Moving Accessories and Table Accents

Christmas Village Displays

It is quite true to say that any well-designed and well-planned static Christmas village will always be quite special, day and night, regardless of size and style. However, there is no denying that some carefully chosen and carefully positioned moving pieces will enhance and complement a display, particularly when the moving elements are fairly subtle and these miniatures are situated close to the front of the arrangement.

Lemax tends to dominate the Christmas market when it comes to moving village accessories, ever since they added the 'Santa is Coming to Town' and the 'Merry Christmas Tree' pieces to their huge collection in 2004. Today, they are able to boast literally dozens of houses, buildings and table pieces with moving parts, some of which are far more obvious than others, and far more expensive.

Amongst the most pricey are the Christmas Sock-Hop, the Regency Ballroom, the Majestic Christmas Tree and the Starlight Express train set, not to mention the fairground rides and roundabouts. More understated and much cheaper are the gentle swinging motions provided by 'Swinging Santa' and 'Swing Time', where children are shown playing on a swing suspended from a tree branch, whilst being watched by an adjacent snowman.


Elements themed around an ice skating rink are particularly in-demand and these range from frozen skating ponds to school ice hockey matches. Another very effective table piece for any village is Lemax's 'Staying Warm' scene, where a young couple are sat on logs in front of a roaring fire flickering in the dark, accompanied by a rabbit, squirrel and other wildlife.

'Hide and Seek' adds an element of mischievous fun, with children being shown hiding and appearing behind piles of snow, while 'Snowboarding Friends'' is a simple rotation piece, where two young snowboarders and their dog zoom around a slope. The 'Cedar Valley Choir' adds a touch of class, with this small choir consisting of two rows of model figures, gently moving from side to side as they sing their hearts out in front of their conductor.

If you have the space, you may even like to add a road with cars, and for those who are a little ambitious when it comes to model making, it may even be possible to get the cars to move along a road track.

The majority of the moving Christmas table pieces supplied by Lemax are powered by batteries (3 x AA batteries), either housed in a separate battery pack (connected by a long wire) or within the model itself, although most are compatible with the recommended Lemax adaptors. A number of the moving pieces are quite similar in their nature, revolving around a central element, be it a train, snowboarders or children dancing around a tree. Therefore, do bear this in mind when buying your moving elements, so that you come home with a collection of different movements (revolving, up and down, side to side, swinging, dancing, etc.), rather than several elements that actually look quite similar when placed side by side.


Photos showing the animated Lemax models named Swing Time, Angel Wings, Ready to Launch, See-Saw, Skating Pond and Holiday Merry Go Round:





The following moving models are all currently sold by Lemax and are perfect for any growing Christmas village collection:

Skating Pond

A new addition to Lemax in 2010, a total of eight skaters gracefully glide around this large frozen pond, accompanied by music and background noise. It should be noted that the rink does not include any lighting and so additional spotlights will be necessary for illuminating the movement at night. There are 18 pieces within this set, including a static gas lamp, a tree and a cocoa kiosk. When packing the Skating Pond away, take care to pack this item flat, rather than on its side, so that the magnets that operate beneath the surface do not stick together.
Power: supplied with AC adaptor
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 14.5 cm / 5.7 inches (high), 37 cm / 14.6 inches (wide), 28 cm / 11 inches (deep).

Winter Skating

This small version of the more popular, somewhat larger Skating Pond is perfect if your Christmas village is short of space and you are keen to get some very obvious animation close to the front. The compact Winter Skating rink can easily be sited within a park or on a paved part of any arrangement.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 12 cm / 4.7 inches (high), 28 cm / 11.2 inches (wide), 20 cm / 7.9 inches (deep).

Holiday Merry Go Round

Added in 2011, the Holiday Merry Go Round is quite irresistible when seen in action. This extremely popular table accent comes with a typical playground roundabout, decorated using miniature tinsel and lit by an angled lamp on the right-hand side of the scene. As the roundabout rotates, the tinsel sparkles beneath the light.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Santa's Wonderland
Size: 12.5 cm / 4.9 inches (high), 23 cm / 9.1 inches (wide), 18 cm / 7.1 inches (deep).

Boys vs Girls

Available for purchase since its introduction in 2007, Boys v. Girls is a very different and imaginative piece. It shows two boys and two girls playing 'tug of war' with a rope whilst being adjudicated by a snowman, although nobody ever actually wins! A spotlight means that the action can easily be seen when night-time comes to your Christmas village.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 12.2 cm / 4.8 inches (high), 19.6 cm / 7.7 inches (wide), 10.4 cm / 4.1 inches (deep).

