Click the Village Post Office  

                        to hear Perry Como sing

                        "Letters, We Get Letters"

 

 

 

                                               

                       Saturday

               September 17, 2022

 

Thanks for the kind comments - Santa will put you on the "NICE" list.

We truly appreciate your support.

 

 

David G. Spears:  "Fun to read the new 'Christmas Corner'

column by Art Kilmer. It is easy to enjoy his style and

appreciation of the Christmas holiday. I look forward

to being a regular reader of his column.

Welcome to Art and family."

 

DRB:  " . . . I am happy to share my

Christmas Village on your website. Thank you."

 

Gapen:  "Thank you very much for your comments.

I am very happy. I did not expect so many people to

have seen it. Thank you very much for choosing it as

video of the month. This year I am preparing the new

village, we will try to improve it. Regards and thanks."

 

Joanna Villegas: "Thank you (for village video of the month)

I am greatly honored. I have visited your site a few

weeks ago and saw some of my village's pictures

in Jim Peters column last year. Thanks"

 

De Kerstdorpbouwers: "I'm looking on your site

and really love it! Haven't heard of it so many thanks."

 

Chiara Parodi: "It's a very big honor to be

included on the famous 'The Village Collector'

website with my small summer village! I've no

words enough . . . Greetings from Milano"

 

Peppe Apuleo: "I have seen the site and all the work

you have done. I wanted to congratulate you from

the very heart for all this work you do to make all

members of the community happy."

 

Lella Caiozzi: "... from 2021 I am a Lemax villager.

I just finished my first permanent marine village. I had

never done anything like this. Patience, stubbornness,

willpower but above all a lot of passion and a lot of

creativity have won over all the difficulties encountered

during the various processing phases. I only bought the

characters and houses, I created everything else. Sorry if

my English is not perfect, I used the translator google.

I send everyone a warm greeting from Italy."

Note: Lella now has two villages on the "My Village" page.

 

Joanne Perez: "Thank you so much again for

uploading my video into your beautiful website! I'm so

happy to be part of such a passionate group of people

who love Christmas villages just like I do! This is awesome!"

 

Fabio Cianconi, Italy:  "It gives me immense pleasure to

have 2 featured villages on your site. I have this passion, which

gives me magic and emotion. I love to create everything in the

village, floors, levels, stairs, sea, mountains. I am also the

administrator of a Facebook group dedicated to the design and

creation of villages. Thank you and good day."

 

Craig Zander:  "I just wanted to say Thank You to all

the people that make this happen. I do Christmas and

Halloween villages, and this site and info is so good.

Again Thank You !!!  And keep up the good work."

 

Lisa:  "Hi. I love Christmas Village.

Can I send my video and some photos?" 

Editor: Absolutely! We love photos, videos & comments.

 

 

Giuseppe Apuleo: (Featured in "Village Videos")  ". . . I am very happy

to be part of your site. Congratulations to you too for the work you

do on the site. I've seen a lot of things on your site and I really like

them . . . I live near Naples, Italy . . . with your site and all the pages

it contains, you are proof that good things come to those who are

willing to sacrifice themselves to achieve a goal that is useful

to a community."

 

Miriam's Manner:  "That is awesome having this year's

video chosen again. Thanks so much!!"

 

Anja Porse:  "Thanks so much for choosing my Christmas Village

video as video of the month. I really appreciate it. Now I feel

the pressure is on for this year. :)"

 

"Linda B: ". . . great "Coach is Here" page. Very funny jokes!

And I really like the pictures you have of New Hampshire

too. You have a wonderful website!

 

Jay Haack: ". . . THANK YOU for the honor of having

our video inducted into the 2021 Hall of Fame! A little

backstory: In 1984 my brother and I decided to give our

father the Original 7 Village buildings for a Christmas present,

thinking we'd be set for years and not have to wrack our

brains about what to get him each year. Our plan backfired,

as he loved the little buildings so much, he would purchase

them as soon as they came out, beating us to the punch! As

the years went on, Dad built a permanent display table in his

den, inviting all his friends to come see his village, adding pieces

every year and building table extensions. The extent of his

"addiction" was obvious when he got a separate credit card

which he gave to a Dept 56 dealer in the Amana Colonies in

Iowa, exclusively to purchase new pieces as they were released!

