Couple brings holiday spirit to Waukesha with elaborate Christmas village display

 

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Some people put a lot of effort into holiday decorating. One Waukesha house is among the standouts, and people have been checking out the couple's incredible Christmas village.

"This is so incredibly amazing," said Rebecca Shano, visitor. 

Rebecca Shano and Dani Lavrenz are both first-timers at Lake Dianne.

"And the moving parts catch your eye. They do," said Schano and Lavrenz.

"Did you see the guy on the fire swing in the back? I like him," said Lavrenz. 

With just a week until Christmas, over a dozen people got into the holiday spirit in this Waukesha basement. 

"Hi, my name is Ken Obermann, and welcome to Lake Dianne!" said Ken Obermann, Christmas village co-creator.

Lake Dianne is an eye-catching wonderland for any age, with Christmas trees and fresh snow, and children engaged in wintry fun.

"We always had the skiers, but the ski hill is new. We made it out of plywood and foam and then we felted it. And that is new, and my kids say by far, this is our best village ever," said Dianne Obermann.

The village has 101 houses, over 300 people and 5,000 trees, but something's missing: cars. And that's on purpose. 

"Yeah, this is not a modern village," said Dianne Obermann. "This is taking you back in time, where there's an icehouse and you have to haul your ice for your refrigerator."

The village has been a passion for Dianne and Ken Obermann since 1995. 

"And we sit here, and we stare at it for a while and decide okay, farm over here, village over here, no village over here, farm over here," said Ken. 

"Once he has all the platforms done the way he wants them, then he goes, okay, now do your thing," said Dianne.

The village started with just five houses and has grown. 

"It's not Christmas if you can't put it up," said Dianne. 

Along the way, the Obermanns have found something else grew too -- the bond the Christmas village strengthened within their family. 

"Find some commonality. Do it together," said Ken Obermann.

The Obermanns are now three children and eight grandchildren strong. 

"Each of our grandkids have a bench in here with their name on it. We hide Waldo to make some fun out of it," said Dianne Obermann.

And once winter's over, the Obermanns have found another way to keep the family close. 

"So, a very smart person told us many, many, many years ago: buy a boat or a camper and you keep your family together," said Ken Obermann.

Happy holidays, from Waukesha.