Snow, skirt all that's left forVillage 2011

The Gator Clan has had a busy weekend literally completing Village 2011, our annual decoration to celebrate the Christmas Season.  We are way ahead of schedule this year as we usually begin on Nov. 11th and hope to light it by Thanksgiving Day or the following weekend at the latest.

We could have finished it this year almost a week early but chose not to put the final touches on it until Thanksgiving Day.  Both my wife and I have a history from childhood of beginning the Christmas Season following the Thanksgiving feast, and so it has been since we've married as well.  When we started the Village several years ago, we chose the schedule so that our celebration could begin as we've always known it.

On the odd chance that someone is reading this for the first time, our Village consists of a combination of Department 56 collectible Victorian and Dickens villages.  Every piece we use except those we use to construct base tables and a snow base and a cemetary and a skating pond are from Department 56.

We create several sections in our living room and make a few changes to give slightly different looks each year and to utilize our entire collection.

We still  have to add "Fresh Fallen Snow" from Department 56 and a skirt to hide the underside of the tables and that will take place Thanksgiving Day while the turkey and stuff is cooking.

Gator Daughter climbed into a confined space to design this year's corner piece.  You've read in the papers recently that Kensington Palace has once again reached the news as it will become the new home of a royal couple, a home the Prince grew up in.  That is the Department 56 version of the Palace in the back.

Both on the picture above and each these four you can see why we always put a skirt around the display to make it more presentable.  On the left is the long section behind a sofa while on the right we see what we call our main village. It includes a mountain, a forest, and a skating pond, all designed by Gator Daughter.

On the left is our creation of the Charles Dickens immortal story of Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol. And finally I thought you might like to see what the underside (right) looked like and just why we need a skirt to hide it.  Probably a more creative person than I could make it presentable without the skirt.

We'll officially complete the construction phase Thanksgiving Day.  I won't guarantee a final look will be here over the weekend, but I'll give it a try.  If not, then it'll be here Monday.

Gator