When my father passed away in 1996, his Village stayed up for

another 17 years before my mother decided it was time to take

it down. His collection was divided up between us kids, with

the exception of a few our mother kept to display annually

(she's nearly 92 and still sets up a few buildings at Christmas).

The display I set up every year is about 80% from my father's

collection, and it keeps me connected to him. My kids hear me

tell the stories of helping my dad set up his Village pick out

he perfect HO gauge train, and will hopefully carry on the

tradition when I'm gone. To sum it up, by honoring my little

video, you're honoring the legacy of my father. And for that

I cannot thank you enough!"

 

David G. Spears: "I really like the way Phil and Sue

put together Episode 7 - November 26, 2021. It made a fun,

interesting and entertaining story. Thanks for sharing with us."

 

PNW Christmas Village: "Oh my goodness! Thank you

so much for selecting my video!!! . . .  Hoping to make

my village this year even better."

 

Greg Cassidy: ". . . I want to thank you for a wonderful ride

these past couple of weeks. I was first surprised that my

Spookytown video would be featured in The Village Collector,

and regardless of the outcome, I'm so honored that it was

included in the nominees for the Hall of Fame with so many

other wonderful and deserving videos. The real fun has been

showing my friends the world of villaging and my own display

 something most of them didn't know about. They are more

familiar with my model railroading and model building. Every time

I visit your website, I explore another area. You certainly promote

the world of collecting and displaying villages in a wonderful and

prolific way. Kudos on gathering so much content and the obvious

work you put into getting it all online. You are an inspiration."

 

Greg & Rose Cummings: "Wonderful Wonderfull! I just visited

and saw our video along with the others listed. Even the one from

FRANCE! I'm looking forward to supporting the site and seeing the

other videos being featured. My wife, Rose, puts her heart, resources

and time into the villages she creates. It is a labor of love.Thank you

again for providing a platform for us and others

to share our passion for villages."

 

Berni: "I always like to come back to your site and

discover something new every time. I didn't know beforehand

how to have so much fun at Christmas. There is a lot to see

and a lot of fun, the pictures are excellent, and I will visit you

often in the future.  Berni from Germany wishes you

continued lots of fun and success."

 

Linda B: "I love the jokes this month, especially the

Irish ones in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Fun!"

 

Chris Romanyszyn: "Hello, I came across your page through

various village videos and waned to share my family's

with you. We hope you enjoy it."

 

GMCummings: "Thank you for taking time to watch our video.

You've noticed some of the details that my wife puts into our village.

The ski area is probably 70% cotton. There are other materials

underneath to give it the elevated look and shape. The lights are one

of the highlights of the village. There are over 90 strings of light in

Merrytowne...all battery operated!  THANK YOU so much for recognizing

our Merrytowne Christmas Village 2021 on your awesome site."

 

Tina Buda: "Thank you for choosing to air my video. That

warms my heart with so much joy and happiness! I'm so glad

that people are enjoying the video and never in my dreams

did I expect this honor!"

 

 

fs100fs: (forum member) "Visit from Germany.

Verry good Webpage. Greetings"

 

 

These two comments really changed my day for

the better. I can't thank you enough.

                                        Bill

 

Mark Frendo: (During the 2020 Hall of Fame Voting)

