2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest

1. Shari - Rudolph's Respite for Retired Reindeer

Shari's magical house is much more than the clever name. The reindeer have ... let themselves go a little bit, in retirement, but look at the other elements! A crash zone? And a caution sign for 'low-flying reindeer?' Everything is thought-out.

2. Cheryl - Frosty's House

Frosty's House features all of these delicious shades of blue, with wintry elements not-too-cold and some kids ready to carol. The officer seems to embody the Christmas spirit, guarding, yet good-humored. Every feature adds to the scene, even the lights strung on the beautiful fence.

3. Pamela - Micro Alpine Village

From the picture it isn't possible to see just how micro these little houses are. The entire base is no more than six inches across, which makes the houses even smaller. Try crafting in that scale! Every house in the village is unique and well designed, and contributes to a sense of the cohesive whole. This would be an amazing place to live. It's just great, Pamela!

4. Melanie - GG's Greatest Gift

GG's Greatest Gift give4s us a scene set in gingerbread. Look at the frosting effects! Isn't that house and its setting just magical? It is an entry good enough to eat!

5. Alda - Jingle Bells Village Tea Room

This delightful little Tea Room is a part of a larger creation Alda is making. The Tea Room has such festive colors and just looks so inviting for a Christmas tea.

6. Karen - Holiday Warmth Wreath

Just look at the variety of these Christmas houses in Karen's Holiday Warmth Wreath! They do look warm! It wouldn't surprise me to learn the entire neighborhood was enjoying some egg nog with friends in there.

7. Cathy's Deer and Penguins Christmas House

Yes! Those are penguins swimming in the icy little pond! And deer scoping out the yard and the decorations. The snow effects are exquisite throughout, with a beautiful Christmas tree, wreath and sleigh upon the roof! This submission sleighs!

8. Alda - Jingle Bells Village Fire Department

If I am not mistaken, this is the first Fire Department facility to appear in our Christmas contest. What a boldly colorful and creative structure it is, too! The tree makes the intention clear, and have you ever seen a cuter fire truck? Just be sure to lower the ladder before bridges.

9. Karen - Gingerbread Sweets Christmas House

This is a Gingerbread Sweets House from heaven! The candy cane roof embellishment is delicious, but it merely joins a festival of color and seasonal celebration. This is the house in the neighborhood where you will find the children, all drawn here by Christmas sweets.

10. Shari - Little Chapel in the Woods

While every creation is more than the sum of its parts, that seems particularly true in this submission. This beautiful little chapel is surrounded by spirit and color, and its setting contributes remarkably to the overall impression. It is such an incredible and complete scene. We see only the one sleigh, but you know, somehow, many others are warm inside, celebrating the season.

11. Beth - Frosty the Snowman's Christmas House

Beth's Frosty the Snowman features one of the coolest Christmas hats I have seen in a long time, and such a rich, deep glitter blue! Wouldn't it be cool to visit such a place with a smiley face like that?

12. Melanie - Gingie's Gingerbread House

Gingie's Gingerbread House has the coolest peppermint steps and snow effects, while visitors ponder how to rescue the gingerbread men from the tree that snapped them up! (They sure look happy though!)

13. Margaret - Festive Christmas Barn

This picture closeup doesn't give the broadest overview, but it gives one of the best views of the barn and its delightful features. (Look at the rich, beautiful colors and the great snow!) The names of the reindeer are inscribed above the doors. In my defense, I had no choice about picking this view. Rudolph immobilized me once he caught my eye.

1. JOC 1 - MELISSA - CHRISTMAS IN SAN JUAN

Just about every year one of our crafters posts a Christmas scene that is not set in snowy winter. It is a spectacular reminder that Christmas isn't a location, and no place has a lock on it. Christmas is in the heart, and the buildings and decorations in Melissa's little San Juan prove it better than words ever could.

2. JOC2 - Howard - Stunning Christmas Village

We have a soft spot in our hearts for village scenes, since the season is all about full and shared community. That said, I can't recall seeing a more complete Christmas village than this one, by Howard. Keep in mind that all of the houses (and even the people, from what I understand) were made by hand, and you will get some sense of the magnitude of what Howard has accomplished here.

And this beautiful village by Donna was picked as the first prize entry.

2024 Christmas House Contest Rules

ENJOY! FUN IS WHAT IT'S ABOUT! The first day of the contest is November 20, 2024. The contest closes at midnight on December 20. We expect prize awards to be announced by the evening of December 23. That announcement will be here on this website.

Remember the entry dates start November 20th and the deadline is December 20th, 2024. Winners announced December 23rd.

And thanks in advance for entering. This is going to be FUN!

Prize List for the 2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest:

• First place - $100 Amazon gift card
• Second place - $75 Amazon gift card
• Third place - $50 Amazon gift card
• People's Choice award - $25 Amazon gift card
• Whimsical award - $25 Amazon gift card, to a submission that characterizes a more whimsical version of Christmas
• Innovation award - $25 Amazon gift card, for the submission with the most novel innovation. That can be part of a house or structure, or it can be an embellishment, or anything else super creative you can think of.
• Two Kid's awards for two separate divisions (10 and under, and ages 11-16) - $25 Amazon gift cards

(The Whimsical and Innovation awards will go to submissions that did not win in the top placings category, to expand the winning possibilities.)

I reserve the right to expand prize categories and awards, and I always do this. (For the last year's Christmas contest, I added the following: Most Nostalgic, Most Realistic, Most Peaceful, Spirit of Christmas snd Yummiest ... expect a few special awards similar to these - for things that stand out to me and the judges.)

Rules for the 2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest

1. Have fun.

Really, the entire purpose of this is to have fun and to share the fun. Simply make a house that expresses a Christmas season theme or atmosphere and enjoy the process, the fine company.

