Hello, friends! Today I’m excited to introduce the Christmas City Holiday Mini Collection, a new add-on collection designed to give you even more ways to customize my original City Holiday Etched Dies from Spellbinders.
Since the original City Holiday collection launched, we’ve added the Everyday City Holiday Collection with new windows, awnings, flower boxes, and everyday sentiments, followed by Halloween City Holiday, which lets you transform the building into a haunted house.
Now we’re coming back to Christmas! This mini collection includes three products: Wrapped Up City Holiday, Mansard Roof, and a new set of BetterPress sentiments with coordinating dies.
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VIDEO TUTORIAL
Watch my video below or on my YouTube channel for a closer look at the new collection. I’ll also be sharing separate tutorials showing how to assemble and use both new die sets.
Wrapped Up City Holiday
Let’s start with Wrapped Up City Holiday. This set includes ivy, a lamppost, and a large ribbon and bow designed to wrap around the City Holiday building.
Add Ivy to Your Building
Die cut the ivy and position it along the side of the building to recreate the look of greenery growing across old European architecture. You can add just a little or continue layering the die-cuts until your building looks wonderfully overgrown. For my cards, I used Spellbinders Rainforest Cardstock without adding any ink blending. For a different look, blend darker greens or warmer autumn colors onto the die-cuts.
This is also an element you can easily use beyond Christmas. Pair the ivy with the Everyday City Holiday add-ons for spring, summer, or fall buildings.
Create a Lamppost
The set also includes a decorative lamppost that can be positioned beside the building. Add one on either side, use several to create a larger street scene, or use the lamppost completely independently from City Holiday.
You can even use only part of it. On one of my cards, I trimmed away the bottom and used just the lantern near the roof of the building.
Wrap Your Building Like a Christmas Present
The oversized ribbon and bow were inspired by a building I saw during a Christmas trip to Naples, Italy. My mom and I were touring the city when I spotted a building decorated with ribbon and an enormous bow so that the entire structure looked like a Christmas present.
I immediately thought – wouldn’t that be fun to recreate with paper? Now you can. Die cut the ribbon and bow and wrap them around the City Holiday building to completely transform it for Christmas
Change the Architecture with the Mansard Roof
The second die set introduces a Mansard Roof, inspired by the beautiful architecture we see throughout Europe. Adding the roof completely changes the look of the original City Holiday building. There are two main ways to use it.
Replace the third floor with the Mansard Roof to create a shorter building, or keep all three original floors and add the roof on top as a fourth level.
The set includes the main roof, several trim details, two different chimneys, chimney accents, and smaller windows designed specifically for the roof. The chimneys can also help conceal the upper corners of the original building when the new roof is layered on top.
Alternatively, simply trim those corners away with scissors. You can also mix window styles. Use the original arched City Holiday windows, rectangular windows from the Everyday City Holiday collection, and the smaller Mansard Roof windows together to create completely different buildings.
City Holiday Is Like Paper LEGO
The easiest way I can explain the City Holiday concept is that it’s a little like LEGO made from paper. I love architectural LEGO sets because you have all these individual components that can be combined to build something larger and City Holiday gives me that same feeling.
Start with the basic building. Change the windows. Add a different roof. Move the chimney. Add ivy or flower boxes. Turn the building into a haunted house. Then wrap the entire thing in a giant Christmas bow. Every new component gives you another way to play with the original design and tell a different story.
BetterPress Sentiments for the Gallery Window
The final product in the collection is a set of BetterPress sentiments with coordinating dies. Each sentiment was intentionally sized to fit inside the large gallery window on the City Holiday building.
The inspiration comes from the large storefront windows you see in historic European city centers, often decorated with a store name, seasonal greeting, or special message.
The sentiments include:
- Holiday Hugs from Home
- We Wish You a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
- Deck the Halls with Love and Laughter
- Season’s Greetings
- Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Because coordinating dies are included, you don’t have to use these sentiments inside the City Holiday windows. Die cut them and use them on any Christmas card.
They’re Press & Foil plates, so you can use them with either the BetterPress Letterpress System or Glimmer Hot Foil System. I’m a huge fan of foiling, so that’s usually my choice – especially white foil over colorful cardstock.
Mix and Match Your City Holiday Collections
The best part about these new add-ons is combining them with everything we’ve already created. Start with the original City Holiday Etched Dies, then add windows, awnings, or flower boxes from Everyday City Holiday. Change the architecture with the Mansard Roof. Add ivy or wrap the entire building in a bow.
Bring in Halloween City Holiday decorations and suddenly you have a haunted house. The more components you have, the more combinations become possible – and you certainly don’t need to use everything on every card. Sometimes changing just the roof or windows is enough to make the original die set feel completely new.
New to City Holiday?
If you’re just discovering City Holiday, I have several videos on my YouTube channel to help you get started.
Christmas City Holiday Release Date
The Christmas City Holiday Mini Collection officially launches September 10, 2026 on the Spellbinders website. Spellbinders Club members receive Early Access to new arrivals and can shop the collection before the public launch.
What Should We Add Next?
For now, this is the final planned add-on for City Holiday, and I feel like it ties everything together beautifully. But I’d love to hear your ideas. Is there another architectural detail you’d love to see? Another type of roof or window? More seasonal decorations? Let me know in the comments. Perhaps we’ll find enough ideas for another City Holiday add-on someday!
Have fun creating!
