They say there comes a time when all good things must come to an end. And yes, that can include holiday traditions, which can be especially emotional because nostalgia runs rampant this time of year.
No wonder it was a tough call when Jim and Karen Bozarth of Aurora decided this will be the final year of displaying their spectacular Department 56 Snow Village collection in the basement of the couple’s West Side home.
We’re talking 13 tables covered with more than 50 intricate and varied snow villages that feature 400-plus buildings and over 1,000 accessories, with hundreds of moving parts, as well as a train that circles the entire wonderland.
It’s a jaw-dropping set-up that must be seen to be fully appreciated. Countless people have certainly been lucky enough to do so over the years. And at least another couple hundred will get that opportunity again on Sunday when the Bozarths hold their annual open house.
The display covers an area 30 feet by 24 feet and includes bustling neighborhoods and downtowns, rural wooded areas, ski resorts, honky-tonks, fast food joints, ballrooms, churches, schools, even a vibrant circus and a scene from the iconic holiday movie “Christmas Vacation.”
“We love to share it, love to see the wonderment on kids’ faces,” said Karen Bozarth when we spoke recently. “It gives us a lot of satisfaction.”
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But it’s also a lot of work.
In between two full-time jobs, the couple estimate they put in 30 hours a week, starting in August, to get the job done by October. That also includes decorating the rest of their house that, likewise, must be seen to be believed.
In addition to the snow village in the basement, the Bozarths turn every room in the upper levels of their Orchard Valley home into a Christmas wonderland that showcases 35 glittering trees (nine in the dining room alone), 300 snowmen, plenty of red and green wreaths and festive figurines covering just about every available space.
Obviously the Bozarths love the holidays and love to entertain, passions passed down to only-child Karen by her parents, Katy and Frank Fox, who lived with them until their respective deaths.
The snow village itself was started with just six pieces when the couple was married 31 years ago, and “has been out of control ever since,” quipped Jim.
You might recall I wrote about the village in 2014, a tough year for Karen because her father, who wore nothing but red and green the month before Christmas, had died a year earlier after falling and hitting his head while taking the last empty snow village box back to storage.
This holiday season is the first time the village has been set up since the pandemic.
COVID-19 messed with a lot of traditions, of course. But so can health issues – not to mention energy levels – that hit folks as they get older, noted Jim, who is 61 and struggling with back problems.
“We couldn’t think of not having one last chance to revisit it,” said Karen, who is also 61 and healing from a couple of broken bones. “We put it up knowing it would be the last time. It made us push through” with the help of a few friends.
Also entering into their decision is the fact the couple has no children to help set up this massive display – or take over the tradition.
“It is totally a labor of love but everything eventually changes,” Karen reluctantly noted. “Sometimes that’s good, sometimes not.”
The collection, valued at around $70,000, will be taken down for the last time in mid-January, and much of it likely will be given to loved ones or sold in sets. Some family and friends have already expressed interest in certain pieces. And of course the couple plan to hold on to those especially sentimental to them.
“I can’t keep every one of them. I have made my peace with that,” said Karen. “What good is it to store them in the basement?”
That – and/or the attic – is often where nostalgia can go to die, as we all know.
The Bozarths hope is that others will start their own traditions with the remnants of this remarkable collection. But until then, lots of folks are anxious for that one last look at the snow village, including some of Jim’s relatives who are planning on making the trip by train from Quincy to see the display for the first time.
Each year they say they will come, he told me. “But this (visit) is going to happen … the line has been drawn in the sand. It is their last chance.”
Emotional? Of course, admitted Karen, who has treasured the joy this Christmas tradition has brought for young and old for so many years.
“But this really is,” she added, “a good place to end.”