To emphasize this point, the contest period is now open to what we call "Joy of Creation' submissions, of which we received two for Halloween.(Hat tip Amy and Julie!) Every year we seem to have members who just want to participate in the creative challenge, not the contest itself. We applaud this mindset, because it reflects the spirit of our group so well, where satisfaction is found in creation of little houses and scenes and in the sharing of that with friends.

Another possibility, as noted in Rule 8, you may enter up to three houses in the competition.

The Joy of Creation Option

We enthusiastically welcome Joy of Creation submissions because you may not be interested in competing for prizes - you just like to create. We want to see and appreciate what you make. We are not setting any limit on such submissions. Just please add the tag #JoyOfCreation when you post them.

2. Name Your Design

First NAME YOUR DESIGN! This helps the judges (and contest visitors) remember each design. It also adds to the design.

It's much better for those viewing your creation if it has a name. Some of the names of the previous submissions are incredibly creative. Naming your design enhances your submission, and is an avenue of creative expression in its own right.

PLEASE WRITE A SENTENCE OR TWO (OR TEN!) ABOUT YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS, YOUR INSPIRATION AND THE LIKE. MANY PEOPLE REQUEST THIS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO LEARN FROM YOU. INSPIRATION IS CONTAGIOUS.

3. Three Ways to Enter the 2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest

a) Post your house in the Paper Glitter Glue Facebook group with the tag #2024MiniChristmasHouse. Please join this Facebook group so you can enter there. It's the best way to enter. (This is safest to insure your submission is captured without issue.)

b) Email me a photo on or after November 20. The address is [email protected]. Please include the title 2024 Mini Christmas House in your email title so I can find the photo easily and include it as an official submission.

c) Follow me on Instagram and post your 2024 Christmas house and tag me @lucyf7b on Instagram. 

A note about submissions. It often happens that folks share their houses in the Facebook group prior to the beginning of the contest. That is fine, just please remember to either re-post it once the contest opens, or send me an email with a link to the submission. We won't start scanning for official entries prior to the start of the contest. But the house does have to be made this calendar year.

Finally, after you have submitted your house and we get the entries all posted here, please check to be certain that we have captured your submission(s)! Email immediately if we missed something or made an error with it!

4. Permission to Post Your House Photo on my website and on social media.

In submitting your creations, you are giving me permission to post a picture or pictures of your project on my website and social media just like I did for the Halloween house contest in October. I love to share your projects because they are all so incredible. This allows all site visitors and guests to see your creations, which can help inspire them in turn. Our usual convention is to post only first names with the house names with no personal information.

5. Size Limitation for the 2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest

Here are the size limitations:

Base - no limitation on the base so you can landscape as much as you want, but the size of the house does have limitations

House height - no taller than 10 inches tall

House width - no wider than 10 inches

Depth of the House - no deeper than 8 inches

Villages or small groups of houses are welcome as long as each house is no bigger than the measurements listed above.

Note: It is much harder to take in all the details in one photo. We need one photo for the judges to look at. Post as many as you like, but for the judging we usually have room just to include one photo.

6. Use any pattern you like

For your entries, you can use your own pattern, my patterns, patterns from my friend, Jackie of A Cottage in the Forest, Tim Holtz houses, or even a purchased pattern.

7. The house must be made of cardboard or cardstock

Your house needs to be paper-based - made out of cardboard or card stock. No wooden houses. But you can use other materials for the base, landscape, and embellishments.

8. Creativity and Originality are emphasized

Creativity and originality are important and will be emphasized in judging. Hint: Let the fun shine through!

Also creativity in naming your house helps to make it more special. Please tell us a little bit about your house - how you made it, what inspired it, etc. We all love to read about the creative inspiration behind your projects. We are delighted to note that people are becoming much more creative with house names. It is a very welcome trend.

9. You may enter up to 3 houses, but the houses must be unique and constructed in 2024

Up to three submissions, all of houses created in this calendar year. (Again, note, this rule does not restrict submission 'Joy of Creation' houses, which are not eligible for prizes.)

10. How to Vote for the People's Choice Award for this Year's Contest.

You will have one vote when you post a comment at the end of this post AFTER ALL THE ENTRIES ARE IN, VOTING STARTS ON December 20TH and lasts until December 22nd. And you have another vote on my YouTube channel. Subscribe to get notifications of when we post the contest video. Please note this is intended to be about fun and creativity, not competition. Vote for your choices, but please don't 'stuff the ballot box.'

GET THE KIDS INVOLVED MAKING A MINIATURE CHRISTMAS HOUSE!

The Christmas season is a family season. We always love to see house submissions from your children (in two categories this year! Ages 10 & under and 11-16. Please note their age with the submission so we can get them properly entered in the correct category). Allow their youthful creativity to flow. The names of the children's submissions will be placed in a hat and drawn randomly. Those submissions aren't - and should not be - competitive. They should have fun with no other concerns! But we love encouraging them to exercise their imaginations and creative skills.

Note: Prizes in children's submissions in the two age categories will be by random drawings. No competitive pressure! No value judgments.

So that is the Christmas House Contest for this year. Whatever you do, enjoy it! Enjoy making your houses and sharing them. That's what it is all about.

Deadline for the 2024 Miniature Christmas House Contest is December 20th.

Deadline for photo entries is December 20 and the winners will be announced on December 22nd.

And if you would like more inspiration ...

Here are links to the previous four Christmas contests. They have some terrific entries! Ours is such a creative group. Be sure to check them out!

2020 Miniature Christmas House Contest

2021 Miniature Christmas House Contest

2022 Miniature Christmas House Contest

2023 Miniature Christmas House Contest