Visit a tiny Christmas Village with my friend, Joyce Lynn

Come along on a Christmas adventure to a tiny village that lives on 77th Street in a Manhattan apartment only at Christmas time.

My friend and neighbor, Joyce Lynn, built this little rural town, Bethlehem, located somewhere in your imagination. Over the years, Joyce has added scenes and built buildings. She collected people and tiny objects to give life and detail to her village. Some of the figures are over 100 years old.   Come tour this town with us and write your own story about life here. We start at the train station.

Joyce built most of the buildings & painted the background. 

Let's get our shoes shined while we're still at the train station. Tip little Johnny well because he works hard. And the police are watching you!

Uh, Oh, traffic jam! Two stubborn men are each claiming to be first across the bridge. Typical of guys, isn't it?  Might have to take a cable car! Let's take a stroll through town first.                                                                                           

Christmas is coming! Kids are building snow Santas and the farmers are bringing their vegetables to market. Bobby gives Jenny free veges, hoping she'll give him something on their next date!

Some people haven't bought their Christmas trees yet!
Ella waited until the last minute, hoping Titus would lower his prices. She's a stingy bitch! Titus raised his price when he saw her coming.

No cell phones needed here, there is an antique phone booth. Just hope Superman is finished changing in there. Drop your Christmas cards in the mailbox and a dollar in Santa's kettle. Then we'll hop in the taxi and visit the school.

Shhh! There's a puppet show going on in front of the school. Carl, the gym teacher makes puppets as a hobby. He and Mike the librarian are keeping company but nobody is supposed to know!

Let's drive past some of the nicer houses in town. I think the mayor lives in this grand place.
He's busy shaking hands and kissing babies, running for re-election! Just don't kiss any babies over six months old, Mayor!

There's a church and horses still pull vehicles down Main Street. Matt the pastor is thinking about having gay marriages in his church. His wife Ethel agrees and his brother Mike, the librarian urges him to do so. (Joyce wired all the lights herself. I couldn't do that!)






  I think this is Joyce's house. I believe she built it to be a showplace and it certainly is! Her little Christmas village is a legend in our building and with my sons.

Carolers are out already. They are drawing quite a crowd. Of course they are in front of one of the finer houses in town. The hot chocolate is probably better there. Ben the drummer has the hots for Sally, the soprano, but she only has eyes for Gus, the tuba player. Such drama for a small town.

This is the only town where the public library is bigger than the bank! Joyce knows what's important. Will you donate a book to the library? Mike is ready to take your books and he welcomes erotic romance! (Joyce painted this backgroun herself, it's stunning!)

After shopping at the Village Store, the guys stop at the Barber Shop. They want to look their best for the holidays and catch up on all the local gossip,hanging out front with their pals.

Fill stockings with candy and other confections from The Sweet Shop. Say, do I see the Coca Cola truck, making a delivery here? Hmmm. He's here to see Ada again, isn't he?

I was right, Ralph is making a delivery. The rumor from the guys at the Barber Shop is that Ralph is delivering more than just soft drinks to Ada who owns and runs the Sweet Shop. Carla,  school principal, scolds them for gossiping. Ada is a widow, so it's none of their business.

Carla's husband is the mayor. He owns the fanciest car in town. Carla has always had a crush on the fire chief, but he's a happily married man. OMG, I'm already writing a romance here!

 Jeb, the fire chief pulls up in front of the Sweet Shop to pick up a gift for Maidy, his pretty wife. (The Coca Cola truck, red car, taxis and this little truck are antiques.)

The pond between the farm and the school is frozen, making the perfect skating rink for the kids on Christmas vacation. Alice asks Jake to put on her skates. They are shy but have crushes on each other. 

Kids who don't own skates come to the sledding hill. I think a snowball fight is about to break out. There's Jack, that troublemaker. DUCK! Hey, you! Grab some snow, this is war!

Our taxi stops at the gas station before taking us to the farm. Tom the station owner, is the most eligible bachelor in town. He has his eye on the best girl around, too. He's smart! We grab a newspaper next door.

This is a farming community and this is the largest dairy farm in town. The farmer puts a wreath up over the barn. He's grateful to have healthy livestock. Notice the little lantern and milk cans.(Joyce is a stickler for detail.)

The mill creates jobs. Old Barnaby owns the mill. Mary, his daughter, is secretly dating Tom because her dad doesn't approve of the "grease monkey". Mary is the prettiest, richest girl in town. Tom's no dope!

The snow has stopped so Barbara and Hank take a ride through town. Are Barbara and Hank married to each other? I don't think so. What do you think?

Joe is the Chief of Police and Barbara's husband. Hank better watch out! (Did you notice the street signs? This one says "St. Nicholas Avenue")

We like it here in Bethlehem and have decided to stay. So we are dropping you at the bus station for your journey home. You'll have company. Nancy, our nurse is running away with Joy's husband,  Frank, who owns the Christmas tree farm! Another plot develops. Thanks for coming with us today.

Is this village amazing? If you agree, please leave a comment, Joyce would be so pleased. May you have a joyous holiday filled with love and laughter!!