The community now known as Bernville is the ancestral home of the Lenape people.

Date of Visit: November 8, 2025

As our car crested the hill, the lights of Koziar’s Christmas Village sparkled in the valley below. It was so close, yet still so far away – another 20 minutes of sitting in traffic before we made it onto the parking lot. 

It had been three years since our last visit to the holiday attraction in western Berks County. That visit was on a weeknight when the crowds were less, but this was a Saturday. And even in early November, we saw license plates from New Jersey, Maryland, and as far as North Carolina among the parked cars as we walked inside. 

With more than 75 years of tradition behind it, Christmas Village has built quite a following. What started as one family decorating their farmhouse for the holidays has grown into a nationally recognized attraction. 

The large barn is the first thing you see from both the road and the parking lot. On the parking lot side, two large snowflakes frame the words “Koziar’s Christmas Village” in red, white, and green lights. 

Inside the gates, the barn becomes the backdrop for the larger of two outdoor train layouts. The windows of the miniature buildings glow yellow as the trains wind their way along the tracks. Behind them, the barn lights up with stars, Christmas trees, and Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs on the roof and lights illuminating the row of windows below. 

A second outdoor train display can be found near the Kissing Bridge. The small covered bridge crosses over a small waterway connecting the large reflecting pond with a smaller one. The sign proclaims the bridge’s toll is “one kiss,” which most are happy to pay as they cross over. 

The large pond serves as the background for several light displays. A series of large Christmas trees – all made of strings of lights – sit on square platforms on the water, their lights reflecting in the pool below. The fence on the far side of the water is also strung with lights that spell out “Happy Holidays,” “Seasons Greetings,” and “Happy New Year.” 

In the land between the water and the barn and other buildings marking the front of the attraction, we meander along paved paths that connect the various holiday scenes, most of them featuring hand-painted wooden cutouts of colorful characters. 

One of the first scenes is a holiday circus depicting clowns, strongmen, and dancing animals next to a miniature Ferris wheel that lights up as it spins. 

Among the other collections of characters are the Peanuts Gang, depicted as they appeared in A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the monsters from Sesame Street. Joining Elmo and Big Bird are characters from the past like Herry Monster and Guy Smiley, dating the cutouts to the 90s, even if they may have received a fresh coat of paint or two over the decades. 

In addition to individual characters, stories are told on painted signs throughout the grounds. You can follow along the story of The Nutcracker, Frosty the Snowman, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (abridged, without most of the rhymes). 

There are a few places along the walk to warm up. Some are gift or snack shops, but there’s also a large barn where a collection of vintage sleighs is joined by a 19th Century wagon built at the nearby Gruber Wagon Works (now part of the Berks County Heritage Center). 

Other scenes are meant to warm the heart through childhood memories. Dioramas are interspersed in small buildings along the walk. In one, Santa’s elves are seen building toys in a crowded workshop, not too different from the depiction in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. In another, Dorothy Gale, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow – with Toto – are seen skipping down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. (There’s nothing Christmas about it, but somehow it makes sense). 

Nostalgia is one of the greatest assets working for Christmas Village. It doesn’t have choreographic light displays set to Mariah Carey. There are no video screens, no virtual or augmented reality. It’s a place where simplicity reigns, and even on a busy night – maybe especially on a busy night – the attraction forces you to slow down and appreciate the small things. 

But that’s not to say it’s perfect. The long line meant we skipped the chance to meet Santa Claus. Thankfully we didn’t tell the kids or we would have had to wait it out (it’s hard to judge, but my best guess is the line for Santa was at least 30 minutes, maybe even an hour). 

The lines were also long, and a bit unorganized, at the snack stands. More than once we thought we were just following the crowd to the next scene only to realize we had inadvertently joined a line. 

Lukas, our two-year-old, was a fan of the vintage fire truck on display, but we cut our visit short because of the pack of dinosaurs that were just a little too real looking for him. 

He did love all the train displays, though – both the large outdoor models and the Lionel trains that graced the tracks indoors. We stood and watched many miniature steam locomotives pass by as we peered in through the windows. 

Seeing the smile on his face as he pointed and said “choo choo” as the trains flashed by was the icing on the cake – or the star atop the Christmas tree for our visit. 

The old-time Christmas theme isn’t for everyone, but I find there is plenty to love about Christmas Village, just like there was when I was little. Maybe I appreciate it more because I visited as a child, but I find it to be a charming place. I hope it was worth the drive for all those who had the out-of-state plates in the parking lot. It certainly was for us. 

Koziar’s Christmas Village
782 Christmas Village Lane
Bernville, PA 19506

More Things to Do in Berks County