Sometime in the past year or so we saw a show about the largest Christmas store in the world, probably on the Travel Channel. I remember saying to Skip, "If we ever go to Michigan, we have to go there." That was forgotten until I saw a billboard for Bronners, CHRISTmas Wonderland. We checked the website and found it was not out of the way, so we HAD to go.
Frankenmuth, Michigan is a vacation destination. There is a German feel to the touristy place. We went to the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn for bratwurst and German style beer brewed just for the Inn. They had a glockenspiel that you could see from outside in the beer garten.
The main attraction for me was the Christmas store. It was overwhelming. It was like a Christmas Village, North Pole, Santa's Workshop, for acres and acres...well, I don't know really how big it is, but the parking lot reminded me of a mall lot only it was one store. I kept looking up at all the decorations and scenes. On the sales floor was every ornament you could want, personalized, themed, color co-ordinated....animal, vegetable, occupation or hobby. Every once and a while I had to stop and ground myself. I thought of my brother, Bill, who loves to decorate for Christmas. I sent him a photo from my cell phone and asked him to guess where I was. He first guessed the North Pole, then Mall of America. I sent it to Emily who guessed Santa's Workshop. Nope, Bronners... Google it.
For several years I have been collecting Christmas ornaments when I travel. On this trip I had already gotten a few from Kansas (ruby slippers), South Dakota, Yellowstone, Glacier, Lake Itasca, but to buy one here at the store of stores...how to choose....it was not as hard as I thought. A shopping bag with ornaments inside and the name of the store on the front of the bag...sold...and I bought an eagle from the animal section. I love eagles and we saw a few on our trip.
So if you are ever in Michigan, and can get to Frankemuth, stop for a beer and a bratwurst at the Bavarian Inn, and go to Bronners. It's an amazing place, Christmas 361 days of the year- closed only 4 days. Check out their web page...truly amazing. http://www.bronners.com/
Frankenmuth, Michigan is a vacation destination. There is a German feel to the touristy place. We went to the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn for bratwurst and German style beer brewed just for the Inn. They had a glockenspiel that you could see from outside in the beer garten.
The main attraction for me was the Christmas store. It was overwhelming. It was like a Christmas Village, North Pole, Santa's Workshop, for acres and acres...well, I don't know really how big it is, but the parking lot reminded me of a mall lot only it was one store. I kept looking up at all the decorations and scenes. On the sales floor was every ornament you could want, personalized, themed, color co-ordinated....animal, vegetable, occupation or hobby. Every once and a while I had to stop and ground myself. I thought of my brother, Bill, who loves to decorate for Christmas. I sent him a photo from my cell phone and asked him to guess where I was. He first guessed the North Pole, then Mall of America. I sent it to Emily who guessed Santa's Workshop. Nope, Bronners... Google it.
For several years I have been collecting Christmas ornaments when I travel. On this trip I had already gotten a few from Kansas (ruby slippers), South Dakota, Yellowstone, Glacier, Lake Itasca, but to buy one here at the store of stores...how to choose....it was not as hard as I thought. A shopping bag with ornaments inside and the name of the store on the front of the bag...sold...and I bought an eagle from the animal section. I love eagles and we saw a few on our trip.
So if you are ever in Michigan, and can get to Frankemuth, stop for a beer and a bratwurst at the Bavarian Inn, and go to Bronners. It's an amazing place, Christmas 361 days of the year- closed only 4 days. Check out their web page...truly amazing. http://www.bronners.com/
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