A room for angels—and another for a Christmas village! Sirkku sometimes wakes at night to keep building

Hundreds of tiny lights twinkle, Christmas music plays, and miniature vehicles trundle between soft snowdrifts. The magical scene draws you closer: look, there’s a carousel! Do you see those elves—where are they climbing?

Sirkku Ekman’s Christmas spirit springs from the joy of children. That’s why she builds a spectacular Christmas village in her home every year. Over the past decade it has expanded almost without her noticing, because Sirkku adds new pieces all year round. Now the Christmas world has its own room, and Sirkku doesn’t turn curious visitors away: even an entire daycare group has come to marvel at the village.

How did the Christmas world get its start?

My collecting hobby really began 25 years ago, when my sister died. I started buying various angel pieces then, and now I have about a thousand. The angels have their own room in our home, and there are some here and there too—for example in the bedroom.

About ten years ago I bought a few pretty Christmas decorations and made my first small Christmas village. It grew from there, little by little. I’m inspired by the ornaments: I see where each one would fit well, and the village gradually expands. It has its own room now, because in our single-family house we have spare rooms since the kids moved out.

What kind of project is building the village?

My fingers start itching in late fall, but I usually begin building the village at the end of November. First my husband and I clear other decor out of the room, like tealight houses and plants. Prep includes hanging a cityscape tapestry and Christmas curtains, and spraying artificial snow and elves on the windows. We set the tables in the middle of the room, and I spread white chiffon cloths or Christmas linens over them. I fasten elves on ladders to the ceiling—they’re on their way to the attic hatch.

Then I start building the parts of the village and raise them to different heights. The village includes lots of moving pieces—cars, trains, a ski lift—as well as lights that need to be installed just right. It usually takes a couple of weeks, and the village is ready in the first days of December. We make it together with my husband, and my four-year-old grandchild has also wanted to be involved.

It’s so creative and fascinating that sometimes I get lost in it until late at night. I might also wake up with an idea and just have to go work on the village for a bit. That’s what happened, for example, when I decided to make a sugar-cube fence for the church.

Where do you find the decorations?

I don’t collect any particular brand. I buy pieces for the village all year round. Post-Christmas clearance sales can yield great finds. I also look for new decorations online and at flea markets. My children know about the collecting and sometimes find more pieces for me. I’ve made some myself.

I like them all and can’t choose just one favorite. The biggest addition this year is a windmill. My grandchildren have gotten into dinosaurs, so I bought a fun dino decoration from Rusta.

What are you like as a Christmas person?

Christmas is my favorite holiday. Even as a child in the countryside, it was tradition to prepare for Christmas and make decorations yourself—that’s where it began. In addition to the Christmas room, I decorate the yard with things like various animals, a milk stand, and a teddy bears’ Christmas house. It’s lovely to see passers-by stop to admire the yard.

All around the house, Christmas decorations are everywhere. Really the only place that would still fit more is on top of the kitchen cabinets. We have dozens of boxes of decor. We store them in the garage, in storage, and in closets.

What’s the best thing about the Christmas world?

The colors that bring joy, and the way it delights the grandchildren. It’s wonderful to watch their happy, amazed faces when they walk into the room. I love going to look at the village with them again and again. They already know which button on the remote turns the lights on. Even though the room is starting to feel small, I also love that the village is visible from the living room.

Last year my grandchild’s entire preschool class came to see the Christmas village. I hope that someday residents from a nursing home will come to see it too.

On Christmas Eve, my three children and their families come over, and we gather around the table in the middle of the village. The village stays in place until Epiphany. After that, it’s a little bittersweet to see the room open and empty.