Now that the holiday decorating season is upon us, I'd like to talk a bit about collectible villages. Nothing offers a mini collector more immediate gratification than these tiny treasures. Just take them out of the box, pop in a couple of lights, do a little arranging, and there you have it! For the do it yourself types, the sky's the limit in terms of decorating and accessories, offering the opportunity to do a great deal of exterior work that isn't generally done with traditional dollhouses.
I recently set out on a village hunt at the large chain stores in my area, and here's what you'll find out there:
Joanne's - Although Joanne's is traditionally a place for fabrics, their larger stores now carry an assortment of craft and decorating items. Joanne's is offering the Santa's Workbench Collection this year. Two pieces from their Towne Series caught my eye: Annie's Market, with some very nice detail, and the Victorian Corner Store, which truly did wrap around the corner, and would make a nice end piece to your display. Also interesting was the Smoker Series, which offered several houses with chimneys that emit smoke. In general, the details on these pieces tend to be a little mushy, so be sure to open the box and check the items over thoroughly before you purchase. Prices for individual house start at around $20, but watch for 50% off sales like the one running this week to make the deal even sweeter. Joanne's also carries a full line of accessories for their villages, including rolls of stone and brick for about $10. These might carry over into other mini projects after the holidays.
Michaels - The world's largest crafts retailer carries an equally large selection of Lemax village collectibles, including several items that are exclusives. A very lovely coach and horses for about $35 caught my eye here, and this item is only available at Michaels this season. Although the assortment of houses was large, I was disappointed with the accessories selection. Look for 25% off sales, as well as weekly coupons offering 40% off a single item throughout the holiday season.
Wal-Mart - If you are brave enough to go into a Wal-Mart store during the holidays, you will find their Holiday Time Village Collectibles. Although the detail on these pieces tends to be a little mushy, the prices are low, making this the perfect stop for the first time villager or a collector with a small budget. Wal-Mart also offers a good assortment of accessories, which look like they will fit into most villages.
Lowe's - Yes, I went shopping for villages at the hardware store, and had a blast. Lowe's is offering several different village assortments this season. The Kurt S. Alder Snowtown series is small, but fun, in a larger scale than usually seen in villages. The collection has a handmade look to it, which made me think it might be fun to buy a few pieces, and make a few accessories from polymer clays. Houses start at about $35, and there are a few whimsical accessories available as well. The Coca-Cola Towne Square Collection offers stores and shops starting at around $25. These have good details, although the painting style is somewhat flat and cartoonish, which might make it difficult to integrate these pieces with items from other village collections. As expected, every piece in this collection has the Coca-Cola logo prominently featured. Lowe's also offered a very small selection of Lemax items with houses decked out for the turn of the century bash. Weird, but fun was the Millennium Fireworks, which is a three tree unit with battery operated fibre optic fireworks. Looks ugly in the daylight, but great lit up in the dark. Last, but not least, the Holiday Living Collectibles series, which I had to pick up before I could tell that they weren't plastic. They have some good detail and offer a nice assortment, including a working train set to circle the village.
Garden Ridge - When I checked in on Garden Ridge last month, they had a good selection of Lemax collectibles. I stopped in at my local store the day after Thanksgiving, which was packed to the rafters with holiday shoppers, and found the shelves empty. Apparently, their ad this week featured these items, and my store was sold out. I'll let you know if I see any restocking going on.
Hobby Lobby - Again, Lemax collectibles. Not as many houses to choose from as Michaels, but a much better assortment of accessories, trees, and figures.
One word of advice on village shopping: do it soon. Stores are already beginning to mark down Christmas items, and are slowing down on restocking in order to sell out by the end of the season. Shop now to be sure you get the items you want.
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