The crown jewel of Ligonier, the thing that makes this Pennsylvania town seem like a real life Hallmark village, is the Diamond.

This busy intersection is surrounded by charming shops and restaurants as well as a gorgeous old stone church and the town hall. Inside the Diamond is a park featuring a bandstand, benches and plenty of greenery.

Calling a town commons a Diamond is actually a tradition from Northern Ireland that was brought here by the Scots-Irish people who settled that area. The Ligonier Borough Council made this space a park in 1894, an act that seemed incredibly forward thinking.

Right now, the Diamond is all decked out for Christmas with lights in the trees, a nativity, gingerbread house and caroler statues. The most picturesque feature is a tree with presents inside the bandstand.

We spent Friday afternoon browsing the shops and admiring handmade jewelry, cute clothes and an enormous selection of Christmas ornaments at one particularly fabulous shop. We later saw the lights turn on at dusk as we we savored sweet Mexican pastries in a restaurant across the street. We returned after dark to take our time strolling through and enjoying the many features here in the Diamond.

The town clock chimed seven while we stood there absorbing the beauty of this place. Christmas music played somewhere in the distance as couples scurried down the street to the town hall where the historical society was hosting their annual Christmas extravaganza.

The only way it could have been more perfect is if it were snowing and I was in the back of a one horse open sleigh. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about some shops I enjoyed.