Frankenmuth, Michigan
Bronner's Christmas Wonderland
World's largest Christmas store.
Founded in 1945 by Wally Bronner, Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is the world’s largest Christmas store, a year-round commercial attraction for all ages. A huge draw for the town of Frankenmuth, Michigan, Bronner’s welcomes at least two million visitors every year from throughout, mostly, the United States and Canada. In 1976, the state of Michigan designated Bronner’s an “Embassy for Michigan Tourism.”
The building, which is the size of five and a half football fields, sits on 27 acres of landscaped grounds that feature dozens of Christmas displays. Outside of the main entrance, for example, are three 17-foot tall Santas and a 15-foot tall snowman.
Inside of the building, which uses the motto “Enjoy CHRISTmas, It’s HIS Birthday; Enjoy Life, It’s HIS Way,” Bronner’s has about 800 animated figurines on display. The electrical bill for the store averages about $900 every day. Also on display are Christmas ornaments, artificial Christmas trees, decorations, collectibles, and Nativity scenes. Every single year, the store, which has a parking lot built to hold more than 1,000 cars and buses, sells about 150,000 postcards, 600,000 glass tree ornaments, 500,000 feet of garland, and much more.
Wally Bronner died in 2008 at the age of 81, but his store continues to function as it did before his passing.
Edited by
Sources
- Wikipedia: Bronner's Christmas Wonderland: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronner%27s_CHRISTmas_Wonderland
- Gadling: "Inside Bronners Christmas Wonderland - the Largest Christmas Store in the World" (October 2010): http://www.gadling.com/2010/10/06/inside-bronners-christmas-wonderland-the-largest-christmas-sto/
