Around Christmas Place

It’s technically still “winter” for us around here, as we’ve got lots of construction and remodeling projects underway to get ready for summer – and your next visit to our little corner of paradise here at Traffic Light 2A on the Parkway!  Here are some images that caught my camera last week.

 

Raising the roof – every building is being reroofed!

Remember those walls we put up a few weeks ago?  All is now revealed!  We’ve opened up the spaces between the front entrance, the old toy store, and right into the Personalizing gallery.

When the walls come tumbling down ..

New spaces are revealed!

We’re excited to find out what our design team has in mind for the newly-painted area that previously housed our toy store.

Cool waters for a hot spring day.

Our Parkway Oasis!

No fishing, please.

The Big Kahuna in the Little Pond.

Have you toasted marshmallows with us around our fire pit?

Beautiful blooms at The Partridge & Pear Restaurant.

A beautiful thing I found – an egg, hand-painted with a Nativity scene.  I think it is an ostrich egg, as it is quite large; we are keeping it under a glass dome.

Brilliant Vera Bradley summer-pattern bags – just luscious!  Making me want to plan a vacation somewhere sunny just so I’ll need one of these colorful bags for the trip…. 

MAD LOVE for these Home Grown veggie critters!

 Okay, time to get back to work.  But I will leave you with one more image – a photo of a new threat now looming over the city…

Giant Ape Attacks Pigeon Forge!

Thanks for joining me for a stroll around our place.  What’s happening in your neighborhood?

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Early forecast for Christmas in July – fantastic daily fun for guests at The Inn at Christmas Place – check out the full month’s calendar over at facebook.com/InnAtChristmasPlace!

Santa’s On T.V.!

Coming Monday, January 9th, 7 PM, to your very own living room (or possibly your mobile viewing device of choice)!  Find the RFD Network (Charter Cable chanel 147, Dish Network channel 231) and the Shotgun Red Variety Show from Nashville, Tennessee.  Enjoy The Singing Santa’s guest appearance on the show.

Several months ago, Santa spent a day in Nashville, taping his segment for the show, and we’ve been waiting anxiously for the air date.  Christmas Place is happy to bring The Singing Santa to all our guests in the store and at the hotel, and now to your television!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Then & Now

I just came across a 2003 photo of the courtyard – before our hotel and Bullfish Grill and all the rest – too fun not to share!  Then (2003):

This morning before opening:

What a big change in scenery!  (That’s our after-Christmas sale tent taking up the courtyard right now – the sale continues only thr0ugh Sunday.)

It’s a beautiful day in Pigeon Forge, and we’re going to have a beautiful weekend, so come and see us.  And, if you happen to live in the area and are at home between 4 and 5 pm this afternoon, tune it to WBIR TV 10 for Live at 5 at 4 – they filmed a little story with us this week.  We’re all looking forward to seeing it today.

Happy New Year – and we wish all our readers and customers and families many, many blessings in 2012!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Misty Morning

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures with you – they are not called the “Smoky” Mountains for nothing!  Leaving for church early Sunday morning, I was captivated by the mists rising in my little valley.  Even as I sat in the car, the mists were shifting and lifting – it was beautiful.

Do you see the chimney smoke rising on the other side of the valley?

It looked as if a painter had lightly stroked the scene with a brushed dipped in white.  What a beautiful start to the day!

(No, you’re not seeing a UFO in the last photo.  The grayish teardrop shape is not an alien craft hurtling over the range .. it is actually a drop of pine tar on my windshield.  I parked under the trees at my parents’ house on a hot summer day – and this was my reward.  It won’t come off for anything.  Well, except maybe a bottle of pine tar remover.  Which I should use on my hood, really.  And thank you for not mentioning the leaves on the lawn which should have been mulched already.)

Have a wonderful week – it’s finally Christmas week!  I hope we don’t get so busy that we fail to take time out to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy every day and for those to come.

Be blessed, my friends.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Book Signing this Weekend!

Children’s author Timothy Penland, with 11 published titles, visits Christmas Place this Saturday, December 17th, to sign his book “The True Night Before Christmas.”

He wrote his poem in 1999, and dedicated it to his first granddaughter on the occasion of her first Christmas.  Several years later, that granddaughter, then nine-year-old Savannah, drew illustrations for the story when Timothy decided to publish it.  It is a retelling in poem form of the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus.

Timothy has been writing children’s stories and curriculum for over 20 years, and has worked as a teacher, small business owner, and on the staff of several churches in western North Carolina, where he lives with his family.

The signing will be in the store from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, and if you can’t be here, let us have one signed for you and ship it to you after the event – just order a copy online (click on the picture above) or call Guest Services.

We think this is a marvelous heirloom item to share with your children and grandchildren each Christmas, and pass down through the family.

Come this Saturday and meet the author – perhaps he’ll be persuaded to read the story for us while he is here!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. This weekend is also your last opportunity of the year to meet the fine art painter R.J. McDonald, and have him sign and personalize one of his famous Santa prints for you and your family!  He’ll be here from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

Fall Sweepstakes Time

Admittedly, we prefer selling things, but we do enjoy giving things away from time to time, too!  Check out our two current sweepstakes:

Just for fun and creepiness – a Department 56 Halloween house, the Retching Pumpkin Diner!  I don’t know about you, but it’s awfully wretched-looking to me.  Please, someone, win it and take it home with you.  Enter once a day through Friday, September 30th, and we’ll award it to one lucky creep winner on the first of October.

