Much as I love the holidays, there’s always lots to do at this time of year.
TV fare is mostly reruns of Christmas specials and movies, but those are fun, don’t you think?
To that end, please enjoy one of my holiday repeats.
Frankenmuth, Michigan is one of our favourite road trip destinations. The area, known as “Little Bavaria”, was settled and named in 1845 by conservative Lutheran immigrants from the RoΓtal area of Franconian Germany.
In addition to the charming ambience and picturesque landscaping, Frankenmuth is home to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, the self-proclaimed “World’s Largest Christmas Store”. It’s open all year, but what better time to visit than December, when the whole town is ablaze with lights?
That’s exactly what we did in 2016. Much to my delight, they also had a small, but interesting German Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) happening over the weekend.
Click on images to view original size.
Β© Debbie D.
The Town of Frankenmuth:
Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland:
[All Christmas, all year-round, including lights!]
This is my last post for 2024.
Wishing everyone a Very Merry everything!
Holiday Voice Message
(and some festive lights):
Check out some scintillating content from my talented friends:
PostScript:
Not everyone enjoys the holidays!
Please be kind and generous to those less fortunate.
π
See you in 2025!
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff.Β Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
49 thoughts on “DECEMBER IN FRANKENMUTH πβ¨ A HOLIDAY ROAD TRIP πΊοΈπ”
What a magical trip to Frankenmuth! The festive atmosphere, the charming decorations, and the Weihnachtsmarkt all sound incredible. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland must be a dream to visit, especially in December. Wishing you a very merry holiday season filled with joy and warmth!
Yes, Frankenmuth is a lovely town, equally so in the summer, with magnificent landscaping. The Christmas store is incredible too! π Thanks for coming by, Lux, and Happy Holidays to you! πβ¨π
Hi Debbie – have a lovely time … that store sounds amazing – but too much for me, I’d be exhausted walking around, even with all that’s available to see – I admire your stamina – mind you nearly 10 years ago. Just enjoy yourself – cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary! π I love sight-seeing and always muster up the energy for it, even if it flags at other times, like when doing mundane chores. π Happy Holidays to you! πβ¨π₯
DEBBIE ~
I would love to see Bronnerβs Christmas Wonderland, as I love that Christmas stuffs! I’m determined to get there… in my next lifetime.
~ D-FensDogG
The Christmas Canine
That would surely be a fun, cross-country road trip for you, Stephen! π Over 2000 miles. Merry Christmas to you, my friend. πβ¨π₯
Debbie, your joyous and festive website is a joy to visit. I have visited Frankenmuth twice, once when my grandmother was visiting in the 60s and another time with my mom maybe 20 years ago. It is overwhelming to see even when it is not Christmas with all the Christmas fun inside Bronner’s. I just heard on the news today that there will be an inside water park at Frankenmuth opening in 2025 with some state-of-the features and a swim-up bar which is a first for Michigan. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thank you so much, Linda! π We love Frankenmuth and have been there three times (twice in the summer). It’s fabulous year-round and I can imagine the water park will make it even more popular. Merry Christmas to you too! πβ¨π₯
Technically, I’m on blogging hiatus until the end of the year but wanted to use this opportunity to wish you a happy holiday season! π
Thank you so much, Christian! π Frohe Festtage! πβ¨π₯
What a beautiful place to visit and see all the shiny lights. I’ll bet there were lots of oohs and ahhhs at everything you saw.
Thanks for the mini-tour!
I really enjoyed your video message. Thank you! Wishing you and your family a lovely and peaceful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! π
Yes, Frankenmuth is lovely in December, but even in the summer, it’s beautiful. Gorgeous landscaping! (We’ve been there three times.) I’ll write that travelogue, eventually. Glad you enjoyed the tour and my voice message! π Thanks, Barbara! All the best to you and your family. Cheers! π₯
Frankenmuth is the best although I haven’t been there yet this year. The Mister and I should go as it’s so close to us.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
It’s a lovely town, in summer and winter. You should go, Kymber! π We’ve been there three times (twice in the summer), and would love to visit again, sometime. The Canadian dollar is super low right now, though, so it would be too expensive. Cheers! π₯
Another Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, and Happy New Year wish!
Thank you, Cheryl! π I wish the same for you. πβ¨
Thanks for the lovely holiday post and pics Deb. And loved hearing your holiday wishes. Wishing you a beautiful holiday season. <3
Much appreciated, Deb! π Thank you for all your support. π
What a beautiful town. Lovely pictures.
Yes, and equally beautiful in the summer, with gorgeous landscaping. Thanks, Patrick. π Happy Holidays! π
I haven’t visited in several years, but it used to be a yearly trip. Thanks for sharing your photos. Have a very Merry holiday season.
We’ve been to Frankenmuth three times (twice in summer), and would love to go back, sometime. Our dollar is in the toilet now, though, so it would be too expensive. π
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you, Clive. π Cheers! π₯
Bronnerβs Christmas Wonderland/Frankenmuth seems like a beautiful place. Gorgeous photos. Your video is very nice and I am impressed how you pronounced so well the different languages. Happy Holidays to you.
Thank you, Thomas. π I am fluent in German and do fairly well with French as well, plus some Italian, as I hear it all the time from hubby and his buddies, and the TV (soccer games, news).
Trevlig Helg! (I hope Google translate got that right, as I don’t know Swedish.) Cheers! π₯
Jo “trevlig helg” is nice holiday or happy holiday. Thank you Debbie.
