Setting up the LEGO Winter Village sets every Christmas season is a favorite pastime of LEGO fans. LEGO has been releasing a new set in the series every year since 2009, and while each of the sets looks lovely on its own, when you combine them together they make a really pretty display. There is no right or wrong way to set up your LEGO Winter Village, but I thought I share some of my favorite displays done by other LEGO fans. They may inspire you in making your own village. 🙂
Just to recap, the first LEGO Winter Village set was released in 2009 in the form of the #10199 LEGO Winter Village Toy Shop, followed by the #10216 LEGO Winter Village Bakery in 2010, the #10222 LEGO Winter Village Post Office in 2011, the #10229 LEGO Winter Village Cottage in 2012, the #10235 LEGO Winter Village Market in 2013, the #10245 LEGO Santa’s Workshop in 2014, the #10249 LEGO Winter Village Toy Shop in 2015 (re-release of the first set in the series), and the #10254 LEGO Winter Holiday Train in 2016.
So, those who have been collecting the sets from the very beginning will have eight large LEGO Winter Village sets by now. That’s enough for a very substantial display! But even if you have just a few of the sets, you can make a very nice layout. In addition, LEGO has been releasing some smaller seasonal sets to supplement the Winter Village (like the dainty little #3300014 Christmas Set pictured below).
If you have a narrow display-surface like a windowsill, shelf, or fireplace mantel, you can display the LEGO Winter Village sets in a row. One nice example is the first picture above by Sean Edmison. And below is another simple display by nelleke2, with just a couple of the LEGO Winter Village sets tastefully positioned on a white surface with a bit of artificial snow and some warmly glowing lights.
The following display by Marjon Savelsberg is a bit more spread out with several of the LEGO Winter Village buildings, but the setup is still quite simple; just using a white surface for the festive little scene.
The next layout by smart_as_a_brick is more involved, featuring a frozen lake in the center, surrounded by three of the LEGO Winter Village sets, and a custom building. The added lights really give the whole layout a warm and friendly holiday feel.
Setting up the LEGO Winter Village around the Christmas tree, or a smaller Christmas decoration, is another popular way of displaying the sets. Here, Holly Webster used the older #10173 LEGO Holiday Train to circle the village. Such a display requires a wider surface, such as a table.
Below is another LEGO Winter Village setup with one of the older LEGO trains running around – this one by Lisa Lee. The scene is packed with festive holiday activities. Notice that she also included a couple of LEGO Castle buildings that goes well with the village. Also, the strategically placed fake snow covering the ground is just enough to make the scene wintery, and eliminates the need to use a bunch of white LEGO plates.
The LEGO Winter Village sets go well with trains, and trains go well with tunnels. So why not combine them all? Dav Box did just that by perching Santa’s Workshop on top of a hill with a tunnel for trains to run through, while in the village below minifigs are getting ready for Christmas.
If you have a larger surface – like a long coffee table – you can also set up your LEGO Winter Village more spread out. It also allows friends and family to interact with the village from all sides. This display was done by Mariann Asanuma, and features the newly released LEGO Winter Holiday Train circling the village.
I hope these wonderful LEGO Winter Village ideas put you in the festive mood, and maybe also give you some inspirations for your own setup. As you can see; whether you just have one set, or two or all of them, there are plenty of ways to display the LEGO Winter Village to brighten up the holidays. And if you are missing any of the recent sets, they are available at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? Do you have any of the LEGO Winter Village sets? Are you planning to set them up this year? How do you display them? Feel free to share your own ideas in the comment section below! 😉
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Those are nice ideas. Where are you finding the pictures? I’d love to see.
Thanks
Michelle, just click on the names of the creators, I included them right in the article. The link will take you to their full gallery. 🙂
Great ideas! I like how nicely the village looks even just on a simple white surface even without extra plates. That’s what we are going to do. Also, I like the layout on the table, which allows everyone to play, but with less of a chance to loose pieces compared to having the setup on the floor around the Christmas tree.
We’ve only been back into LEGO for 2 years, but we got the re-release of the Winter Village Toy Shop last year and the Holiday Train this year. I don’t know what we’ll do if we get more sets in the future, but we’ve always had a Christmas Corner in our LEGO town. We’ll surely keep that going forward. I just don’t know what we’ll do if we try to fit in another building (or more).
LOVE anything about the Winter Village and it’s a great entry as always but I’m afraid you’ve missed the best Winter Village set up yet. Get a load of this Aussie one!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/43311804@N08/sets/72157648851081919/
I have a peninsula between my kitchen and family room that’s roughly 50″ x 90″ (with a small and necessary cut out for my stove!). That’s where I aspire to do something of the sort. Here’s my basic layout. https://www.flickr.com/photos/75667634@N00/31208867621/in/dateposted-public/
It isn’t really arranged in that pic — merely unloaded from the storage bins and popped onto the big Strictly Briks white baseplates. And, unfortunately, now it’s even worse as my 6yo grandson/partner urban planner has an aesthetic driven primarily by his need to have everything within his short arms’ length and his propensity to populate the village with some pretty curious constructions, dinosaurs and various Super Heros.