"First and foremost I want to offer you a sincere Thank You for all the work

that you are doing for all of us villagers out here. I've visited the web site

quite a few times in the last couple of weeks, (who am I kidding I've been

on every day)! Aside from voting though I've taken a little time to look,

listen and learn a few things from what you have posted. I read the article

posted by Jim Kellow and he mentioned 'The Lone Wolf Villager.' Three weeks

later it still echoes in my head. Until three years ago that was me, 'The Lone

Wolf! So to make a long story really short... My wife Mary and I started

collecting in 1992. As you know back then you used to be able see these

wonderful villages set up in the stores. I used to love the mom and pop craft

stores who went the extra mile with their personalized crafts. You don't see

much of that anymore. For years it was basically the only other interaction I

had with villaging. Our village started to grow, slowly at first, but fast forward

to 2018 and we are the proud owners of 95 Dept 56 houses. Well during that

same time period there was the boom of something called the internet, you

may have heard of it! I never did well with computers in the beginning, and the

internet didn't interest me as much as it did others, (I still get my books from

the Library)! Even today I have no social media accounts, unless YouTube is

considered social media. And if it wasn't for the fact that they removed full

keyboards from flip phones, I would probably still have one! It was my niece

who told me that I really should start sharing the village with others by putting

a video up on You Tube. If it wasn't for her I'd still probably be setting up

my village to show to the neighbours, a few family members and a couple

of friends. Even after posting my first video in 2018, (so embarrassing)!

I was still oblivious to the village world out there. For me YouTube was finding

a 'fix it' solution, or watching old bands in concert. That was then, this is now.

All I do in my spare time now is watch village after village and love watching

what other villagers do. And the cherry on the cake now is your web site that

is trying to get the whole villaging world to come together. You Sir are a

star in my book! and 100% of that goes to Kathy too! Thanks to

the both of you for what you are doing, you have made my

special time of year even more so."

 

 

Caitlin: (During Halloween Week 2021)

"Hello! I am a visitor to your site from Toronto, Canada. I would like

to tell you how much I enjoy your website. It is such a nice refuge

online where one can relax and enjoy wholesome humour and beautiful

Christmas displays. I only have a few Christmas house displays which I

inherited from my grandfather. My favourite is the church. I found your

website through the "A Cozy Christmas" podcast which was a delight

to listen to. . . .  Thank you for all you do!"

 

 

Elaine & Gene: "Hi Village Collector People . . . very spooky

Halloween Week card and the puzzle was fun! Happy Halloween

and may the creatures of the underworld bypass your houses."

 

David Fortney: "I found you guys when I joined the

dept 56 forum. This is a very nice site. I will be back time and

time again to see more village displays and folks who do them."

 

Allistair Rod: "... just visited your website and it has a

great collection of Christmas Villages from so many different

people. You've built an amazing community."

 

Marcel Drummer Official: "All I can say is Oh Wow!"

 

My Christmas Village Wonderland: "Thank you so much

for sharing our video! I feel honored!"

 

Ruben Dario Rios: "... today I discovered your page and

I am very happy. I was able to see the videos that you shared

and I liked them very much."

 

jkcarmona: "My video is a work done in family with much love,

from Columbia to the world. Infinity thanks to you and all

who take time to see this Holiday Villa."

 

Wicked Weenie: "Thank you SO much Village Collector for sharing

my video. Your comments mean a lot to just a small dog like me."

 

Stephan Claus: "Thank you for the honour of sharing my video."

 

Destination DeRo: "Thank you so much for supporting us."

 

John Nichols: "Hello, very glad I found your site. Here's the

link to my video. Thanks for supporting villaging."

 

Michelle DeLuca: "I just heard your latest interview with Art

on A Cozy Christmas. Three generations of my family are avid

collectors of all types of Christmas Villages and we proudly display

ours every year. It's so nice to hear about other people's enthusiasm

for this wonderful holiday tradition. Wish you all the best."

 

Elena Gefrom: "Just heard your interview on the

Cozy Christmas podcast, and enjoyed hearing all you

had to say. ... I'm going to share your website

with all my Christmas lovin' friends!"

 

Philippines Christmas Village Collectors' Club: "This is a very

interesting website that is family friendly, safe, non-commercial

site. It is highly recommended that you visit the website to

see great features and to get more ideas about villaging."

 

Felicia Grant: "Thanks so much for sharing our video.

Our kids are so thrilled! They put a lot of energy in deciding

where to place the elves (and the snow, so much snow!)"

 

Nicole Roberts: "Thanks so much for the great honor to share

my video. I hope to bring people happiness with my village."

