YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — During the holiday, half of the living room of a South Side Youngstown home is taken up by a Christmas Village — and not just a few pieces but more than even the owner can count.
“You got the hot dogs, you got the bakery, you got Twirley’s Ice Cream,” said Jamelle Square-Daniels.
Those are just a few of the items in the Christmas Village in the living room of Square-Daniels’ South Side Youngstown home. There has to be well over a thousand pieces but not even she knows for sure.
“I’ve never counted. I’ve never took inventory of it. I just go out and buy the pieces as needed,” Square-Daniels said.
Her Christmas Village began 14 years ago with two pieces and has grown to a point where it takes two months to set up.
“I joined a group on Facebook and then I saw just awesomeness. I saw these huge displays so I was like I want that,” Square-Daniels said.
Now she has it — a cohesive Christmas Village display. There’s a farm and a ski slope.
“And then we go to the residential area and then with the downtown attached and then here along this strip, I wanted a nice big park. It kind of reminded me of Mill Creek too,” she said.
There’s a food court and a drive-in movie theater. Square-Daniels’ favorite area is the amusement park with swings, a Ferris Wheel, and a carousel — all of which move.
She buys a half dozen big ceramic — and only ceramic — pieces every year. Some of the accessories she makes herself and has invested a lot of money into it.
“I want to say about over $10,000. Yes. The pieces are costly. They’re between, some of them, are $200 a piece.”
“I love it sometimes but a lot of times I hate it,” said Jamelle’s husband Kwai Daniels.
Daniels says the village has overtaken the house and it’s time to think about moving it.
“Having a bigger space, maybe someplace where it’s public where people can actually enjoy it, the community can actually enjoy it. I think that’s the best place for it,” he said.
Square-Daniels suggested the mall as an option.
“My goal is to get into Macy’s maybe,” Square-Daniels said.
When asked why she does the village, Square-Daniels says it’s for joy.
“That’s it, that’s the key word. It’s joy,” she said.
The Christmas village will stay up this year until at least the first part of February and then it will be taken down, boxed up and stored at another house that they own.