning, Department 56 has been known for themed village collections in a diverse variety of styles, from traditional scenes to the latest blockbuster licenses.
Before you buy your first building, consider the theme that suits you best. Do you envision a classically charming, Victorian England-inspired town straight out of a Charles Dickens novel? Does the hustle of a holiday in the big city hold a special place in your heart? From the Original Snow Village with its retro Americana feel to Santa’s North Pole and a charming Bavarian Alpine town, St. Nick’s has something for everyone.
Beyond the classics, we carry the licensed lines too, including Disney, The Grinch, Peanuts, Harry Potter, and the Halloween Village. Best of all, you are never limited to one style; many village enthusiasts mix and match pieces from different themes to create a completely customized collection. Our overview of what’s new for Department 56 tours every line if you are still choosing.
Begin Building a Village with Simple Starter Elements
Feeling unsure how to start a Christmas village? Do not be overwhelmed. With just a few key pieces, you can begin the collection on the right note.
At St. Nick’s, we often recommend that customers begin with one primary building (a church is a classic anchor), a small assortment of people, and some snow. Even on a small budget, you can enjoy a lovely scene from the very first year, then invest in a new addition every Christmas. The display grows, and so does the tradition.
Plan Ahead for an Easy Electrical Source
Choosing pieces and arranging the tiny town is the fun part; powering it can get complicated, because each standard building has its own light cord. Even a small village can run out of outlets before you know it.
One of our best display tips is to swap individual cords for a single multi-socket cord. Made by Department 56 to work with its buildings, the 6 Socket Lite Set with bulbs replaces up to six separate light cords, dramatically simplifying setup and leaving you one plug to switch the whole town on at once.
Add Height and Visual Interest with Risers
Varying heights move the eye and keep the magic of a holiday village from falling flat. Risers under the snow create hills and neighborhoods; sturdy boxes or foam blocks work well beneath the surface, and wood pieces are a smart way to stage standalone buildings, especially on a tabletop. As a rule, put taller buildings toward the back and let the terrain step down toward the viewer, the way a real hillside town greets the road.
Risers also let you zone the display. Give each village line its own elevation, or use height to separate the town square from the outskirts, and the eye reads the story instantly. A village that steps uphill toward a church or castle at the back has a natural focal point, and every visitor’s gaze will climb the same path you designed for it.
Use Snow as a Winter Wonderland Groundcover That Also Hides Cords
Once the buildings are placed, lay down a blanket of village snow. Designed to sit beneath the buildings, it is soft, impressively realistic, and easy to place, adjust, and smooth, and it is reusable year after year.
Your village’s size determines how many snow blankets you need, though it is always better to have extra. Faux snow is also the best way to disguise cords, which is half the reason decorators love it. Tuck the cords into gentle channels between risers before the blanket goes down, and the whole town will light without a single visible wire spoiling the illusion.
Bring In a Diverse Assortment of Tiny Townspeople
Every Christmas village needs residents, placed around town to create that happy holiday buzz. Arrange people so they tell stories: a family at the bakery window picking Christmas-morning treats, skaters mid-fall on the pond, a shopkeeper sweeping snow that will never stay swept. Two or three figures per building keeps the streets lively without crowding them.
And make the placement a family event. Handing each person a handful of townspeople to position, then walking the finished streets together to hear everyone’s little stories, is the kind of tradition that outlasts any single piece in the collection.
Incorporate Landscaping, Walkways, Loose Snow, and Other Accents
Details make the difference. Every village needs its accessories, from cobblestone streets and light posts to cars, buggies, and benches. With trees, bushes, and landscape and lighting pieces, take a generous approach; the more the merrier. Sprinkle loose snow for maximum magic, paying special attention to rooftops and tree branches.
A large tree in the town center is a village tradition of its own, and background silhouettes can make it appear as if your village goes on forever. Pick landscape styles that match your theme and the whole scene reads as one place rather than a collection of purchases.
Change the Village with the Seasons
A display space this good should not sit empty ten months a year. Many collectors run the D56 Halloween Village on the same shelf through October, box it in early November, and hand the risers and snow straight over to the Christmas town. The infrastructure (risers, power strip, snow blankets) works for both, so the changeover takes an evening, and the household gets two village seasons for one setup effort.
One more habit worth stealing: photograph the finished display every year before it comes down. The photos settle next year’s where-did-the-bakery-go debates, document the collection for insurance purposes, and after a few years they become their own little album of how the town grew.
Surround Yourself with the Magic of the Holidays with Decor from St. Nick’s
St. Nick’s carries an extensive selection of Department 56 village collections, buildings and accessories alike. Whether you are adding to an established village or starting one from scratch this year, you can browse the options online or wander the in-store displays in Littleton for inspiration you can photograph.
Displaying Department 56 village pieces becomes a treasured tradition, especially with new elements arriving every season. Start shopping the full selection today, and may your tiny town’s lights burn bright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pick a theme, start with one anchor building and a few figures, raise the terrain with risers, lay village snow over everything (including the cords), and add people, landscaping, and lighting until the shelf reads as a town. Taller buildings go toward the back; stories happen up front.
Anywhere it can be the brightest thing in its corner: a mantel, a sideboard, a bookcase with a shelf cleared, or a dedicated table. Choose a spot with an outlet within reach, out of the main traffic path, and dim enough in the evening for the windows to glow.
Swap individual light cords for a Department 56 multi-socket cord; the 6 Socket Lite Set replaces up to six separate cords. Run everything to one switchable power strip behind the display, and let the snow blanket hide the rest.
Sturdy boxes, foam blocks, and wood pieces all work beneath the snow blanket, and purpose-made display risers add stable, repeatable levels. The goal is a hillside effect: high at the back, stepping down toward the viewer, with buildings on stable, level footing.
Enough to cover the whole display surface with extra to spare, since snow also drapes over risers and hides cords. Blankets of village snow are reusable year after year, and loose snow on rooftops and trees is the finishing sparkle.
A useful ratio is two or three figures or accessories per building. Enough to make the streets feel busy and tell little stories, not so many that the town looks like a parade. Add landscaping generously; trees and lamp posts are what make the space between buildings feel real.
Yes. The lines share a general scale, and many collectors mix classic and licensed pieces freely. If you prefer order, zone the display: Dickens on one level, North Pole on another. If you prefer stories, let Hogwarts overlook Main Street and enjoy the crossover.
One primary building, a couple of figures, and snow makes a complete first-year scene. Accessories cost far less than buildings and stretch a small display. Then add one piece a year; the slow build is the tradition, not a compromise.
Back into their original boxes and foam inserts, cords coiled loosely, stored somewhere with steady temperatures. Label boxes by scene so next year you rebuild neighborhoods instead of hunting inventory, and keep spare bulbs in one labeled box with the village.
St. Nick’s in Littleton, Colorado has carried Department 56 for decades as a Platinum retailer, with buildings, figures, accessories, and retired pieces available online and in the store, where full village displays are set up to steal ideas from.
Find It at St. Nick's
St. Nick’s Christmas and Collectibles has been Littleton, Colorado’s Christmas store since 1976. Shop online, visit us in person, or call 1-800-875-8865 with any questions.