 

Don Wolford: "Cheers! Thanks for recently featuring

my video. So cool! Such a great site."

 

Eloisa Francisco: "Love this. Thank you so much

for sharing my video!"

 

Tom Hunt: "Have you seen lots of traffic on

your website?  . . . people I've shared it with loved it."

 

Elana in San Diego aka "Twinkley":  "Just heard your interview

on the Cozy Christmas podcast, and enjoyed hearing all you had

to say.  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!  I'm going to share your

website with all my Christmas lovin' friends!!"

 

Michelle DeLuca: "I just heard your latest interview with Art

on "A Cozy Christmas" and wanted to wish you and your website

a Happy Anniversary!  3 generations of my family are avid

collectors of all types of Christmas villages and we proudly

display ours every year. It is so nice to hear about other

people's enthusiasm for this wonderful holiday tradition!"

 

Norm Redpath:  ". . . just checked out your web page;

very impressive . . ."

 

DecemberisComing: (my merry christmas forum)  "I just visited

your website and WOW! So much to look at and enjoy.

Thanks for sharing. Love your pieces."

 

Andy Tran:  "It's an honor to be chosen. Thank you very much!!!"

(about being selected for video of the month)

 

Christmasland:  "Thanks!!! Thanks a lot for sharing our video!

 

pammy100: "Thank you so much for showing my video, that's quite an honor!

 

Gingerbread Latte: (my merry christmas forum)  "I just checked out

your website for the first time. The pictures are great! I love seeing

what other people are doing and getting new ideas!"

 

Phil & Sue Adkins:  "Thanks for the message regarding our

video being featured on the Village Collector website. What a fantastic

honour for us! Also, being published on . . .  our wedding anniversary!

How cool is that! Can't wait to relive our Christmas memories and

share our happy village scenes with everyone in the

Village Collector Community around the world."

 

Ruben Dario Rios:  ". . .  I discovered your page and I am very happy.

I was able to see the videos that you shared and I liked

them very much . . . Thank you very much."

 

Pierre Passavant: "I am very happy to share the Christmas passion.

It's my life, my passion. Thank you so much!

 

We also get comments directly to our columnists as well.

Here's a sample of David Spears' Fan Mail:

 

“Confirming receipt of another wonderful edition of JSYK!”

 

“Many thanks. Please keep on writing!”

 

“I'm delighted, as usual. Thank you for your hard work!”

 

“Love reading your prose and humor.”

 

“columns 'newsy”

 

“Enjoyed the comments – thanks”

 

" feedback from a fan."

 

 

From David, and all of us here, Thank You!

Your response to what we do here is really

special to us, and greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Barb Potje: "The calendars are a great souvenir.

Thank you so much for doing them."

 

Mark Frendo: "First and foremost I want to offer you a sincere Thank You

for all the work that you are doing for all of us villagers out here. I've

visited the website quite a few times in the last few weeks, (who am I

kidding I've been on every day)! ... I've taken a little time to look, listen

and learn a few things from what you have posted ... my spare time now

is watching what other villagers do. And the cherry on the cake now is

your website that is trying to get the whole villaging world to come

together. Thanks to both you and Kathy for what you are doing."

 

Lefty Crafty (Rolly):  "Thank you for including me in the list.

(Nominee #23 for The TVC Village Video Hall of Fame)

I feel honored to be part of the Hall of Fame."

 

Karen Rice: "Thank You so very much for choosing my video to be a

"Village Video of the Week" - I was so surprised and excited! There

are so many beautifully made, professional Christmas videos posted

on your site, I never dreamed mine would be selected. Kudos to

TheVillageCollector.com for showcasing videos made by us novices

that love displaying and sharing our villages."

 

Soaring Hawk EO: "Thank you for choosing my video!

What an unexpected honor!

 

Mary Ann: "Thank you. Our listing looks great. I'll let everyone

in the club know about your website!

 

Myrna R: ". . . looking forward to many happy hours with this site!"

 

Ron H: "I will do my best to spread the word about

your website! It's really neat."

