FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — If you love the joy and excitement of the Christmas season, you can experience them all year long at Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland.
The store is the size of one and a half football fields and overflowing with 50,000 trims and gifts -- and approximately 100,000 lights illuminate Bronner's ½-mile long Christmas Lane every evening from dusk until midnight. Bronner's is the world's largest year-round Christmas store.
According to the Bronner's website, Wally Bronner started the store in 1945 and it's now owned and managed by Irene Bronner and six other family members. The present Bronner building opened June 8, 1977. Bronner's 100,000 sq. ft. expansion opened May 22, 1991.
The three incredibly iconic, outdoor Santa's tower 17-feet in the air, and the lofty snowman is 15-feet.
According to the Bronner's website, Wally Bronner started the store in 1945 and it's now owned and managed by Irene Bronner and six other family members. The present Bronner building opened June 8, 1977. Bronner's 100,000 sq. ft. expansion opened May 22, 1991.
Check out some of these other fun facts about the winter wonderland:
MERCHANDISE AND DISPLAYS
- Bronner's features over 50,000 trims and gifts for all seasons, reasons, and budgets.
- Many of Bronner's items sell for under $10, and two-thirds sell for under $20.
- Over 250 styles of Nativity scenes are available.
- Decorations and gifts from 35 nations are displayed.
- Bronner staff personalize 400,000 ornaments annually.
- "Merry Christmas" ornaments in more than 40 languages are among the 8000 styles of ornaments available.
- Each year Bronner's guests purchase more than 2 million ornaments and over 125,000 light sets (approximately 485 miles of light cords).
- More than 300 decorated trees are displayed in Bronner's salesroom.
- Each decorated tree at Bronner's includes a Nativity ornament.
VISITOR INFORMATION
- Over two million guests visit annually from throughout the world, including 2,000 motorcoach groups.
- The weekend after Thanksgiving is Bronner's busiest of the year with as many as 50,000 guests.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
- In peak season, Bronner's employs over 700 staff members.
- Movie star John Wayne ordered a Santa suit from Bronner's by telephone on December 15, 1976.
- Bronner's has more than 60 billboards - the most distant is on I-75 near Ocala, Florida, north of Disney World.
- Nearly 3 million Bronner's Christmas Favorites catalogs are distributed annually. Bronner's ships over 200,000 packages each year around the globe. The call center, catalog and website fulfillment are all in-house handled.
- Over 20,000 children visit Santa seasonally from the day after Thanksgiving through December 24.
For more information, visit www.bronners.com.
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