I visited the West Sussex village entirely devoted to Christmas – but all is not as it seems

But unlike the other villages in our county, it always snows in Frosty Falls and its residents are all about two inches high.

That’s because this idyllic snowy wonderland is a model village – created by Christmas-loving Sompting resident Wendy Bray.

Wendy, who spent three months making and putting Frosty Falls together, started displaying Christmas houses in 2019.

She used to display them on the boxes they came in, with a white sheet over the top, but last year decided to build her own village.

Using Styrofoam and paper mache, she elevated parts of the village, created steps, a ski slope and a permanent dusting of snow.

And this year Frosty Falls got bigger again, with the addition of a new waterfall, extra features and additional properties.

Wendy said: “When I started, I had them in front of my TV and they just brought me so much joy that I knew I would continue. By the time I put it all away, I knew all the characters’ background history, their jobs, their names. I spent so much time imagining everything behind it, so the next year it go bigger, and then again the next.

"I have adult-diagnosed ADHD and I think last year I had a brain explosion and it got so much bigger. I’ve always been crafty, I’ve always loved Christmas, so I thought I would create my own base and paint it. I knew nothing, but I learned it all as I went.”

Frosty Falls sits on three tables in Wendy’s front room, measuring around 4ft by 6ft. There are 28 buildings, with hundreds of people and even 27 dogs. Lots of the buildings light up, some have moving parts and a couple have sound.

Wendy has even planned certain zones, just like in a real town. She has the entertainment area, with the pub, ski slope and activities for children, there’s a central business district with shopping area and town amenities, and then there’s the suburbs, where people live.

And Wendy even writes stories around the characters in the village, which she publishes to her Frosty Falls Facebook page, and has hopes of writing a book one day.

“You really have to sit and look at the village from lots of different angles to appreciate it all,” Wendy said. “I put stools at different points around the table, so people can see all the different bits and take it all in, because there is just so much.”

People wanting to see Frosty Falls can book an appointment to view it through the Facebook page. Wendy just asks for a small donation to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Children visiting Frosty Falls will be given an activity pack to fill out, as well as the opportunity to throw some snow.

For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/FrostyFalls and https://www.gofundme.com/f/frosty-falls-is-raising-money-for-macmillan-cancer-support