Model Christmas Decorations and Decorating

Christmas Village Displays

Once all of your houses, trees and figurines are well and truly in place and any tweaks have been made, you can add some final Christmas decorations and adornments to your village display. The choice of possible embellishments is huge and really is only limited by your imagination and artistic skills.

Those with an aptitude for handicrafts and card making may already have a number of Christmas punches, which will cut small tiny holly leaves, snowflakes and stars from coloured paper and card. However, if you just have a pair of scissors and some paper, it is surprising what you can achieve with a little guidance and a lot of patience.

A good starting point for ideas is a trip to a dolls house shop or model store specialising in miniatures and toys. Many dolls house enthusiasts like to decorate their rooms with all kinds of Christmas decorations and as these are so small, they are usually extremely inexpensive, as well as being the perfect source of inspiration if you are feeling crafty and creative.

Popular choices for village decorations include lengths of tiny sparkling tinsel, wreaths for front doors, red ribbons and bows, garlands, wrapped presents, candy canes and gingerbread men. You may even like to add a bunch of miniature mistletoe above a doorway or two.

Festive silicone food moulds used for cake making and chocolates are inexpensive, being ideal for Fimo (polymer clay) and modelling clay. Moulds are easy to come by online and include wreaths, stars, bells, snowflakes, baubles, bows, holly leaves, poinsettias, Christmas crackers, stockings and more - in fact, there are scaled-down moulds for most things that you can think of if you look hard enough.

Decorating with Miniature Fairy Lights

Lemax sell several different types of miniature fairy lights, which are powered by 3 x AA batteries and are either clear or coloured. They are available as static lights or 'chasing' (moving). Fairy lights can be used to decorate Christmas trees and draped across the rooftops of your village buildings, and are ideal for areas where buildings or objects lack illumination. Tiny stick-on hooks are available if you need extra support on the sides of your houses.



The fairy lights shown here (above) have been made from small coloured balls of Fimo clay, shaped as oval light-bulbs and baked in the oven. They were then stuck onto a dark piece of garden wire using several coats of PVA glue. Although they don't actually light up, they add a splash of colour and look quite festive when wrapped around the branches of a tree.

Dolls House Paper Chains, Tinsel and Decorations

When the Christmas season arrives, dolls house shops regularly showcase all kinds of Christmas decorations and accessories in their window displays. Paper chains are cheap to buy, and even cheaper to make.

The length of model paper chain pictured here (below) was made using white A4 paper, coloured as rainbow stripes with 'Spectrum Noir' felt-tip pens and highlighters. It was then cut into narrow strips with a paper guillotine, cut to lengths of roughly 5 cm / 2 inches and stuck as a chain of loops using a glue stick and a pair of tweezers. The coloured loops were alternated to create a pattern.




These tiny miniature parcels (below) were purchased at a local dolls house shop and are very eye-catching when used for tree decorations. They could also be placed at the bottom of a model Christmas tree, to show that Santa Claus hasn't forgotten to visit your village.




Miniature dolls house tinsel is available in a variety of different colours, although gold and silver tend to be the most popular choices. Try to stick to one or two colours if possible, so that you have continuity throughout your village, rather than clashes of colour. If you are not able to get hold of modelling tinsel, you could improvise with a pair of pinking scissors and some aluminium foil, or just scrunch up some twisted rolled lengths of foil.

Fimo Clay Decorations

Fimo is an essential if you are trying to make your own decorations and have a little time to spare. This can be a great way to involve young children. These 'streamers' (below) have been made using thin 'sausages' of Fimo, which are then twisted together to create a corkscrew pattern. By forming them as U-shaped hooks, they can be pushed into the branches of a dense model Christmas tree. Fimo should always be baked in an oven at a low temperature - follow the instructions on the packet to achieve the best results.




A star cutter used for icing decorations on cakes has been utilised here (below) to cut out a yellow star from Fimo clay, which makes the perfect topper for a tree.

Miniature Garlands

By using nothing more than a length of green garden string and some small leaf shapes (fern, ivy and holly leaves) cut with paper punches, a long miniature Christmas garland can be created for next to nothing. The garland pictured below has been made by sticking different shades of paper green leaves to string (both sides) using PVA glue.

Clear glitter nail varnish or glitter glue can be used to add a subtle sparkle. Once dried, the garland may be a little stiff at first, but can be carefully shaped and draped as required. Garlands can be positioned above doorways or along rooftops, being further improved with the addition of a Fimo wreath or two.