Merry Snowman

A firm favourite with collectors since arriving on the scene in 2008, the Merry Snowman is the perfect addition where movement is required within a small Christmas village. A cheerful snowman forms the centrepiece, being encircled in an anti-clockwise direction by two girls and boys.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 12 cm / 4.7 inches (high), 17 cm / 6.7 inches (wide), 17 cm / 6.7 inches (deep).

Mistletoe Chase

The Mistletoe Chase is a relatively new addition to the Lemax Santa's Wonderland collection, being added in the year 2013. This animated miniature depicts a young girl chasing a boy around a Christmas tree whilst holding a piece of mistletoe in her hand, with a dog running after her. There are several spotlights at the front, illuminating the action at night-time.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Santa's Wonderland
Size: 11.4 cm / 4.5 inches (high), 19.6 cm / 7.7 inches (wide), 17 cm / 6.7 inches (deep).

Ready to Launch

A small and compact moving table piece sold by Lemax since the year 2011, Ready to Launch portrays a sledge perched atop a steep hill. The sledge moves backwards and forwards, as the children get ready to head on down 'Sidewinder Hill'.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Vail Village
Size: 15 cm / 5.9 inches (high), 17.5 cm / 6.9 inches (wide), 15.7 cm / 6.2 inches (deep).

Santa Kiddie Train

Perfect for anyone young at heart, the Santa Kiddie Train is a fairly new piece, added in 2013, and features a very noticeable movement, with Santa driving a train around a tall Christmas tree. Several children are shown sitting in the carriages behind his 'North Pole' locomotive, along with a rather adventurous reindeer.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Santa's Wonderland
Size: 17 cm / 6.7 inches (high), 23 cm / 9.1 inches (wide), 18 cm / 7.1 inches (deep).

Snowball Fight

An ingredient of humour is also a desirable addition to any Christmas village and this is certainly provided by the Snowball Fight, where young boys pop up and down as they prepare for their snowball war. Lemax designed this moving piece for the 2008 Christmas season and it remains a popular seller today.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 12.5 cm / 4.9 inches (high), 21 cm / 8.3 inches (wide), 16.3 cm / 6.4 inches (deep).

Winter Feeding

A touch of nature can be added when purchasing Winter Feeding, which shows four birds flying above a couple of frosted conifer trees, suspended on black wires that will easily vanish into a dark background. A lady has come along to feed the birds and the other wildlife peeping out from the arrangement. A bench and bird bath complete the scene.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 17 cm / 6.7 inches (high), 15.7 cm / 6.2 inches (wide), 13.5 cm / 5.3 inches (deep).

Angel Wings

Everyone remembers making their very own snow angel by lying in freshly fallen snow as a child, moving your arms and legs. This piece captures all of that excitement and fun, although since it is fairly flat, it needs to be slightly angled in a display to be fully appreciated. Whilst the movement will no doubt evoke nostalgic memories, the noise of the mechanism can be quite distracting and this should be borne in mind before making your purchase.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 15 cm / 5.9 inches (high), 14.5 cm / 5.7 inches (wide), 14.5 cm / 5.7 inches (deep).

See-Saw

If you only have room for one table piece in your Christmas village display, then it must surely be the Lemax See-Saw. A compact item with a simple up and down action, the see-saw is shown being used by a young family. Those with a quiet room may find the 'tapping' noise caused by the motion slightly annoying, although this can be prevented by adding a little cotton wool or similar to the base, beneath the movement itself.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Vail Village
Size: 9.5 cm / 3.7 inches (high), 16.5 cm / 6.5 inches (wide), 10.7 cm / 4.2 inches (deep).

Santa is Coming to Town

One of Lemax's earliest and most memorable moving table pieces is this item, Santa is Coming to Town, which is an especially tall model. Many a Christmas village includes this animation, with Santa flying his sleigh high over the rooftops of the miniature houses beneath him and his team of reindeer. A dark background will ensure that the supporting piece of wire used to rotate the model is less obvious.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Caddington Village
Size: 31.5 cm / 12.4 inches (high), 33 cm / 13 inches (wide), 33 cm / 13 inches (deep).

Merry Christmas Tree

Introduced as long ago as 2004, the earliest moving piece still being sold by Lemax is this model, the Merry Christmas Tree, where a family of four dances around a small tree lit by colourful fairy lights.
Power: battery operated
Collection: Santa's Wonderland
Size: 36 cm / 14.2 inches (high), 17 cm / 6.7 inches (wide), 15.5 cm / 6.1 inches (deep).