20 Christmas Village Display Ideas To Fill Your Home With Nostalgic Holiday Spirit

With the holidays just around the corner, it’s time to start setting up Christmas villages. There are endless options for the festive setups—from snow-laden towns to light-filled wonderland.

You can also get creative with props and characters, whether you opt for a traditional look or a more modern one. It’s just about evoking a nostalgic, wintery scene.

Ready to create your own? Check out these 20 Christmas village ideas for inspiration.

Red and Green

Using a color palette of red and green, a festive Christmas village comes to life. Snow-capped houses and cozy characters are juxtaposed with more natural-looking frosted greenery.

Everything is placed on a stack of shelving to consolidate and keep the scene organized.

Dickens' Village

Emulating Charles Dickens' storybook scenes, this Christmas village introduces characters and shops from the author's iconic novels.

A frosty surface acts as the base—which can be made by using baking soda and shaving cream or snow spray. You can always take inspiration and create a scene from your own favorite holiday movie or story, too.

Rustic Village

Set in a neutral palette, this village features large snowflakes, handmade angels, and wooden houses.

Candelabras, bells, and faux pine are scattered throughout to add texture and dimension.

A wreath hangs above the village while a garland wraps below to complete the look.

Ambient Village

The houses in this village emit a soothing light from the inside, creating a magical glow. Other items, like faux trees, figurines, and signage bring the scene to life. It's all set on a bed of cotton—another great option to create a snowy base.

Corner Display

Using a tiered corner shelf, this village takes its wintery scene to new heights (literally and figuratively). The moody black juxtaposes against white bases, and each layer displays a different scene—although set in the same style for cohesion. Some pieces even light up to create a sense of whimsy.

Shimmery Village

Brassy accents add shine to this Christmas village, which is placed atop a credenza for easy setup. Cutout houses as well as closed ones decorate the surface.

Note that there are lots of different sizes when it comes to the pieces—allowing for balance and visual interest.

Romantic Village

Cuteness abounds in this frosty town, where snowmen, children, and couples alike snuggle under the snow.

The scene is set on a blanket of hilly faux snow—which you can emulate by stacking more cotton in certain areas. This allows the village to not feel as flat, looking like a realistic landscape.

Earthy Village

Sticking with the classics, this village keeps to a simple earthy palette—with faux frosted trees and wooden houses.

Pinecones of varying sizes are also introduced to evoke a natural feel and create dimension.

Ladder Display

Ladder shelves make for an easy spot to set up your holiday town. This one is set in a deep hickory brown, allowing the glowy houses to stand out.

A faux pine wreath stringed with fairy lights wraps around it to make each shelf feel connected and cohesive.

Black and White

A B&W palette is far from boring in this holiday-inspired village. The houses emit an ambient glow, scattered among frosted trees, faux pine, and wreathes.

Note that the houses are set on different heights using wooden boards and blocks. This one in particular is made using items from the dollar store proving you can create a pretty scene without breaking the bank.

Tree-Shaped Village

A corner shelf is outfitted as a Christmas tree for this snowy village, as faux pine and pinecones wrap around the frame and baseboards.

This causes the compartments to become dark, so they are decorated with glowy houses and lights to keep the scene in sight.

Eclectic Village

A different take on a corner shelf, this one has open rounded shelves for a full 360 display. Cotton balls are spread across each surface to create a snowy base, each of which is wrapped in pine garlands.

The centerpiece is also coated in cotton to create a unified look. Multi-colored lights and glowy houses bring the scene to life.

Christmas Fair

A Christmas fair is created here, complete with a carousel, a Santa figurine, and a group of carolers. Frosty snow decorates the trees and base, while lights allow the carousel to glow and pop out.

This is a great themed option to get kids interested in the process, too.

Nontraditional Village

When you have less obvious holiday decor than you thought, you have to get creative. Here, traditional houses and trees create the village.

However, non-conventional items—like Disneyland Christmas popcorn buckets and hats—help to fill up the space and round out the edges. Note that lights are placed under the cotton here to create a subtle, glistening snow effect.

Maximalist Village

On the flip side, if you have lots of village pieces and decor on hand already, you can go all out.

Here, different tiers of faux snow are built and filled to the brim with fantastical characters, fairy lights, colorful buildings, and trees. The result is a maximalist, magical scene.

Nostalgic Village

For a more pared-back look, stick with muted tones and natural materials. This village features snow-dusted houses set in pastel tones.

Some are propped on the credenza itself, while others are placed on elevated shelves to create varying heights. To introduce even more variation, lofty wooden trees frame the village at the sides.

Frosty Village

A winter wonderland comes to life with minimalist decor and hues. Various shades of white appear in the houses, snow, and trees.

Note that the pieces are sparse but not placed too far apart so that the scene doesn't feel flat—in more than one sense, as blocks are also placed under the cotton snow sheet to create mini hills.

Brass accents in the lights and mirror above add a bit of shine—always a great complement to neutral tones.

Vintage Village

Christmas villages aren't just designated for consoles and credenzas. Here, one is placed on a floating shelf in the kitchen to create a cute holiday vignette.

After all, it's in the small moments that holiday decor shines. Ceramic houses are placed among frosty trees.

Faux pine is propped alongside them in pots; plus, a garland wraps over the base to round out the theme.

Hilly Village

A snowy sheet drapes over boxes of differing heights to create designated spots for each house to shine. The tiered portions feature additional decorations, like snowmen, sleds, and fairy lights, while trees are placed on the sloped areas to exaggerate the depth. A purple light casts over the scene to evoke whimsy.

Themed Village

Bottlebrush trees nestle among simple ceramic houses set in black and white. The houses are all kept in a classic palette and design to prevent the design from feeling overwhelming—instead soothing the senses. Lights are placed underneath the cotton to cast an upward glow over the village.

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Read the original article on The Spruce.