Handmade Christmas around the world display at Pegasus Landing of Mesa

While most holiday displays arrive preassembled, Pegasus Landing of Mesa’s international Christmas Village started as poster board, cardboard and glue — and residents helped build it.

The community’s global holiday display was constructed by hand over several months. Each department director selected a country to represent, then turned basic craft supplies into miniature worlds featuring working mechanisms and hand-painted details, according to a release.

Residents joined the construction effort, painting the USA home and contributing to designs throughout the process. The involvement created what the community calls a “Christmas glow” that extends beyond the finished product.

“What you’re seeing is months of work that started with someone saying, ‘I’ll take Ireland’ and ended with Santa circling above a cottage while snow swirls in a fake snowball fight next door,” Teresa Hadley, life enrichment director of Pegasus Landing of Mesa, said in the release. “The residents who helped paint and plan feel ownership, and you can tell. They’re in here every evening just watching it all move.”

The display featured movement throughout. Figures inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa rotated to simulate walking. Santa and his sleigh circled endlessly above the Irish home. A framed snowball fight included a fan creating a snow-globe effect. Canada’s tree rotated slowly. Inside each building, miniature furniture, Christmas trees, and tiny paintings lined the walls.

“I’ve been to Jamaica — it’s so pretty there,” said resident Jane Johnson while admiring the Jamaica home, demonstrating how the display connects holiday decoration with personal travel memories.

In the opposite corner stood a Christmas Around the World tree displaying handcrafted ornaments made by residents to represent different countries — an addition that personalized the already community-built village.

Go to https://www.pegasusseniorliving.com/pegasus-landing-of-mesa.