2023 Village

 The trains are up and running. This is truly a labor of love!

The farm has a "new" (from a rummage sale) piece this year--a mill that pumps real water! I have to add water every couple of days because it evaporates. The Farm Train is hiding in the tunnel but you can see and hear it in the video.

The tall houses and businesses in town are relatively unchanbged this year. I had to redo some of the train tunnels. 

The castle and observatory are in the fireplace, as usual. There is a little more in front of the fireplace, including the London Bridge! It was "new" last year (from the thrift store).

The ski lift is operating. If you look closely at the vidoe you can see it carrying the gondolas up the mountain. 

The Polar Express is parked at the train station when it's not in motion. two freight trains are on the lowest level, as seen in the video.

The North Pole Series started when my neighbor Jean gave me seven pieces. Then my friend Lisa. who faithfully helps set up every year, brought some more, and well, you can see what happened!

Granddaughter Delia set up the circus this year. She insisted on having the elephant babies ride on the backs of the big elephants! (She hotglued them on) The little dinosaur is her idea too. The circus train is parked behind the circus when it is not making its rounds.

And of course we have a song and a scavenger hunt! See if you can find: 12 pink flamingos, 11 firefighters, 10 jolly Santas, 9 little snowmen, 8 children skating, 7 swans a-swimming, 6 horseback riders, 5 kids with rings, 4 nutcrackers, 3 tiny penguins, 2 howling wolves, and a witch with a pointy black hat!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and joyous holidays of every kind!