What my village desperately needs is terrain and landscaping. I hope to get to it next year and, by then, I’m thinking my grandson will have a more developed sense of narrative and we may get closer to consensus. What I desperately need is massive amounts of clear and white bricks, plates and particularly slopes. Massive amounts of trees. And massive amounts of “water and ice” colored tiles and plates in a variety of sizes as well as larger grey tiles for designing roadways.
It’s my dearest wish that Lego will one day address these needs with, perhaps, an assortment of the Classic-style bricks in white and clear and water/ice colors. I’d also love some 2 x 2 bright green nosecones for constructing larger fir trees. Happily, Strictly Briks has become my go-to for the baseplates and I’ll rely on them too for some of the larger stacking white plates that will be the clearings that buildings can sit on.
Is there a way to appeal to them to consider such things?
I forgot to say I also hope, like Tan Tile, to construct modulars units on my 15″ x 15″ baseplates so it can be set up each year with a minimum of construction.
Did I say I wish those dreamed of white Classic-type assortments would come in 25-pound packages???
Oh, yes! I have seen that big and beautiful setup by Oz Brick Nation, but then I decided against including it as it is a collaborative display most people will not be able to do on their own. Here I wanted to focus on things people can do without too much effort and additional investment.
Yes, the Strictly Bricks plates are awesome! I just got a bunch of white and tan ones too to build myself a LEGO display wall. Will write up something about it soon.
As far as asking LEGO for regular bricks and plates in ice colors, they would most likely just say to order them from Pick-A-Brick or Bricks & Pieces. At least that would be my guess. But we can always hope for more wintery sets. 🙂
What wrong with dinosaurs in the village? They need Christmas too! 😀
But there are so many things they simply don’t make like transparent plates and tiles bigger than 1 x 2. And the 2 x 2 green nosecones.
And for a big display I wouldn’t have ANY idea how many bricks/plates/slopes of various sizes I’d need. I just need to play with white and icy clear bricks to see how it works.
I’ve asked for these things that wouldn’t require new molds — just different plastic inserted into existing molds. I’ve just been blown off each time.
I think they need to appreciate the potential of the Winter Village and the consumer enthusiasm for personalizing and editing them.
Oh, I definitely agree. It may be just difficult to convince LEGO. They are already running their moulding machines 24/7. Also, the issue with larger clear pieces is that they stick too much, as they are made of a more rigid plastic. This is why LEGO doesn’t make larger transparent pieces – especially plates, which are already “stickier” than bricks. Strictly Briks does make some very large transparent plates, and they are excellent quality. I have some myself. You might use those for something like a frozen lake, and just cover up the edges with white pieces to make the lake smaller/more round.
I’ve already written to Strictly Briks and directed them to this discussion to see if they’d be interested in a Build-a-Winter-Terrain package.
I checked out their transparent collection but unfortunately I’d be tossing 95% of it in the search for the “water” stuff.
That’s a good idea. They might be interested. I’m not sure what you mean by the second paragraph though. 😕
Their assortment of transparent pieces is extremely heavy on the purple/pink/yellow/red spectrum. 4 or 5 of each to every bluish or turquoise piece. Those colors make me want to lose my lunch. I’d have no use for them.
You can buy individual color packs. For example here are the trans-aqua ones: https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Clear-Turquoise-Stackable-Plates/dp/B01E4GY0CE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1481163972&sr=8-24&keywords=strictly+briks+transparent&linkCode=sl1&tag=thebriblo-20&linkId=c4ed9833f473e29b658de8fb6027367b, and here are the trans-blue ones: https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Clear-Blue-Stackable-Plates/dp/B01E4H0E0A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1481164049&sr=8-2&keywords=strictly+briks+transparent&linkCode=sl1&tag=thebriblo-20&linkId=90c1a52241392d8f934859212ff542e2. These are links to their Amazon store. They usually have the best prices there, but the options are a bit limited. However there are a lot more individual packs on their website. Take a look here: https://strictlybriks.com/
I’m a little confused since they neither mark their products in standard measurement nor number of studs, only in imperial… But I guess I manage…
Ah, now I see they also measure in studs, here called “pegs”, if I read the fine print…
They have a 15.75″ X 15.75″ (50 x 50 studs) clear baseplate for sale, as well as a 10″ x 10″ (32 x 32 studs) plate.
We are making our first Xmas display 2020. Lego Has kept us positive in Covid. Anyways I’m going to use a large window across blue white or grey LEGO using something for white snow around the window with my Harry Potter blue reindeers standing around the winter Style dam or lake I’m hoping to use cotton wool Do you think this allowable Thanks Katev
PS I hear ya about what a big project it is! I didn’t realize it was collaborative. I thought it was done by someone named Tan Tile.
In any case, it will be a project for some years to come but I gotta have one of my own!!!!
