Towns That Celebrate Christmas Year Round Family
6 Towns That Celebrate Christmas Year-Round
DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/ALAMY For some, Christmas is less a season than it is a state of mind. You know who you are. Your toes tingle at the sight of tinsel. You are the one standing in the dairy aisle when the stock boys unload the first crates of eggnog in late November. For you, Boxing Day, on Dec. 26, is a day of mourning. If only you could make that yuletide joy last after the lights have come down and the tree is lying sadly by the curb. If only there were places where the spirit of St. Nick lives on through the spring and into the summer and the fall. If only there were places where it never ended. Happily, there are! Here are six of them. Santa Claus Ind
KEVIN PANG/NEWSCOM The festive 40-ton statue overlooks Santa Claus Ind Legend has it that this tiny town in southwestern Indiana took on Christmas’ most familiar name in the 1850s, when the U.S. Post Office rejected its original name of Santa Fe. At some point in the early 20th century, mail began piling up at the Santa Claus Post Office during the holiday season. Everyone wanted that precious postmark on their cards and packages. America being what it is, the moneymakers then stepped in. A lawyer from nearby Vincennes set up a souvenir shop for the decorative sleighs he made. Toy manufacturers and a candymaker moved into what was dubbed Santa’s Candy Castle. A 40-ton statue of Santa Claus went up in an overlook on the edge of town, and an Evansville industrialist set up the Santa Claus Land theme park on 260 acres of rolling farmland nearby (now known as Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, a full-blown alpine amusement park). Outside the park, there is a Santa Claus Museum, a winery and a year-round Christmas store. There’s even a Christmas Lake Village residential area where all the streets have holiday-related names. Pigeon Forge Tenn
NEWSCOM The Incredible Christmas Place has an array of décor. Just outside the northern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge survived the vicious wildfires — which engulfed nearby Gatlinburg in 2016 — relatively unscathed. Dollywood is still intact, as are the dozens of miniature golf courses, go-kart tracks and country music venues. Also still standing, thankfully, is the Incredible Christmas Place, the largest permanent Christmas retailer in the South and the epicenter of Pigeon Forge’s holiday industrial complex. What began as a small gift shop in 1986 has morphed into the ultimate Christmas emporium, with 43,000 square feet of retail space offering everything from personalized ornaments and lights to garlands and nativity scenes. Santa is in residence year-round, of course. North Pole Alaska
REMSBERG/NEWSCOM A 42-foot fiberglass statue of St. Nick greets merchants at the Santa Claus House outlet. Does it matter that a town calls itself North Pole even though it’s 1,700 miles from the real thing? Apparently not, as this town outside Fairbanks has come to know. The town’s founders had hoped the name, officially changed in 1949, would attract a toy manufacturer eager to claim that its products were made at the North Pole. Alas, those dreams never materialized. The locals have done their best to keep the dream alive, however, leaving up the Christmas decorations year-round, festooning everything in red and white stripes, naming most of the streets in the holiday theme and erecting a massive Santa Claus House retail outlet with a 42-foot fiberglass statue of St. Nick, who's covered with letters from good little boys and girls from around the world. Frankenmuth Mich
BRONNERS CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is a Christmas lover's paradise. Something about the Bavarian architecture and heritage of this farming town about 100 miles north of Detroitscreams Christmas, and city fathers have embraced the connection with gusto. Home of the world’s largest Christmas store, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth goes all out across town for the holiday itself — but the spirit lives on year-round at this massive retail center. More than 3 million people a year make their way down the half-mile Christmas Lane, with its 50,000 lights and dozens of themed storefronts. Ironically, Christmas Day is one of only six days each year that the establishment is actually closed. Solvang Calif
SOLVANG USA Solvang Calif is nestled in Santa Barbara County and is known for the Julefest parade. Danish farmers settled the area around Solvang in the early 20th century, in part to escape the harsh winters they had experienced in the Midwest. What they built in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Valley is the closest thing one can get to a provincial Danish village without crossing the Atlantic. The facades and buildings of the bakeries, restaurants and merchants along Copenhagen Drive are all done up in the half-timbered style of the old country. Much of the Christmas action in Solvang revolves around the holidays themselves (“Julefest” in local parlance), but the vibe lasts throughout the year. Bethlehem Pa
MARTIN DESILETS Fun fact: Bethlehem Pa , was founded on Christmas Eve in 1741. Another town that clings to its northern European roots (Germanic, in this case) for a good cause, Bethlehem has the added benefit of genuine Christmas roots (it was founded on Christmas Eve in 1741) and impeccable branding in the form of a giant LED star that lures visitors from atop South Mountain. December brings an annual Christmas market, lots of lights and crèches in houses and churches across the city. The star of Bethlehem, though, burns year-round. Also of Interest
AARP Travel Center Call: 1.800.675.4318 Search Flights Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Enter a valid date Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats: search Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats: search Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats: Flight 2 Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Flight 3 Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Flight 4 Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Flight 5 Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Add Another Flight search Search Hotels Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Enter a valid date Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5 Room 6 Room 7 Room 8 search Search Packages Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Enter a valid date You didn't specify child's age Child under 2 must either sit in laps or in seats: Room 1 There are children in rooms without an adult You didn't specify child's age You didn't specify child's age Room 2 There are children in rooms without an adult You didn't specify child's age You didn't specify child's age Room 3 There are children in rooms without an adult You didn't specify child's age You didn't specify child's age Room 4 There are children in rooms without an adult You didn't specify child's age You didn't specify child's age Room 5 There are children in rooms without an adult You didn't specify child's age You didn't specify child's age You have more than 6 people total Please select a trip duration less than 28 days search Search Cars Enter a valid location Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Enter a valid date search Search Cruises Select a valid location Select a month search Search Things to Do Enter a valid location Enter a valid date Enter a valid date search × Let's Go Reset Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Car Rentals offers > See more Travel offers > See more Hotels & Resorts offers > See more Gas & Auto Services offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.