Snow Village fills Schaumburg home

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) -- Tina Berena's living room is home to a miniature world complete with restaurants, a business district, and small town American neighborhoods. This is her "Snow Village," made up of 169 buildings and countless more accessories spread throughout her Schaumburg house.

"It's a lot of memories," said Berena of the project, which is three decades in the making.

Over the years, she's built up this massive collection-which includes a ski resort with a moving gondola and ski lodge. There's also a drive-in movie theater with a working projector.

Hungry characters can grab a McDonalds hamburger-still priced at 15 cents-do some shopping and refuel at Starbucks.

"It brings joy to everybody. People who come over they just enjoy looking at it."

The buildings glow as warm lights invite onlookers to lean in for a closer view. One might notice the embers of a camp fire roasting marshmallows, the 1965 Ford Mustang spinning a dealership window, or the young couple sharing a milkshake at the local diner.

Berena and her family spend several weekends putting the displays up. Naturally, they top everything off with snow, sprinkled from above to make "Tina's Village" a winter wonderland.