Village Haus Ornaments

Traditional Wooden Christmas Ornaments with an Alpine Theme
Visit my online store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VillageHausOrnaments?ref=si_shop

I've always been fascinated with German folk art and with the German way of celebrating an old fashioned Christmas. Full of rich cultural traditions that have built up over the centuries, the German Christmas is one of gingerbread houses, Christmas trees covered in candles, Advent wreaths, and candy canes (all of which originated with the Germans), as well as snow-capped mountains, nativity scenes

, folk music, pealing church bells, and many, many different kinds of sweets that fill the air with the aroma of cinnamon. Above all, the traditional German Christmas is one of childhood wonder and joy. I try to capture that spirit with some of the Christmas ornaments that I create, using a German motif: people in various folk costumes in scenes from the Alps, the Black Forest, Bavaria, etc. Cuckoo clocks, which originated in Germany's Black Forest, are one of my favorite themes. The little people I create are meant to resemble the sort of figures you would expect to come dancing out of a clock when it strikes the hour. My intention is to give people who look at my ornaments the feeling of being in the old country, of living in a fairy tale world. I also wanted to capture the spirit of an old-fashioned traditional American Christmas. Children of the Victorian era played with toys such as dolls, trains, drums, and toy soldiers. In honor of this much simpler time, I have created some ornaments that show some of these toys that our ancestors played with when they were children. With these ornaments, I have tried to capture the spirit of Christmas during that era and the happiness and innocence of childhood. Many people have asked me if I whittle the ornaments. The answer is No -- I use many tools but I don't do any actual carving. The ornaments are made by having their different parts cut to the right shape and sanded down, painted individually, then glued together and finished with acrylic sealer. They are made almost entirely of wood, although I do use other materials for certain parts (like the braided hair on the girls, and the dutch girl's felt hat). But they are essentially wooden ornaments. I intended for them to be hung on a tree, but I've found that some people prefer to display them on a shelf or a mantel. The best place for them to go is wherever you get the most enjoyment out of them. Thank you for looking, and Frohliche Weihnachten!

15/11/2023

Only 41 days until Christmas!

Photos from Village Haus Ornaments's post

30/10/2023

Tonight my son Tim carved a pumpkin with the Hash-slinging slasher from Spongebob, and his girlfriend Gina carved one with Oggie-boogie from A Nightmare Before Christmas. Very impressive and creative!

30/10/2023

Only 57 days until Christmas!

06/11/2022

Only 50 more days until Christmas!

06/11/2022

Every year I put my Christmas village out on November 1st (All Satints Day). It's a lot of work, but the result is worth it.

11/10/2022

Getting ready for Halloween at our house...

26/09/2022

In honor of Oktoberfest, I am promoting my Oktoberfest trio: a beer w***h, a man holding a beer barrel, and a pig eating a pretzel. Prost!

25/09/2022

92 days until Christmas. In the meantime, we still have 9 more days of Oktoberfest!

18/09/2022

Only 98 days until Christmas!

06/09/2022

It was 104 degrees today here in Santa Clara CA, and tomorrow is predicted to be even hotter. I thought looking at some beautiful wintry scenes of the Alps would help cool me off. It didn't work, but here is a picturesque snowy Alpine scene anyway. Only 111 days until Christmas!

Silent Night / Stille Nacht UKULELE AND GUITAR

01/09/2022

This is one of the prettiest and most original versions of Silent Night I've come across recently: a guitar and a ukulele. So beautiful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUTQkZ5P948

Silent Night / Stille Nacht UKULELE AND GUITAR Franz Xaver Gruber´s Christmas song, arranged by Ilona Virokannas.FREE PDF (uke tab and sheet music) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QKNLXrbslJ2gjRV9XxuCG2-...

01/09/2022

Nobody can fake a German accent like Cloris Leachman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv1Oi3K1vN0

Young Frankenstein(1974) - Frau Blucher Respected medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather's estate in Transylvania. Arriving ...

01/09/2022

A scene from the 1937 classic film "Heidi" with Shirley Temple. I love the Alpine costumes when they show everyone walking around in the snow outside. The audio isn't the best quality, but the song Silent Night still sounds beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpXgTs07DMM

Shirley Temple Silent Night Heidi 1937

A Closer Look at Germany's Famous Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks

26/08/2022

A fascinating history of Black Forest cuckoo clocks...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC1hyx8z7tI

A Closer Look at Germany's Famous Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks Today's video is a true account of how cuckoo clocks became one of Germany's most popular and long-standing exports.00:00 - Intro00:43 - History of The Cucko...

20/08/2022

Taking a few days off in Napa with my beautiful wife. Any sales made between now and Tuesday will be mailed out when we return. Have a great weekend everyone!

20/08/2022

Frohe Weihnachten!

Klarinettler's Liebling - Polka (Kapelle Walter Grimm)

15/08/2022

I actually do better quality work when I'm listening to Alpine folk music. I have literally hundreds of these kinds of songs on my Village Haus playlist, and this is one of my favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NCZGCsu-0

Klarinettler's Liebling - Polka (Kapelle Walter Grimm) Provided to YouTube by Rebeat Digital GmbHKlarinettler's Liebling - Polka (Kapelle Walter Grimm) · Walter Grimm - Klarinette · Martin Suter - Akkordeon · Alo...

15/08/2022

Only 133 days until Christmas!

15/08/2022

I'm trying to get back into Facebook -- I haven't been spending much time on either my personal or business page since COVID started. For the Village Haus page I try to keep everything within a German theme, so I'm sharing one of my favorite cartoons -- The Pink Piper. I love the Bavarian hat he's wearing, but they should have put him in lederhosen. I guess he prefers to be naked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi28PPLecYA&t=125s

The Pink Panther in "Pink Piper" The Pink Piper leads the mice out of town.The Pink Panther is the sly, lanky animated cat created by Friz Freleng and David DePatie. The iconic feline was fi...

15/08/2022

By far the most popular seller in my store is the set of ten redcoat soldiers -- I just finished another four hundred of them and posted them in my shop.

15/08/2022

I finally finished the last of the 2022 projects (Whew!). Now to sit back and enjoy the rest of the year.

Claim ownership or report listing

Videos (show all)

Every year I put my Christmas village out on November 1st (All Satints Day). It's a lot of work, but the result is wort...

Website

https://www.etsy.com/shop/VillageHausOrnaments?ref=si_shopI%27ve