If something on the sparkly side is more your style, be sure to enter our 25th Anniversary giveaway, celebrating both Christmas Place and Snowbabies turning 25 this year!  The happy winner will receive a “Joy for You and Me” SnowDreams figurine from their glittering anniversary collection and a beautiful, red Christmas Place 25th anniversary t-shirt.

Any time we are having a giveaway, you’ll find it in the “What’s New” column on our home page.

Also going on right now, a 20% off sale on almost 3,000 ornaments – both in the store and online – including lots of your favorite styles for personalization.  Remember, ornament personalization is free.  We carry a broad selection of family ornaments, for personalization of up to 15 names!

Just to get you excited, let me remind you that Christmas is less than 100 days away!  Yippee!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. More newly-decorated Christmas trees coming next week!

Letters to Santa

Now that the Big Guy is back in town for the summer, we’re getting more letters – kids don’t wait around!

The Singing Santa

Hi Santa, have a Happy Easter.  Tell the Easter Bunny thanks for the candy.  You are Cool.  Tell the Tooth Fairy I probley (sic) am not going to loose any more teeth because I am 11 years old so Ya!  But Happy Easter.
Love, your best friend Vanessa
Peace Out.

Dear Santa,
I can’t wait until Christmas.  It’s in 210 days!  Are your reindeer ready to guide the sleigh?  How is James the penguin?  I want a laptop for Christmas.
Yours truly, Haley

Dear Santa,
Why r u so fat.
(signed) Bob

{Dear Bob, why don’t you want any presents for Christmas this year?}

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Anyone know who “James” is?

 

Please Come to Our Party!

The Incredible Christmas Place turns 25 this year!  Yes, it was 1986 when we first opened our doors here on the parkway in Pigeon Forge – back when it was just a wide place in the road between Sevierville & Gatlinburg.  How we and the city have grown together since then .. and how many warm and wonderful memories have been made by thousands of families visiting Christmas Place over the years.  {We hope your family is among them!}

The Biggs, Barnes & Rodriguez families along with all the associates here at Christmas Place would love to have you join us for a grand birthday & reopening party on Wednesday, June 15th.   We have lots of fun and surprises planned for our favorite kids of all ages – this means you!  Free games, crafts, and food, a special sleigh for taking pictures with Santa & Mrs. Claus, area entertainers, and special offers from all three of our properties will make this an unforgettable day – another memory to last a lifetime.

For a complete listing of the scheduled activities for the day, click on the flyer above.  Too bad the city won’t let us put the big search light on the corner ~ we’re that excited to welcome you to the party!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Be sure to check out the 25th Anniversary Package from The Inn at Christmas Place, and our latest menus at The Partridge & Pear Restaurant.

Letters to Santa

Dear Santa,

I want a T-shirt with Star Wars on it and a Star Wars Lego Kit and a Lego Indiana Jones airplane and a “Do You Doodle” (boy version), a camera, an iPod touch, DSxl, Star Wars Wii Lego game, DS games, and all the other stuff you think I might like.

Love, Ryan

P.S.  My sister doesn’t believe in you, so bring her a bag of rocks.  Thank you!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

So there.  Although I’m afraid she might be tempted to use those rocks on her brother in a not-too-nice way, aren’t you?

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Did you know – we’re 25 years old this year!

Yes, it all began Memorial Weekend 1986 on the parkway in Pigeon Forge.  The Incredible Christmas Place opened, and the owners stood and watched all the cars streaming by, waiting for them to start turning in at 2470 Parkway.  How we’ve grown since then!

The Incredible Christmas Place, circa 1986!

That first year, several of the shops were leased to other business owners, and now it’s all under one family.  We’ll tell you more about the life and times of Christmas Place Properties as the year unfolds, of course.

But first, we’d really love to hear from you…

• Do you have a first memory or a best memory or a crazy memory of a visit to Christmas Place?  You know, we’ve had more than one wedding in the courtyard – where’s your wedding photo?
• Do you have the first photo you or your children took with Santa at Christmas Place?  You have to share it with us again – even if Junior was screaming his head off!
• How would you like to celebrate our 25th year with us?  (Well, of course we’d like to give everyone a 25% discount on everything all year long, but c’mon now!)  We’re planning weekly activities and entertainment, but we’d like to hear from you on this, too.  Personally, I’m really jonesing for a special totebag and a t-shirt, but maybe you want something different to remember this special year.  Tell us what it is!

Please either leave a comment here, or visit us on Facebook or our forum and tell us about your memories of Christmas Place.  I’ve got an enormous pile of photo albums on my desk, and I hope to find more goodies to share throughout the year.  Past and present employees, prepare to be embarrassed as we explore the fashions and hairstyles of years gone by .. those of you who remember when you {had} hair, especially.

Happy Birthday, Christmas Place!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place