It is always a picture perfect Christmas at Lou Ann Cameron’s Washington home.

The snow never melts and the landscape is never marred by debris. If a speck of dust lands there, it’s quickly whisked away.

Like a giantess overseeing the land of Lilliputians, Cameron tenderly creates a little extra Christmas magic every year by decorating her home with a series of miniature buildings and accessories. The result warms the hearts of guests of all ages.

Cameron began the tradition more than 30 years ago, while living in Illinois.

“I saw an ad in a catalog; there were seven pieces and my mom bought them for me,” she recalled. “The original set included a baker, butcher shop, a blacksmith … and my mom added a limited edition church and a mill. As Christmas came and went, my mom bought another piece here and another piece there. Then I bought some pieces.”

As Cameron’s collection of the Department 56 pieces grew, so did her need for a larger place to display it. The collection now numbers more than 50 buildings, with hundreds of smaller pieces such as miniature people, trees, park benches and snow men adding to the ambiance of the display. Her late husband, Ladd, assisted by building a special table that breaks down into three separate pieces.

Cameron moved to Washington in July 2000 and she continued the tradition by setting up the village in her new home. In fact, she has never missed a Christmas since that first one in 1982.

“I begin putting a few pieces out at a time in early October,” she said. “Each building has its own Styrofoam holder, and everything is stored in an attic room that has nothing in it but my Christmas decorations.”

Once she begins setting up the village, it takes her about a month to complete the tableau. The Dickens Village, so named because many of the buildings are straight from the pages of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” now includes a school, theater, post office, police station, train station, antique shop and a series of townhouses and cottages.

The village is populated by tiny versions of street vendors, a train conductor, children playing in the snow, carolers and ice skaters. Complementing the scene is a frozen lake, train tracks and snow-covered streets. Cameron confided that she used a free hand in adding some of the finishing touches; for example, the train track is actually a length of scale model wooden fence. Some of the shrubbery and trees are bits of dried garlic chives and crepe myrtle snipped from her back yard.

Setting up the village has become an important part of Cameron’s celebration of the holiday season.

“Christmas was just a very special time for my whole family … my mom, my dad, my aunt,” she recalled. “I still get excited about it; I love doing it.”

Cameron continued to share her love of Christmas with her husband, daughters and grandchildren. They indulged her and even added pieces to the village as gifts. But the dearest pieces are the original ones purchased by her mother.

But there is one other, rather unlikely, favorite component of the village.

“My other hobby, besides Christmas, is genealogy, so I’m especially fond of the cemetery next to the church,” Cameron said with a laugh.

Even while guests to her home “ooh” and “aah” over the display, she has taken a bit of ribbing about her “obsession.”

“I do get teased about it a lot … I just laugh,” Cameron said.

With such delicate pieces, there have been a few mishaps along the way. A tiny piece may break off a building, but Cameron carefully repairs it. Thus far, nothing has been completely destroyed.

And even when the Christmas season is over, Cameron admits she leaves the village out so she can enjoy it during the winter months. With so much effort involved, she usually leaves the village in place until spring.

But when it comes time to pack the village and put it back into storage, she is meticulous about the process.

“As I put it away, I have an old soft paintbrush and I brush each building and each person,” she said.