The Story of the Christmas Village
by Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes

          Share this delightful Christmas story of childhood imagination. With simple 3x5 cards, a brother and sister create a Christmas village filled with imagination and wonder. The village depicted in the book was created by the story's real life children - with no adult intervention. Best viewed on a color eBook reader, such as iPad.  

About the eBook

           Initially, I published the print version of  The Story of the Christmas Village in 2006, as a Christmas gift for my mother and two children. I gave copies of the book to family and friends. While it was featured on this website, I never spent time marketing the book, assuming only my close family and friends would be interested.

           In November of 2011, my sister, an elementary school teacher, asked me if I would make an eBook version, which she could download on her new iPad. I told her I had considered converting it to an eBook, yet didn’t feel anyone would be interested. She immediately disagreed with me, explaining that each year she reads The Story of the Christmas Village to her classroom, and it has become a favorite with her students. Apparently, the kids are excited to make their own card village, after reading the book.

          If you download the eBook, you may want to pick up a pack of blank 3x5 cards, sticky tape, colored markers and a scissors, before sharing the story with a youngster. Chances are, he or she will be ready for those basic craft supplies, after finishing the story.

          I’ve decided to retire temporarily the print version offered on Lulu.com, and make some revisions. If you enjoy this eBook in 2011, you can return in 2012 and purchase the print version, if you so desire. It will be ready for next Christmas.

Behind the Story

            In 1991 our family moved from Wrightwood, California to Havasu Palms, California, to help my parents run their business. My father was ill with congestive heart failure, and would pass away in December of 1992.

            We still had our house in Wrightwood, and spent Christmas in our mountain home in 1991. Yet, we also had a Christmas tree at my parent’s home in Havasu Palms, where we were staying.

            Things were very hectic, considering my father was so ill, and there was so much to do at Havasu Palms, my parent’s business, a mobile home park, restaurant and marina, located on Lake Havasu.

            One afternoon, our son and daughter, then 12 and 9 years old were getting restless, and needed something to keep them occupied. I found a deck of 3 x 5 cards, and showed them how to make a house, using tape. I left them to their own resources, and on their own they created an amazing card village.

            We placed it under the Christmas tree that year, and my mother, who was very impressed with their creation, packed it up after the New Year, and vowed to keep it forever.

            Fast forward a decade, and we were no longer living at Havasu Palms. My father had since passed away, and our family was living in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. My husband and I were in the process of cleaning out and closing a rented storage unit. There in the unit, was a large cardboard box, holding the card village.

            At the time, my mother was visiting my sister in California, yet she had expressed by phone, her desire to keep the village.

            We brought the village home with us, yet it took up a lot of room, and frankly, we simply didn’t have the space to keep it. I asked myself how I might preserve the village, without taking up so much room. My solution: The Story of the Christmas Village.
          Click here to purchase the eBook, available at Smashwords.com.