Christmas Villages: the great news of the 2022 catalog

Starting this year, 2022, Luminal Park has decided to introduce a completely new category to its large family of products: our amazing Christmas Villages!

Do you know what these are? We are talking about beautiful reproductions of typical Christmas scenery made of plastic or polyresin materials. Little houses, churches, snowy mountain landscapes, frozen lakes with skaters, amusement parks, Christmas markets, and much more.

The history of the tradition of Christmas Villages is ancient and goes way back; at Luminal Park we decided to add this type of product to our extensive collection of Christmas decorative items mainly to meet the huge demand that has come to us from our customers over the years. There are many people who are lovers of Christmas Villages, who like to collect these decorations and group them harmoniously, creating wonderful arrangements; little miniature Christmas Villages, in fact.

However, apart from enthusiasts, there are many people who are not familiar with these products instead, and who are amazed at the minuteness of detail, the accuracy of reproduction, and the joyful and cheerful atmosphere they give. And that's exactly why we decided to write this blog: we dedicate it to everyone who wants to learn more and find out how to buy the perfect Christmas Village to inaugurate their collection.

History and tradition

The use of Christmas Villages has not been properly widespread throughout Europe; indeed, it clashes with other decorative setups, such as the traditional Nativity scene, to which the originally Catholic nations, namely those in Southern Europe, Austria and a good part of Germany, remain fond.

The origins of the tradition of Christmas Villages, in fact, seem to date mainly from the regions of Northern Europe, specifically the geographical areas of Bohemia and Moravia, now part of the present-day Czech Republic. However, to be later exported as a costume in America will not be the use of Christmas Villages, but that of Putz Houses, small cardboard houses decorated with a thousand different details. The name of these little objects comes precisely from the German verb putzen, which was used at the time as a translation of "to decorate."

Germany, not surprisingly, would be the main exporter of Christmas decorations to the United States until the end of World War I. From the 1920s it will be replaced by Japan, which, with its cheap and very colorful putz houses, will help bring the article into vogue. In the postwar period,and with the advent of the 1960s, putz houses would be permanently replaced by the first plastic Christmas Villages.

Christmas Villages by Luminal Park

Beyond the history of putz houses, Christmas Villages have been a huge success over the past decades: always a symbol of tradition and family warmth, they have warmed the hearts of so many fans globally. Not only that: the production possibilities and markets have expanded so much, that nowadays not only Christmas Villages are sold, but also real miniature cities, such as Halloween Villages, enchanted landscapes, themed sceneries, creations in collaboration with big brands, etc.

Because we love Christmas in Luminal Park, we decided to dedicate our first collection of Villages exclusively to the Christmas theme, making twenty different subjects, from the smallest to the largest versions. All villages are manufactured using plastic or polyresin material, have different power options, and are illuminated by colored or warm white LED lights.

Technical features

To help you discover which Christmas Village best suits your decorative needs, we have created this small technical guide, summarizing the main differences within our range of Christmas Villages.

• Materials: plastic vs. polyresin

The main difference present within our range of Christmas Villages is that some of them are made of plastic, others of polyresin. Plastic Villages are usually lighter in weight and are created from molds that are already prepared for production, so they involve less detail within the scenery.

Polyresin, on the other hand, is the perfect material for creating hyper-realistic details.The fact that this material is so easy to work with once it is heated helps a lot in shaping subjects to your liking. Polyresin also tolerates the addition of color to its interior very well, allowing endless customizations. It has the same color tolerance as fiberglass, to wit, but is less expensive. Finally, because it takes on the appearance of a rigid and extremely durable material once dry, it is also used industrially for making furnishings. Compared to plastic Villages, therefore, those made of polyresin will certainly be more expensive, but they will also be more durable and full of more realistic details.

On the left is a plastic detail and on the right is the same subject, but made of polyresin.

On the left is the small plastic house and on the right is the same subject, but made of polyresin.

• Motion: Static villages vs. moving villages

  Some of our Villages, especially in the smaller versions, are static, so they are composed solely of non-animated decorative elements, which lend themselves well to complementing larger sets, or even just as nice decorative items. In contrast, the majority of Luminal Park Christmas Villages consist of a static figurative section, such as the background scenery, and some moving elements, such as Christmas trees, toy trains, skaters, etc., which are operated by small motors and magnets.

  Of course, the presence of moving elements creates much of the "magic" surrounding the Christmas Villages: one could be enchanted for hours watching the movements and occupations of each inhabitant of these miniature towns.

• Power supply: battery vs. transformer

To make the installation of our Christmas Villages, in Luminal Park we decided to include in the catalog both battery-powered and transformer-powered items, and even some variants with dual power supply. Battery-powered Villages are perfect for use individually, even as centerpieces, with no wires in sight; the transformer, on the other hand, is used particularly in larger versions with lots of animation, for which battery power is not enough.

• Music: Villages with or without Christmas tunes

How to set up your Christmas Village

Finally, once you've found the right Christmas Village for you, all that's left to do is to start the collection and set up a splendid scene by grouping several Villages together and harmoniously uniting them with the help of other decorative elements that act as joining elements. Since they are already snowy landscapes in themselves, we recommend adding fake snow, pine branches, Christmas balls, dried fruit or wooden branches. What are you waiting for? Create your own Christmas landscape with Luminal Park Villages!