One of my favorite holiday decorations is my Christmas village.

It began years ago when my daughter was very young — just a couple of cute candle holders in the shape of little houses.

I found more little houses at garage sales here and there and soon had enough to string together a mini village on a mantle, and I thought it would be fun to add a little something to it each year.

Some years have seen huge additions, when I’ve been able to find small scale buildings that don’t look like they’ve been painted by someone who put too much rum in their eggnog.

Each year more and more boxes have been required to add the necessary hills and valleys. I’ve been threatening for quite a while to create some kind of permanent foundation for my village. My husband just smiled and nodded, indulging me in my architectural fantasy.

This year I was serious. I grabbed my husband and dragged him to the home improvement store, the necessary measurements locked in my brain. After much gesturing with my hands to explain the design in my head, my husband made his recommendations for supplies, knowing he would have his work cut out for him when he got home.

The process was nearly painless, as I only threw up my hands in frustration and walked away once. But the end result is a spectacular, albeit a little too uniform, four-level Christmas village complete with an oatmeal-box summit. There are some adjustments to be made for next year — provided I get a jig saw — (that’s a hint, honey!) but for my first effort, it’s not bad.

My husband, who rewarded my enthusiasm with lots of eye-rolling, also seems pleased with the overall effect, judging by his plans for next year’s new subdivisions. Sometimes, it just takes a village to make an editor happy.

-Kathy Reed, editor