I remember reading somewhere that it was a collaboration. But, yes, you should totally build one! You are almost half way there anyway! 😀
Oh, yeah… Maybe you could add an ice hockey rink, or a skating arena in the middle or something like that… In lieu of more big houses…
There’s nothing permanent or thoughtful about the arrangement in the pic. It illustrates the size and contours. But I do envision Santa’s Workshop at the center of the larger section of the town. Up on a tall hill (when I can figure out what I need and acquire all the bricks). Then below it the town should be arranged around one side of that hill and the Christmas Market on the other side. All of the village will be slightly elevated above the encircling tracks.
On the narrower part to the rear we’ll have residences and a larger water feature. And somewhere in there there needs to be a roadway.
Outside the tracks on the rather generous portion defined by my stove and the inward curving tracks we have a park for the skating/hockey, the igloo and other snow activities.
And everywhere there need to be LOTS of trees including trees considerably bigger than Legos’s 2 x 2 fir trees.
Sounds like a good plan! I like it! I wish LEGO would bring back the old cypress trees! They were awesome. I have only one, and I paid $15 for it! 🙁
Oh yeah, they’re quite cool…
There are various tutorials for constructing various brick-built trees…
And transparent parts don’t seem to be that expensive over all on Bricklink… Although you’d need a lot of them to construct a sea or skating rink…
Oh! I had never seen a cypress tree. I had to google it. That’s very cool!
I wonder why they abandoned it? They don’t do the round deciduous trees anymore either…
They discontinued the cypress tree because they are made of the softer plastic, and they tend to bend over due to the height. It’s just a minor thing, but LEGO considered it a fault, so the cypress trees were discontinued. I think it would be great if they would reintroduce them now that they also make trees with harder plastic. But the mould is probably long gone.
They could probably reconstruct it, though, if they wanted to… Or back-engineer it from an existing tree…
Yes, probably, also, it should work with the harder plastic. But recently they are more into brick-built trees, which are also nice, and provides more variety.
You’re certainly right about the variety and appearance of brick-built trees. But the manufactured ones certainly help to fill in AND in the case of a multi-year project like this, they can get you up and running while you prioritize other issues like the terrain.
So I’ll still hope for more sizes and shapes. …and those 2×2 nosecones which could, themselves, be small shrubs and saplings.
Anyway, GREAT entry! Great discussion! And thanks so much to you and Hokan for ideas and resources!
Happy, happy holidays in your Winter Villages and your homes!!!
I wish I could live in the Winter Village! Happy Holidays to you too! 🙂
Wow that price increase is insane. I’ve a few of the cyprus trees but had no idea they were worth that!
Yeah, they are pricey. Especially the non-crooked ones! 😀
One question: Is the 2014 set a re-release of the 2014 one or are there little modifications?
There are some very slight modifications, but it is basically the same thing for a higher price. LEGO fans were very unhappy about it.
Thanks for this blog, gives a lot of thought.
What do you suggest to store the leg0 Christmas in during the year? Don’t really want to rebuild everything year on year
Hm… it depends on what’s available in your country, but large storage totes are a common way to store LEGO when you don’t want to take them apart. But any box would work. One thing I would suggest it to first wrap the sets in a layer cellophane before putting them in a box. This is a method used for transporting LEGO models and it prevents small pieces from falling off and getting lost.
What great ideas! I will have to borrow some for around our Christmas tree!
Have fun! 😀
I have had LEGO advent calendars with my kids for YEARS! I want to set up a village with all of the pieces. Do they make baseplates with graphics (is: winter scenes, indoor scenes, town scenes, etc)?
Tione, LEGO doesn’t currently produce baseplates with graphics. My suggestion would be to use regular baseplates, and just add your own landscaping. It’s surprisingly easy.
A few translucent pieces can make a frozen lake, a few white pieces can be snow piles, add a few trees, benches, etc. And you have a landscape. I have even seen people ad puffs of cotton to imitate snow to make the display more interesting.
Another think you can do with your children is to let them draw the landscape on a large piece of white paper or cardboard. This makes creating the scene even more fun and interactive. Enjoy! 🙂
What do you guys recommend to replicate snow? I’ve been trying for years with cotton rolls but it’s an issue on keeping the mini figs standing up.
Fernando, yes, a lot of people use cotton to replicate snow. It’s simple to do, but as you said, it’s hard for minifigs to stand on them. But you could hide white plates in strategic places amongst the cotton for minifigs to stand on.
You can also purchase special “snow mats” and other materials that were originally made for model railroad layouts. They aren’t very expensive, and with a bit of creativity, you can make them look very convincing. The materials used by model railroaders for landscapes are usually hard, so you can make minifigs stand on them, or hide white plates in the layout for minifigs to stand on. There are many tutorials from model railroaders to build snowy (and other) landscapes that look realistic.
And of course, you can also build up a stash of white plates and bricks to make the entire layout LEGO-built. 🙂