Despite the obvious geek bent of my blog it would appear, based on web stats, that once a year I'm far more popular for my Deptartment 56 village setups than I am for linux and open source.  The spike in visitors isn't huge but its obvious and they're all headed for tips on setting up their villages, especially on how to light the display. 

I love setting up my villages every year.  It reminds me of the time I spent with my dad as a kid at local model building clubs putting together dioramas of planes and military vehicles.  I've mellowed in my old age and have now trade weapons for dickens, which I find far more meaningful.

Feel free to comment on my dept 56 page to let me know if you have ideas or questions on setting up your village.  I'm especially interested in people who find the most realistic setups. 

BTW:  this year I've discovered that the short 35 light strings of indoor LED lights work far better for lighting my display than some of the lights I've purchased from lemax.  Yes, I mix Lemax and dept56 items, but I only use the smaller Lemax items like benches, trees, and lights.  All my buildings and figurines are Dept56.  Anyway, the only place I've found the 35 light strings with standard plugs is Michael's but I can't find these strings on their web site.  Lowe's carries the 50 light strings.  Other places carry smaller strings that run on battery but these are useless if you leave your displays lit as long as I do each night.