Bronner’s electric bill averages $650. Per day.
Sure, it takes a fair amount of electricity to illuminate a 2.2-acre store. The more than 300 fully decorated Christmas trees within the building, plus the more than 100,000 lighted holiday displays hugging the half-mile road leading up to the store, really ratchet up the voltage.
If Christmas had a headquarters, it would be here: Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. Touted as the world’s largest Christmas store, this holiday haven in Frankenmuth, Michigan, is a year-round celebration of all things Yuletide.
Inside are more than 50,000 holiday products, including trees, nativity sets, advent calendars, personalized stockings, snow globes, children’s books, nutcrackers, and full Santa suits with beards. There are more than 8,000 styles of ornaments, approximately half of which Bronner’s team designed. All the ornaments are roughly lumped into three categories: traditional Christmas, religious, and Toy Land.
The business was started by Wally Bronner, who, after graduating high school in 1945, launched a sign- and window-painting business. After he was approached about creating custom Christmas decorations for city lampposts in 1951, he went all in on the festive season. Within three years, he’d constructed his first Christmas goods shop. Over the next two decades, Bronner’s expanded into neighboring buildings before moving into a new building south of town, aptly addressed at 25 Christmas Lane. A few more expansions brought the building to its current size. Though Wally passed away in 2008, his descendants continue to own and operate the store.
One small section of the endless lighted displays and ornament collection at Bronner’s
Photo courtesy of Bronner’s
Inside, the layout is organized into themed sections. Some focus on specific Christmas traditions, while others highlight popular characters, color schemes, and decorating trends. Beyond ornaments and decor, Bronner’s stocks a wide variety of holiday-themed gifts, from cozy Christmas sweaters and festive tableware to stocking stuffers and gourmet treats.
It has become an international destination over the years, in part because of the displays that celebrate the Christmas customs of more than 25 nations, and the glass baubles come from many more. According to Lori Libka, a communications assistant at Bronner’s, more than 2 million people visit each year, and they purchase more than 2 million ornaments and approximately 485 miles of light cords.
While Bronner’s is open all year, it’s especially popular during the holiday season, when the store ramps up its displays and hosts seasonal events. A life-size nativity scene outside is a popular photo spot, and during the peak holiday months, Bronner’s hosts Santa visits and caroling.
“Fourth quarter is our bread and butter,” Libka said. “In the three days following Thanksgiving, we see 50,000 people. And then the rest of December, it is not unusual to see 20,000 to 25,000 people a day.”
For those who don’t care for crowds but want to visit during the holiday season, Libka recommends coming during the week, when the store is a little quieter. “It’s busy, but it is not crazy busy,” Libka said.
Alternatively, the first couple of months of the year are always quiet; it is during that time that Bronner’s staff catches up on tasks that were back-burnered during the peak period.
For those unable to make the journey to Michigan, Bronner’s online store offers an impressive selection of items, allowing people to bring a bit of this festive wonderland into their homes, no matter where they live.