 

Mary Lou: ". . . I did check out The Village Collector . . .

it's very nicely done."

 

Mark Frendo: "The Village Collector website looks really good and

informative . . .  Thanks for all you do for the sake of our Villages."

 

Don Williams: I just noticed the link for this website in one of the emails

from David Spears about the discontinuance of the Yahoo Group

discussion page. This website is wonderful! ... after looking at the

fab videos of some of the villages, they are totally unbelievable.

I will visit this site on a regular basis."

 

Elaine & Gene M: (about the 12 Days of Christmas) "Hi all you folks at

The Village Collector! I've started watching your site ... it sounds and

looks great. Thank you for such a beautiful card. We wish you all a

wonderful Christmas and a safe & warm Happy New Year."

 

David & Linda Spears: "Love your home in the woods of New Hampshire.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  . . .  Very nice 'showing' on the

Video Hall of Fame voting. I know you have to be very happy

with the numbers."

 

Bonnie Cernosek: "Just wanted to say hi. I am from Sleepy Hollow, IL."

 

WintersElf: (from our Forum) "WOW! What amazing website and village

pieces ... makes me want to do lots more. It looks great and thanks

for using my picture due to my Mom being ill. I'm gonna cherish our

village pieces and wish we would have started this years ago."

 

Kim: "I'm new to your site and to "villaging". I have enjoyed looking around

at the info and pictures. Your entire site is very uplifting and entertaining."

 

Lbiello: (about the 12 Days of Christmas)

"Gotta love those Muppets with John Denver. My favorite"

 

Art Kilmer: (Cozy Christmas Podcast about his interview with Bill)

" . . . so far your episode is one of the highest downloaded episodes I've put out."

 

Barb & Shelby Potje: "... I've especially enjoyed the videos you've posted

over the last while. There has been some great work there  ... we built a new

room for our village and the scary part is we don't even use all our collection."

 

David Spears: (about the 12 Days of Christmas) "The guitar version of

White Christmas by Doug MacCloud is great. Thanks for posting it.

Linda and I both enjoyed it "

 

Voilier Fuligule: "This Hall of Fame is a really nice idea!"

 

Phil Adkins: Loving the site and weekly updates.

I'm afraid it's changing from a hobby to an obsession!"

 

Miki Design:  Thank you so much ... when I shared my video, the

purpose was to share a story and a dream leaving the watcher

travel in a magical world and forget the rest watching. That is

exactly what I feel when I watch such videos. Thanks again."

 

Sam Portelli:  Thank you for sharing my Christmas village

on your website. Much appreciated."

 

Tom Jenssen: It's an honor to be featured on your website. Merry Christmas."

 

Lefty Crafty:  "Awesome site . . .  I shared it on my social media. God bless."

 

David Spears: "Congrats to Bill & Kathy on reaching

100,000 visitors on The Village Collector. I'm sure it

took a lot of work on the part of one, and much patience

on the part of the other. "Hi" to Mickey as well."

 

lostintimeNL:  "That is so Nice. Thumbs up."

 

deborah zordan:  "I (heart) this site"

 

Phil Adkins: "We are Lemax Villagers here in Northampton, England

and would like to see other villages for inspiration and appreciation."

 

Phil Adkins: "I have just found this site, and I can't wait to explore

it all!  Already I'm 20 minutes late for going to work as I can't

put it down!  Our Christmas village is just completed!"

 

Linda B:  "I love all the info on this website.

The picture of your driveway is really pretty, and the

cartoons brightened my morning. Thanks so much."

 

David Spears: "The new logo/pin looks a lot better. Thanks!"

 

Art the Bookworm:  "I'm a big fan of Christmas villages.

I love your website - the villages are beautiful."

 

BECZEL: "My family loves this hobby so much. My husband

and my six children all help in setting up our village."

 

Andy G. Matula: "Hello Bill, Mabuhay from the Philippines!

I love your website. It is absolutely awesome."

 

Diamond on Demand Films: "It is a joy to know that many

other people appreciate this art and . . . hope others

can be inspired to create a village of their own."

