For JoAnn Illi, it takes many miniature villages to make a memorable Christmas all through the house.

“The standing joke at my house is don’t stay in one place too long — you’ll get decorated,” Illi said.

A line of stately turn-of-the-century houses makes the mantel merry while every flat surface glows with lights shining from the windows of dozens of little homes, shops, churches and schools forming idyllic villages complete with snow, trees and rivers.

Tiny Christmas displays twinkle on the rooftops of homes and Santa has arrived in most of the villages. Every room of the Illi home has new scenes to enjoy contemplating, including the bathroom.

She keeps one there as a night light all year but expands to the commode for the holidays.

“I have to have one on the back of the toilet,” Illi said with a laugh.

A residential appraiser, Illi, now retired, has a natural affinity for houses of all shapes, sizes and architectural traditions. Her obsession with the artistry of the detailed miniatures started innocently enough in about 1983. 

“I was in the Strawberry Patch and I saw this Swiss chalet,” she said, pointing out the garland-bedecked ceramic house.

Captivated by its cuteness, Illi bought her first Department 56 piece and fell under the spell of the ceramic miniatures inspired by the quaint village of Stillwater, Minn., back in 1976. The company is called Department 56 because it began as a department of a large floral company but evolved into its own business, thanks to fans across the country like Illi.

She has a few buildings from other companies and doesn’t mind mixing them in as well as accessories with different pedigrees such as trees, pets and vintage cars. Illi has collected many Department 56 add-ons as well.

“Some houses have accessories designed for that house like the mayor handing out candy to kids for outside the mayor’s house,” she said.

Over the years, her collection branched out from turn-of-the-century vintage homes to newer era buildings such as a reproduction of McDonald’s restaurant circa 1950s. She got that one because it reminded her of the McDonald’s she and her husband Warren frequented while dating.

Illi pointed out her Ryman Auditorium piece that brings back good memories of touring the historic building with her mother.

“It’s the original country music hall of fame, right downtown in the old part of Nashville,” she said.

Like other collectors, Illi has enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for a specific piece like the one called Nantucket Renovation. She fell in love with the bright yellow house with gables and a green roof, but couldn’t find it anywhere in Montana.

On a shopping excursion during a trip in Alabama, she visited a collector store where she began searching the shelves for the sought-after piece. A saleswoman noticed her fervor and learned that she was after Nantucket Renovation.

“She got this cute grin on her face,” Illi remembered. “She came back with a box. She said ‘I didn’t put this out because I wanted a collector to have it. I will sell it to you.’ Then, of course, I needed the original Nantucket.”

She found that on a trip to Portland.

 Another acquisition was a direct result of appraising former Mayor Norma Happ’s house on Sixth Avenue East. Department 56’s Prairie House was a dead ringer for Happ’s beautiful house in Kalispell.

Although Illi has paid from $28 up to over $100 for the elaborate pieces, some buildings in her collection now command $400 or more on Internet sites such as eBay. She has found a few outrageous second-hand bargains via a friend who frequents thrift stores. 

“I bought them all over, not just one place,” she said. “That makes it kind of fun.”

Illi keeps some houses out all year, but her major village production comes at Christmas time. Just after Thanksgiving, the boxes come out of a downstairs storage room and line the hallway.

“I take them all out and I dust them,” she said. “I go through a lot of Q-tips. They get in all the nooks and crannies and work great.”

She consults the photos she takes each year as a starting point for placing houses into village scenes. Considerations, like grandchildren, play a role in placing four or five particularly valuable pieces up on the highest shelf of a built-in china closet.

Illi said she has very little trouble with her two granddaughters touching the delicate pieces.

“I told them you have your toys and grandma has her toys and you don’t play with them,” she said. “I think kids understand when you explain it to them.”

 Illi gives pieces that resemble Kalispell buildings a place of honor as the main village in the living room. She pointed out the railroad depot and courthouse that look very similar to those downtown.

When all her surfaces are covered, she declares the village decorating done.

“It took me nine days this year,” she said.

Her villages, particularly stunning at night, stand ready for holiday festivities with her friends and family, including son Erik of Kalispell and son Michael and his family of Missoula. Some friends plan special visits to take in the splendor of her charming towns decked out for Christmas.

By the first or second week of January, Illi puts all the Santas away, but leaves the winter village scenes to brighten up the gloom of Kalispell in the cold months. She holds to one rule.

“It has to be down by Good Friday,” she said.

A few years ago, Illi took the cure and quit buying buildings when her collection hit around 120. She said space was the main reason because the boxes take up so much room.

 Last year, Illi decided to also quit collecting the small “Santa Comes to Town” pieces, but couldn’t resist just one more.

“I was going to stop, but this year was in honor of veterans,” she said with a smile. “I had to have that one.”

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com