On the fronts and sides of the boxes, draw small doors and windows, then cut them out. (Remember to plan for "hinges" for doors and shuttered windows.)

With paints and markers, decorate the outside of the "shops." Draw signs over the doors for "Livery," "General Store, "Barber," etc. (A nice touch is to give the outside of the box a "wash" of brown watercolor paint, and let it dry thoroughly. Then use a brown fine point marker to draw "boards" and "knotholes" in the wood siding of the shop.)

When the shops are dry, fold the box back up, creating your shop.

Pull the bottom and top flaps together and glue with hot glue.

In the back, use a pencil or other sharp instrument to make a hole large enough for you to push one small twinkle light in.

Line the boxes up on a table or mantle for a village. The sides of the boxes can be glued together to create one unit, as shops would line a street side by side. If you plan to do that, disregard painting the sides of the boxes.

At Christmas, these look cute over a fireplace. You can lay greenery around the shops, or bunch a white cloth around the shops and sprinkle with fake snow.