AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's the most wonderful time of the year -- and especially so for a Central Texas woman who transforms her Hutto home into a picturesque Christmas village.
For more than a decade, Debbie Belt has collected and built out her Christmas village, featuring miniature replicas that create an expansive winter wonderland village scene. It all began with a Harley Davidson village shop about 10 years ago, Belt told KXAN, inspired by her and her husband Steve's passion for motorcycles.
Originally from Illinois, Debbie said she came across an extensive collection that had once belonged to former Illinois Congressman Ken Gray. After both Gray and his stepdaughter, Marble Joiner, passed away, Debbie's sister-in-law helped her purchase the collection being sold.
In the years since, that collection has grown and evolved as part of Debbie's overall Christmas decorations, like a Christmas tree paying homage to all things the Grinch. She's also embraced the festivities during Halloween, with featured houses paying tribute to Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Her son has helped get in on the magic, 3D printing figurines like Where's Waldo, Krampus and Mickey Mouse and sprinkling them throughout the villages.
It takes several weeks to fully put up the display, she said. The trickiest part is hooking up the lights and snaking them discreetly between the houses; that's where the added perks of being married to an electrical engineer come in, she joked.
Her favorite pieces include a man sitting in Central Park, with a popcorn machine that, when turned on, the little popcorn pieces go off. She also has a train set that runs around, delighting her nearly three-year-old grandson.
That holiday magic has spread to him, with Debbie saying he frequently requests her to turn on the village when she's watching him.
"He'll just sit there for hours and he'll, you know, turn the village on, and then when he leaves for the day it's 'night night, village!'" she said.
