Styling a Tealight Village for Fall & Christmas
In a recent post I asked readers if anyone was decorating their homes for Christmas yet? A reader from Canada wrote that she was full-on decorating for Christmas now that the Canadian Thanksgiving was over.
Of all the holidays, Christmas is the most “hands on”. For most of us the Christmas season starts right after Thanksgiving and that is when most of us begin to decorate.
This year, the American Thanksgiving is late, making the wait to go full-on Christmas in my house a little longer.
Even though I am excited to bring out the Christmas decor, I want to give Thanksgiving its due because it is my favorite holiday.
My mind is always on the lookout for ideas all year long for new decorating ideas or using what I already own, color combinations to use, pretty ribbons and creative ideas for decorating turkeys, trees, wreaths and more.
This year I found one way I can get a start on Christmas without bypassing Thanksgiving. It is using my collection of white ceramic light-up houses. Last year I displayed the houses on my kitchen shelves.
This year I am using the houses on the sideboard in the living room.
The decor I add to the top of the sideboard has to be on the short side since there is a wall mounted, swinging TV above it. Last year I made a Christmas card holder for the top.
Using colorful fall leaves in a long wood dough bowl with my small collection of houses reminds me of one line in the Christmas poem, The Night Before Christmas … As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly.
So in my mind knowing this allows me to mix fallen leaves with what is normally considered Christmas decor. :-)
How to Display a Christmas Village in a Dough Bowl
My light-up houses are not very large. To make them level with the top of my 30″ long x 8″ wide dough bowl, I placed two long pieces of scrap wood into the bowl as a riser.
Then I added colorful leaves I found outside to fill the dough bowl and hide the scrap wood riser. Faux fall leaves would work just as well.
At night the line up of houses becomes a village that looks so cozy and perfect for celebrating Thanksgiving at home.
My collection is a mix of houses. I bought the smaller ones at HomeGoods. They are battery operated with an on/off switch on the bottom.
The larger houses I bought at Kohls this year. They require a real or battery-operated tealight candle to be inserted inside each house. Links to all at the end of the post.
When Thanksgiving is Over
On the day after Thanksgiving, presto – chango…
…I can change out the fall leaves with real or faux Christmas greenery.
Simple and classic for the Christmas season.
You can even add some faux snow or glitter to the display. When I do make this change, I may even add a red velvet bow in front of the dough bowl.
Do you have a collection of light-up houses or a Christmas village you put out on display every year? If so, how do you display them in your house?
Where to Buy Ceramic Light Up Houses
Dough Bowls
More Holiday Decorating Ideas
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Oh, Diane – cannot wait to hear all about the wedding. Hope you all had the weather we had – perfect autumn weather on Saturday – and today grey and rainy. My sis attended a wedding yesterday up at the lake and said it was perfect. Love your white houses. I too have a little collection of them.
They stay out till spring once put up at Christmastime.
I love the simply elegant white porcelain houses for both holidays. Love how you styled them. I hope you had a wonderful wedding weekend! Can’t wait for the stories and pictures.
I absolutely love how interchangeable those little houses are! I’m currently in the process of a cabinet painting, so I can’t even have any decor in my kitchen yet. I’m debating if I want to try to decorate for Thanksgiving or just skip right to my Christmas stuff haha, but you’ve made me reconsider that maybe some items can be both!
I love your little village and think it’s a great idea to use them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love miniatures and have several different sets. I set up villages on surfaces all around the house for Christmas and just one for Easter. Now with your inspiration, I will put up one set for fall since I’m hosting Thanksgiving. One of my favorite sets is a collection of porcelain houses from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Beautiful results! Looks like I will be hitting up my Kohl’s store!
I loved this post! I enjoy decorating my home for various occasions/holidays thru out the year. The houses are great because they offer so many options for various decorating options.
I love this idea!! 🍁🎄. So simple and impactful!!!
I do start Christmas decorating early. I usually have a tree up either the day after Thanksgiving or if it’s not at my house then before for sure!! Can’t help it 🎄🎄🎄. Thank you for a new idea to use.