Last Christmas, Bruce Miller and his wife, Erine Allen, set up the ultimate ceramic Christmas Village for anyone to come and see. This year, they would like to invite the public back for a bigger and better experience leading up to Christmas. 

“We have quite a large garage attached to the house,” Miller explained. “We just decided to set up there, and it was turning out so nice that we thought we’d like to let the people of Moose Jaw and surrounding areas come and enjoy it!” 

The village can be seen at D-23 Prairie Oasis Trailer Court, from 1 pm to 8 pm, 7 days a week, until January 10, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

“There were questions of whether we were charging people to come and see [the village] or not,” says Miller. “We said no, we do it for our enjoyment and part of our enjoyment is sharing... Erine is very much into the Salvation Army and what they’ve done, and so am I. They cover the needs of people that other groups might miss... So, we asked them if we could have permission to [raise money], and they agreed.” 

Bruce and Erine raised about $400 last year for the Salvation Army and they hope to raise even more this year. 

“People were very generous,” added Miller. “We had people come from as far away as Southey, to the Northeast, and Ponteix, to the Southwest. Some group homes brought their participants, there were young people, old people, and some people even came twice.” 

The Salvation Army lent Bruce and Erine a Kettle for the annual Kettle Campaign, so anyone who wants to visit the village for free can still make a kind contribution. 

“If they don’t care to [donate], there’s no problem, they’re still very welcome. If they do want to contribute, that’s great! One way or the other, we make a point of thanking everybody that comes. This is something we enjoy doing, and it’s our way of offering something back to the people of Moose Jaw.”

Those interested in viewing the village are asked to make an appointment by calling 306-648-7664.

For more details on Bruce and Erine's Christmas Village, click here.