The following post is a contribution from a dear friend, Debbie. In My Life Joys, I shared about Christmas villages, which had attracted some readers to post questions and for some to share valuable information. I’m a newbie when it comes to collecting these Christmas Villages, hence Debbie has come forward to share her passion in anything Christmas specially her little houses. I am so grateful for this wealth of information and it is with great hope that people who share the same passion will be inspired to achieve a similar success.

The Christmas Season has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Since I was small I am fascinated by anything connected to Christmas. Aside from the usual family gatherings, I love the Christmas decorations. We used to have different home-made Christmas trees every year. When I was in college, I took over the decorating from my mother. My favorite Christmas tree that I made was one that was made from seaweeds that is ingenious to my hometown. Sadly, when my mother passed away and I was very busy with work, I was forced to buy synthetic Christmas trees. I always had very difficult times sourcing good quality trees and ornaments because I do not settle for the usual found in the department stores.

When I started working, I began collecting Santa Claus especially those by Mr. Christmas and angels. Unfortunately, after a few years, I could not find any more good quality Santa. The Philippine distributor of Mr. Christmas items stopped importing them because they have become so expensive. For the last six years I also have been collecting nativity sets.

Around 2002, I went to see the Christmas village of a known interior decorator and fine arts professor in my home city. It was awesome! I have always wished to have one myself but did not thought much about it until I saw this one. When I went home, I sent an email to my high school best friend in the United States telling him of what I saw and how I wish that I could also have my own collection. The problem was, there was nowhere to buy these things in the Philippines. My friend replied that if I want he could purchase for me in the US. I immediately said YES! This was the start of my growing Christmas village.

My very first set of Christmas Village was a set of five by Thomas Kinkade. This was purchased online in the United States and cannot be found in stores. Each item was shipped individually within a period of one year and not all together and comes with a certification of authenticity from the artist. These are hand-painted pieces and said to be collectible items. Later my friend bought for me Lemax items.

Christmas Village Video

I also bought few pieces from Rustan’s Makati and True Value in Shangri-la Mall but I later disposed some of these items because they do not go well with my succeeding purchases especially when I discovered Lemax. If I am not mistaken Lemax became available in the Philippines only in recent years. I also bought a few pieces from my trips abroad. Some of the pieces were gifts from family and a friend. As for the accessories, many are by Lemax but some I bought from a Greenhills tiangge and from a major exporter of Christmas decorations to Europe and the United States. I had access to this exporter because my two sisters and I used to have a seasonal Christmas Store for five years, selling high-end Christmas decorations. Except for some few pieces by Lemax, the cars are from the more than 30 years old made in England Matchbox collection of my younger brother. About forty percent of the houses/buildings were bought for me by my friend in the United States, ten percent from various sources and the rest of the Lemax items were bought at SM Makati and later at the showroom of Kaluxe, the Philippine distributor of Lemax, found at Robinson’s Pioneer in Mandaluyong City.

These are the individual pictures of some of the village pieces.

The present Christmas Village sits on two sheets of plywood. It is continuously growing. In fact I might need another sheet next year because I just ordered a number of pieces from the website of Lemax for the next season. A nephew also just gifted me with a cable car and sled snow park which he bought at Gourdo’s at The Fort.

This is how my Christmas Village look this season.

Christmas Village Video A

Christmas Village Video B

Christmas Village Video C

Christmas Village Video D

Christmas Village Video E

Related Posts on Christmas Village:

Lemax Christmas Village

A Lemax Christmas Village Collection

There a lot of items at the lower ground floor of SM Megamall near SM Appliance Center.

Most items on display have an average price of Php 2,499.

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I’ve wished for this lots of times in the past and having the first drive thru Starbucks building near my office is such a wonderful gift. Whoever thought of this, THANK YOU!

Brewing starts on Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Starbucks Drive Thru: along 32nd Street fronting MC Depot in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

By the way, have you got your 2011 Starbucks Planner already? I got one already and gave it to my Mom who has been very busy with her social life lately. If I recall it correctly, the first one I noticed such promo was in November 2003 for a 2004 planner. Not sure if there was one prior to 2004 planner but for me, that was the first I got hooked. The next planner for 2005, I gave it to my brother who has started to be busy with his showbiz commitments. This planner promo was a hit that people look forward to collecting their stickers after Halloween, as if it officially marks the start of Christmas season.

The words Dapitan Arcade and Christmas are like Banawe to cars, Gilmore to PC’s, and Dampa to seafoods. A plethora of reds, greens, and anything glittery, Dapitan Arcade is an oasis for the hungry collectors of the most popular season in the world.

I went to Dapitan, the street behind University of Santo Tomas – where I finished college – because the name implied that it is along Dapitan Street. So I went in circles looking for the place and then asked a police officer where to find Dapitan Arcade, the reason for kilometers of driving to the hectic Manila.

Any person in the national capital know that driving in the heart of Manila is an act of courage. So there, with courage and some cash, I found Dapitan Arcade in the middle of Mayon and Kanlaon streets in Sta. Mesa, Quezon City. It’s around the boundary of Manila and Quezon City.

Santa Claus table decors at around Php 150 to Php 500

Christmas Houses price range Php 250 to Php 500 (no lights)

Christmas Balls price range Php 35 to Php 80 per piece

For Php 1,500 we were able to buy 48 pieces of poinsettia flowers and 48 pieces of small disco balls.

Our household team enjoyed putting the flowers and disco balls

Will be back for more santa sets and a Nativity set or Belen (sells at Php 2,000 for medium sizes). Depending on the materials some belens sell at Php 1,100 for very small ones or Php 4,000 for garden sets (very large size). These are composed of the Holy Family, Three Kings, two sheep.

Related Post:

A Lemax Christmas Village Collection

With the level of enthusiasm dwindling down for me, I tried seeking for ways to revive the excitement beyond green wreathes, red poinsettias, and glittery lights. So here, I was opened to a new level of joy with the Lemax Christmas Village Collection.

Christmas in the Philippines starts on September 1. Yeah, really… so don’t be so surprised if you’d hear Christmas songs over the radio

I was excited to see the collections in Kaluxe (located at 2nd Floor of Robinson’s Forums in Pioneer, Edsa) that I wanted a whole village already. So I was able to contain myself and had it slow… For my first piece, here it is, The Olde Theatre. This is part of the Caddington Village Collection in the lighted category.

Lemax also has other themes such as Spooky Town (halloween), Harvest Crossing, Carnival, Plymouth Corners (seaside), Santa’s Wonderland (christmas), Vail Village, General Products (trees, bridges, etc.), and lot more other Christmas village collections.

There are other similar items in the market but what made me choose Lemax are basically the attention to details  and quality of materials.  The craftsmanship was evidently professional and done with much talent and art combined with the science of production.  My friend, who has a whole lot of villages, yes a lot and I mean a LOT, so maybe we can call that a state already. How I wish that for the next years, my single house will be a village then a state too

** Lemax items are also available in SM Department stores.