Regina’s Kim Jones, 67, has been building a Christmas village in bits and pieces for three decades.
“Thirty years of accumulation and crafting Christmas village stuff,” said Jones.
Jones started collecting and making little Christmas decorations after her husband bought a skating rink.
‘’My husband bought the skating rink because we really liked it. We loved Christmas decorations and things. And shortly after, my dad made five of the pieces and then it became something we added to every year. I made some and I just carried it on after he passed,” said Jones.
In the Christmas village, there are more than 60 buildings about 300 figurines, including more than 60 handmade buildings, a police station, a town hall, a public library, a fire hall, a movie theatre, a post office and a train station.
The decorations cover 120 square feet in her living room.
The Jones call the display Louisville, named after her husband’s dad. Jones says it brings back lots of memories.
“I remember when dad made different ones and some of the pieces families and friends have given me, so it reminds me of them.”
Most of the buildings, Jones says, were not easy to create. She says she painstakingly put together the buildings piece by piece starting with the town hall.
“My first building was the town hall. Although that was not easy — sometimes I throw it across the hall because it was a bit difficult. My husband, very patient, helped me pick it up.”
Depending on her availability, Jones made the buildings in a space of one week to a month.
“They are made out of plastic canvas and yarn. The stitching is called needlepoint — you cut out all the pieces and you sew them all together.
“It just makes me very happy.”
Pat Jones was never expecting his wife’s passion project to ever become this big.
“I never expected it to get to this size, but here we are. It’s a lot of fun when the kids come — the little ones are just amazed. You won’t think it would hold their attention as long as it does it’s so amazing.”