 

Villaggi di Natale: "The site makes me very happy.

It's full of information and great advice."

 

Andrea: "Your website has a lot of useful information and

wonderful pics and videos . . . congrats for your great job."

 

My Wonderful Crafty Life:  "It's a wonderful website!!! I loved

the villages!!!! Made me want to make mine bigger this year!!"

 

North Pole Christmas Shop: "I enjoy your site. Lot of

wonderful villages and information."

 

Valerie Faria: "I am delighted to share my passion

with you. Thank you for your interest."

 

Pogon Lwow:  "Hi! Your first flag from Kazakhstan

for your awesome website."

 

Jeff Westover: (MyMerryChristmas.com) "I greatly enjoy your site.

I love the homey feel and the personal tone of it."

 

Linda Biello: "I LOVE this website! I have so many new ideas after

seeing how creative some people are. It really puts me in the holiday

spirit. Every year I tell myself my village will be up and finished

by Thanksgiving, but it never happens until after.

Perhaps this will be the year!!"

 

John L: "Thank you very much for your comment, we appreciate

very much that you help us so that our Christmas village has

been more seen in www.TheVillageCollec­tor.com and that

everyone can enjoy the work done.

Congratulations on your great work. Thank you."

 

Michele Thomas: "My youngest son and I were just

checking out your website!!!! It's great!!!!!!

We will check back and share!!!!"

 

Steve Flaunty: "Greetings from New Zealand.

All the best for the new year."

 

David Spears: "Interesting villages . . . Saw a lot of 'new to me'

stuff. Plan to go back and take a few more notes."

 

Sharon: " . . . your site is quite entertaining (full disclosure, have

only visited a few pages so far) and spreads joy. Great job!"

 

Ted K: ". . . like your website and appreciate the work you do."

 

Ponytramp: (MyMerryChristmas.com) "I'm glad you

joined MMC and told us about your website. I've been looking at it

and I LOVE it!! I am looking forward to exploring it more . . .

Keep up the good work!"

 

Todd Whittier: "Thank you! . . . I checked out your page -

very cool. I love watching Christmas Village videos -

Lots of talented people out there!"

 

Greg and Rose Cummings: "Thank you for creating a space for those

who have a passion for village creations and collections."

 

Wicklines: "This is such a beautiful website. Thank you for featuring our

song on your website! . . . this is so cool and truly a blessing!"

 

Phil Renninger: "Came across your site via a Facebook post.

I have been a Dept 56 collector for over 30 years."

 

Christmas Village World: "Thank you very much . . .

We knew your site, really rich in content."

 

Rowee Meh:  "Wow! I check that out! . . .  so awesome!"

 

Barb Potje: "I just wanted to say that I am enjoying your site very

much . . . It has been a pleasure to browse your site and I have

enjoyed your video links immensely."

 

Julie Brassington: " I just love your web-page . . . wonderful

information. As a long time collector I have been searching

for a page like this. Wonderful to know I am not the only one

obsessed with lovely Christmas villages!"

 

Greg and Rose Cummings: "We will DEFINITELY visit your site 

throughout the rest of the year and beyond! With all that's

been going on in 2020, your site can be a

much-needed beacon of happiness!"

 

Jerry Lachance: "WOW I was not aware that there was such a website.

I will become a regular. Thank you."

 

WinterPep: "Keep up the good work with your

The Village Collector website."

 

Curt Wiegand:  "Just found your site. Very nice . . . Thanks!"

 

Barb Potje:  "I am enjoying the site and have gotten some great ideas from

your chosen videos/photos . . . it's almost impossible to find good sites anymore."

 

Frances Deffenbaugh:  "I was so pleased when David Spears told me about

your site . . . I will tell my friends to also check in. Thanks so much!!"

 

Sue Smith:  "Your site is a real treat! . . .  Wow! This is amazing - awesome

and a long list of superlatives! Can hardly wait to send the link

on to other friends and collectors."

 

Velva Heck:  "Thank you for doing this site. Little houses have been a love of mine

since childhood when I made cardboard to put under our Christmas tree."