Never too early: Bethlehem store already displaying Christmas merch

Halloween is just over a week away, so you know what that means? Time to shop for the new Christmas merchandise at the Shoppe at Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

The Shoppe, located at 437 Main St. in Bethlehem, has begun putting up its new Christmas merchandise, which it intends to start selling in force by this weekend.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful time of the year,” said Jo Ann Haines, director of merchandising for the Shoppe.

She highlighted a few special examples of what jingle-minded residents could buy this season. They include:

• Tin containers with Nazareth artist Mary Jane Lahr’s artwork of the hotel painted on them and with peppermint bark candies inside. The containers will go on sale Nov. 3.
• Hand-painted ornaments from Austria that depict the hotel.
• Light-up boards that show a painting of Main Street.

Other examples of merchandise include model houses, model villages, candles, snow globes, bells and animal sculptures.

Light-up boards with a painted pictures of Main Streets are for sale Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at the Shoppe at Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Preparing the Shoppe’s Christmas merchandise began all the way back in January, Haines said, having sourced their items from the AmericasMart marketplace in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We do not buy large quantities [of] anything,” she said. “We buy very small quantities, and when they’re sold out, then we have something else to bring from the back. Our idea is we don’t buy from vendors who post online. We don’t do that kind of thing, and it’s the same with Christmas. We might buy two villages, or even lots of times one village.”

The Shoppe will sell these holiday items through Christmas, Haines said. It operates 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to its website .