Debbie – Thank you for sharing this post. I was in Frankenmuth twice, once many years ago as my father was German and then I went with my mom about 20 years ago. Both times we went in the Summertime and only walked around the town and visited Bronner’s. Even though I mentioned the chicken dinners at The Bavarian Inn I never ate there, but people do rave about them. The original owner of The Bavarian Inn, Dorothy Zehnder, died last year at age 101. She was still going into the Inn every day to cook. I wonder if they have a live nativity there, as well as this one you feature in your post. I hope no one tries to vandalize it, which often happens here when nativity scenes are put in public places.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Linda. Thanks for clicking on the link. π I love Frankenmuth in the summer, with its beautiful landscaping and architecture! π I have some wonderful photos and hope to write that travelogue one of these days.
Yes, I remember reading about Dorothy Zehnder – she was an amazing woman! We did go for the famous chicken dinner on our first trip. The food was excellent, but the large quantities of everything (several courses) were overwhelming, plus the place is huge and there was no ambiance. Our favourite place to eat in Frankenmuth is Tiffany’s:
https://www.tiffanysfoodandspirits.com/
There was no live nativity at the time I was there. What a shame that public nativity displays are vandalized! π Not exactly in the spirit of Christmas! I’m not religious but still enjoy seeing them.
DEBBIE ~
I meant to comment on this post days ago but, you know, as the song says: “It’s The Most Busiest Time Of The Year!”
I have never been to Frankenmuth but have wanted to visit there for a very long time. I used to receive Christmas catalogs from Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland — back in, like, the late-’80s or early-’90s — and I’ve ordered a couple things from them. I have always wanted to go there but, alas, it will probably never happen at this stage in my life.
Back in The Day, we had a Bronner’s-like place in Pasadena called Stats. It’s been sold and changed since The Day, but it’s the biggest Christmas store I’ve ever been in. Totally, totally loved Stats! So I can just imagine how much I’d adore Bronner’s, which is apparently Stats on tons of steroids and HGH.
Unlike the Bumble Snowmonster of the North, I’m crazy about everything to do with Christmas.
Is there any chance of a person being able to purchase a candy cane anywhere in Frankenmuth, MI.? I won’t go unless I can get a candy cane. :^)
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents ‘Battle Of The Bands’
You would absolutely LOVE Bronner’s, Stephen. π The range of items available is staggering! it’s a long drive from Reno (~2200 miles), but that could be a fun road trip. I’m sure they have candy canes, too. Thanks for dropping in and Happy New Year!
I have been there once and would love to go again. Great photos…..and one day Iβd love to be in a real German town during Christmas time
I’m glad you enjoyed the tour, Birgit. Christmas in Germany is wonderful. I hope you get to go there and see for yourself. π Frankenmuth offers a little taste but on a much smaller scale. Thanks for coming by and Happy New Year!
Hey Debbie,
What beautiful pictures! I love to drive around and look at all the Christmas lights in town. We do have several places that do what we call a Winterfest of Lights. I’ve been to them before and just loved it. It really gets you into the Christmas spirit!
Thank you for sharing yours with us! I hope you and your hubs have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
B
I’m glad you enjoyed the tour, Bren. We love Christmas light displays, too. Thanks for dropping in and Happy New Year!
An absolute Christmas wonderland! Thank you for sharing this loveliness, Debbie.
My pleasure, Corinne! π Thanks for dropping in and Happy New Year.
This Bronner looks like the very best place to be, now or any time even. Frankenmuth is exceptional, too!
Merry Christmas, Debbie, to you and all your fine friends and family, and wishing you all a magnificent new year, as well.
Happy New Year, Myke! π I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas. Bronner’s is huge and quite a sight. The town of Frankenmuth has much to offer, year-round. Beautiful landscaping in summer!
That looks like so much fun. I’m a Lutheran, but not a conservative one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it before. I love beautiful displays of lights.
Love,
Janie
Frankenmuth is beautiful year-round. Gorgeous landscaping in the summer! The Christmas lights in December (the store has them on all year), especially along the lake, make it so festive! Happy New Year, Janie. Thanks for dropping in.
What a wonderful visit you seem to have had. I love festival lights too especially those put up by shops to attract visitors with their imaginative decorations and themes. I’ve never been to Canada leave alone Frankenmuth but have heard a lot about the Christmas Markets in Europe and would like to visit one some time in the future. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
We love those holiday light displays, too. π Frankenmuth’s aren’t nearly as spectacular as Niagara Falls’, but still pretty. Yes, European Christmas markets are awesome. This one was just a tiny taste. Happy New Year to you and thanks for coming by. Cheers!
Do you enjoy festive light displays? Yes, but sadly don’t drive in search of them as we used to.
Are you in a holiday mood yet? This is the least holiday mood I think I’ve ever been in. Too many traditions have just died on the vine.
Have you ever been to Frankenmuth? No, but have heard plenty about their Christmas displays.
May the Good Lord bless your Christmas and New Years.
Happy New Year, Chris! Sorry for my absence. I’m having a hard time getting back into blogging mode. Thanks for dropping in, though. I’ll be by to see what you’ve been up to, soon!
I didn’t make it up there this fall. I really do not need any more decorations, but had wanted to take Charlie. Life got in the way. Have a very Merry Christmas.
Frankenmuth will always be there. π Happy New Year, Denise. Thanks for dropping in.
Hi Debbie, I have not been there. I do like Christmas lights as long as it’s not a month or more in advance of the holidays π
I hope to visit that area some day, it looks beautiful! Enjoy your holidays Debbie.
Happy New Year, Lisa! π You would like Frankenmuth. It has gorgeous landscaping in summer and that fabulous light display in December. A year-round delight! Thanks for dropping in.