Tsawwassen’s John Read picked up the first piece of his miniature Christmas village in New Orleans on a work trip in the mid 1980s and has been collecting ever since.
“I thought, ‘Isn’t that neat,’” he said, recalling his first purchase of a small replica bakery.
His lit up display inside his home includes 30 to 35 miniature buildings along with various festive scenes. It now features a skating rink, magnetized snowboarders, a bank, a ski chalet, a doughnut shop, a brewery, a public market, churches, a train station and a butcher shop.
Putting up the display each year for Christmas is a tradition for Read.
“We enjoy it,” he said.
The setup takes two or three weeks from scratch, he noted.
Read has also given some of his pieces to one of his grandsons, who has started his own collection.
