By Sean Sullivan

In setting up the holiday lawn display, some go above and beyond the call of duty.

You can see these coming from a proverbial mile away. Familiar cartoon Christmas characters rendered in statue form, strewn and situated in complex scenarios within the confines of a neighbor’s yard. They take the form too of oversized, inflatable versions of holiday staples such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Santa Claus himself.

Natick resident Brooke Ferrelli caught that Christmas spirit years ago, and has been upping her holiday game ever since. Growing up in a large family of modest means, she often didn’t experience extravagant holidays, but the spirit loomed large during Decembers and the weeks prior. The family would revel in Christmas music, and take car trips to tour the holiday lights brightening up homes during the darker days of winter. “Just remembering how that made me smile,” said Ferrelli.

So at age 20 she began collecting the ornaments that have come to inspire awe and holiday cheer around this time of year. Her fastidiousness at amassing those festive figures is in full evidence when one passes her Pond Street home. There, the front, side and rear of the residence are festooned with the inhabitants and decorations that populate Ferrelli’s “North Pole Village.”

The display is an interactive experience that has earned fans and devotees, some of whom have connected with Ferrelli over the years of her ever-evolving creation, locals who look forward to its return when the warmth of autumn begins to wane.

Interactive it is. Visitors can partake of sweets such as candy canes hung about the place, and Santa’s sack of toys is situated out back, from which holiday visitors can help themselves. The village has become a topic of excitement and fandom within school buses that pass and drop off students nearby. The complimentary candy canes are a main attraction there.

Young fans of the village can leave notes to Santa, and people have stopped by to spend time with Ferrelli - the creative spirit behind the display. On one occasion, she said, visitors gathered around her fire pit to chat and savor the sentiments of the scene and season.  

“It’s nothing but pure joy,” said Ferelli. “It’s amazing to see.”  

There’s a long note of instructions affixed to her front door, pointers on how spectators can make the most of their stay. Visitors can wander the village, mingle among its residents. The characters comprise a melting pot of species, drawn from all corners of the Christmas-verse. Misfit Toys and the Bumble share space with Sesame Street and classic Disney characters. The only stipulation for admission to Ferrelli’s party seems to be some form of yuletide attire and a happy holiday spirit.

The village certainly inspires the latter in human visitors that come from near and far to see the village and its denizens. It will be on display until January 6th.   

“I feel like it brings out the best in people, which this world needs,” said Ferrelli. “To make it come out in people once a year is really great.”