I love a Christmas village. In any shape or form, it’s a way to look deep into the magical world of Christmas. A way to entertain our childlike side, and invest in a little fantasy. Gaze into a miniature holiday world that looks so peaceful and perfect. And why not? Losing ourselves in the spirit of the season is just one of the perks of celebrating it, right? These magical Christmas village ideas are all ones you can make yourself! DIY the Christmas village houses and create an entire layout you can use every year, or just make a village display stand for a set you already own. They are all here, CV lovers… and there is definitely one here perfect for your family holiday!
Christmas Village Houses
Whether you’re drawn to the cozy glow of paper luminaries, the handcrafted appeal of wooden houses, or the creative transformation of dollar-store finds, there’s a style of Christmas village house perfect for your holiday décor. Below, we’ll explore delightful DIY options that will help you craft a festive townscape to enjoy for years to come.
Paper Christmas Village Houses
None of these Christmas village ideas are worth a hoot if you don’t find just the right style of village houses to populate your little seasonal town. Our first DIY pick are these houses made from card stock by ‘Lia Griffith‘. She gives complete instructions on how to cut these houses out either by hand, or with a cutting machine like a Cricut. And their free download also includes those evergreen trees as well! Since it is made of sturdy card stock, you can use these for your Christmas village year after year. And, it’s really inexpensive to make these. So pretty and festive!
These DIY Christmas village luminaries are full of the wonder of the holiday, but easy to make. Jump on over to ‘Ruffled‘ to get the tutorial, and then decide where you want to put this gorgeous little paper town! Our vote? Centerpiece! We suggest you use LED votive candles to light the inside of the houses, for safety.
Wooden Christmas Village Houses
If you want a candy colored Christmas, then this DIY Christmas village is perfect for you. Made with inexpensive wood birdhouses from the craft store, these are so much fun! Find the tutorial over at ‘Studio DIY‘, with lots of suggestions on what paints to use, and tips on how to get the “snow” look on the rooftops.
So if you want to see that very tutorial in action, check out ‘The Crafted Life‘. They used Studio DIY’s original instructions to make their own take on this Christmas village idea, using a retro feel we love. Go check it out!
‘Addicted 2 DIY‘ created this Christmas village using a router and her free templates. She gives you the patterns to make several little houses, and also a church for your little town. Lots of step by step photos too. Even if you are a beginner woodworker, you can make this village set using her easy tutorial.
If you want a DIY Christmas village you can make for less than $20, then jump on over to ‘Woodshop Diaries‘ and check out a full tutorial. Using just inexpensive plywood, Shara shows you how to customize your village to the size you want, and how to add little extra touches to make it special.
Dollar Tree Christmas Houses
Heather from ‘Heathered Nest‘ modified her own Christmas houses from the dollar store, so that they look just like the Dept 56 variety. You know, the super expensive ones you see in every Christmas shop on the planet? I could not tell the difference between her DIY houses, and the costly one I looked up online. What I love about her post though, is that she totally gets the fantasy behind a Christmas village. She tells a story to go along with her little town, that just might be the thing to get you right in the spirit. There is a link to her original post telling is how to paint the houses, as well. But read through her “village news”. It’s awesome. :)
Creative Christmas Village Ideas
If you are looking for a Christmas village that is a little out of the ordinary, then check out this village wreath by ‘Sister’s Suitcase‘. It’s an easy way to have a display, even if you don’t have room for a tabletop version.
‘Finding Home Farms‘ used large glass jars to create a “snow globe” effect for their village, and it’s so full of wonder! You could use any of these Christmas house tutorials and combine it with this idea for a real custom display for your family.
Christmas Village Display Ideas & Stands
Learn some awesome DIY Christmas village display ideas from Lauren at ‘Vandifair‘. She has 7 steps to the perfect layout, and as you can see, she didn’t have to build a stand. She simply used an existing piece of furniture to make this pretty seasonal vignette! But it’s not as simple as just setting them out. Go see her tips & tricks!
Make a plywood display base for your village that allows you to string lights from underneath as well. Get all the instructions with a how to video from ‘Marty’s Musings‘. Lots of tips on how to add those extra touches, too.
If you would like to build a Christmas village display stand for a small space, consider this corner stand from ‘731 Woodworks‘. They have a great video walking you through this entire project, and we love that its in the shape of a Christmas tree!
Lastly, we have tons of great ideas on building a Christmas village display for you from ‘My French Twist‘. From the plywood stand to building elevations with foam, and everything in between, this is for you serious Christmas village fans. Not hard, just complete. So many great tips on how to make a magical display!
So take these lovely Christmas village ideas and create wonder and delight with your holiday displays! If you need Christmas village houses, people or accessories, ‘Amazon’ has great selection.
Then jump on over to our posts on:
DIY Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas
DIY Christmas Tree Using Firefly Lights
Creative Indoor Christmas Light Ideas
Thank you for the really sweet write-up Kathy. I loved this whole post! Happy holidays :) Heather
We love you and those amazing projects you turn out Heather!
Very nice and thanks for all the tips. I have had my village for about 5 years collecting, hope to get all set up better this year with your tips, Thanks Again