Photos by WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TINY TRADITION—Casey Jordan, left, her son Nolan Murphy, 2, mom Ann Jordan and grandmother Peggy Chilton sit in Ann's Simi Valley home in front of the family's not-so-miniature holiday village. The family, including some not pictured here, have been creating the town for 27 years and estimate that the village has about 350 pieces. Simi resident Ann Jordan has a village in her home—a bright, snowy scene nestled in the corner of her dining room.

But with about 60 houses and hundreds of trees and figurines dotting the white hills, it's more of a bustling town center than a quaint rural hamlet.

Like any settlement, it started small, Jordan said, with a simple gift of five humble red houses hand-painted by her mother, Peggy Chilton.

"I thought that was a big enough village," Chilton, 79, said with good humor.

Those first buildings—a schoolhouse, a church, a barn and two Victorian homes—were given to Jordan 28 years ago. Since then, her family has added to the collection each year, never dreaming it would grow to the size it is today.

SEE THE ANIMALS—A tiny zoo complete with giraffes and a Reptile House is a popular feature of the Jordans' holiday village, which the family's children put up after Thanksgiving. The job can take four days, they said, but helps bring the family together. While the original five-piece set was displayed on Jordan's buffet table, the current town of more than 200 pieces is built into a bay window from the ground up. The village sits atop a dining set, coffee and end tables, and boxes of varying heights to achieve the effect of a cascading hill.

The original five buildings sit at the center of the sprawling landscape, next to five blue houses also created by Jordan's mom. The rest of the pieces— including a dairy farm, a gas station, a bowling alley, a casino with a flashing neon sign, a drive-in movie theater and a church with stainedglass windows—are store-bought.

The family starts building the village the day after Thanksgiving, working a few hours each day. It takes three to four days to set up the village. Jordan called the task a "major undertaking," but she doesn't have to lift a finger—her four children and daughter-in-law do it all.

"All the kids set it up. I do nothing," said Jordan, 53. "They just take my credit card each year to buy more."

This year's addition—a full zoo with moving animals—has already become the kids' favorite. But Jordan is most fond of her mother's work.

"My favorites are definitely the ones my mom made," she said.

But the best part for Jordan is seeing her children work together on the annual holiday project.

"I get more enjoyment just watching them do it and listening to them banter," she said. "It's hilarious as they plan out where each piece goes and why. Each piece is strategically planned."

As her kids get older, it's tougher to schedule time for the family to build together, but, Jordan said, construction can't begin with someone missing. It's a tradition her children appreciate, too. Her oldest son, Ryan, 27, said that Christmas just wouldn't be the same without the village.

"It's a good way to get everyone together," he said. "Everyone has their own things going on, but everybody gets really excited about it. We all grew up with it in the house."

Now married, Ryan said he and his wife plan to continue the family tradition and start their own village next Christmas, which will be anchored by the musical merrygoround that Jordan bought for the couple as a wedding gift.

With the holidays over, it's time to take down the village for close to the 30th time. But even after all these years, the village hasn't lost its charm. Lowering herself to the level of her 2yearold grandson, Jordan peers into the windows of lit homes with the same childlike wonder as the toddler.

"There's so much life inside of them," she said.