Dickens Village

The town of Maplewood decorates the inside of a half a dozen wooden shacks on the lawn in front of their train station this time of year. They slap signs on them like Cratchit House, Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe and Tiny Tim's Apothecary, then charge no admission to residents who pay some of the highest property taxes in New Jersey. On opening day, they throw in a couple real reindeer and a wagon pulled by two Beligian draft horses, position Girl Scouts out front of each house, and call it a par-tay. Our kids peered into the windows for about three minutes, watched "Prancer" and "Vixen" munch hay for five more, rode one village block on the horse-drawn wagon, then ate Christmas cookies the size of their face at a nearby coffee shop.