Maryland
Trash becomes Christmas treasure in Frederick Co. – WTOP News
A Frederick County, Maryland, woman took trash and turned it into a Christmas treasure, a small village on display right out of her double garage in Brunswick.
(WTOP/Heather Gustafson)
WTOP/Heather Gustafson
(WTOP/Heather Gustafson)
WTOP/Heather Gustafson
(WTOP/Heather Gustafson)
WTOP/Heather Gustafson
A Frederick County, Maryland, woman took trash and turned it into Christmas treasure — a small village on display right out of her double garage in Brunswick.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said the children who walked by the display, which was full of mini homes, a clothing store, a tiny farm and the story of Christmas.
“You made this all yourself? How?” they asked the creator, Victoria Ahinful.
The Ghana native said she loves Christmas and arts and crafts but does not “like waste.” After noticing trash being thrown out at several places around town, she decided to give that waste a new life, turning old materials and scrap items into a mini Christmas village.
“You don’t even value [the scraps], and it turns out so amazing what you can do with it,” she said.
Ahinful is an elementary school educator in Germantown and has experience helping kids make arts and crafts items. She came up with the idea of turning scraps into display scenes before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a lot of materials,” Ahinful said. I don’t plan; I do. Whatever is available — use whatever is available to build it.”
The Ghana native created almost 100 mini homes in an entire Christmas display made of recycled materials, such as “paper, styrofoam, fabric, posters, tin foil, ribbons.”
“I will continue to use things I can find, and … not things that you buy,” Ahinful told WTOP.
People can visit Victoria’s Community Christmas Town between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. every day until Jan. 1.
Ahinful told WTOP if you miss the display during Christmas, there’s no need to worry. The display will remain up long after the holidays for anyone who needs a little “joy.”