It’s a big courtyard tent sale this weekend at Christmas Place – the tent will be filled with the best markdowns, and there are sales going on inside the stores, too!

If you prefer shopping from home, our Web Team has joined in with some terrific reductions on favorite items – plus, be sure to check out Department 56′s new “The Simpsons” houses and figurines – they are pretty crazy!

Our closeout on retired Vera Bradley bags and patterns continues – we can’t picture them on our website, but you can call us with the style and pattern and we’ll arrangement shipment, if we have the bag in stock.

Continuing for about another week, our pre-season Christmas tree sale is still on – don’t let this one get past you, if you need a new tree this year.

Hotel guests, we released our Christmas in July activities schedule today!  When are you coming??  (Click on the calendar image two times to see it full size, if you can’t quite read the details.)

That’s it for this week…more to come soon.

Have a great Memorial Day, everyone!  We’re looking forward to a sunny weekend, highs in the 70s, beautiful East Tennessee days perfect for shopping, enjoying the attractions around town, or having a picnic in the park.  However you choose to fill your holidays, we hope you’ll be creating unforgettable memories with family and friends.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Beginning with .. spring has sprung – in spite of the cold weather, we did manage to have a few days of beauty in time for the annual Dogwood Festival in Knoxville.

I love seeing the deep red color on the underside of the petals.

I don’t know whether this is a cherry or an apple – it’s pretty, and it produces small fruit that the birds enjoy.

Brilliant pink azaleas in full bloom – a glorious song of spring!

 We just loved this white picket fence surrounding a tidy little garden!

 Most of our pink dogwood trees were pale this year.

 And now for something entirely different .. a chalk drawing by our personalizing artist, A.J.  What would we do without all the talent we have around here??  We sure don’t want to find out.

 And some pretty new things I saw in the gift gallery:

And now I take you to a new clothing collection for real little girls.  You’ll find these delightful outfits in The Boutique.

Who’s going to make a splash at the beach this summer??

I believe the #1 with ribbons is an accessory piece, and comes in other numbers as well.

And for the littlest princess, flower-accented booties for spring!

An update on construction:  The walls are up and painted, and next we’ll be adding transom windows.

Last but not least .. the bunny is back!  Only one this year, but he/she looks pretty happy to be out and about.

These wildflowers start out yellow, then shoot up on stalks and turn white, and then blow away.  They’re just so pretty in the late afternoon sun, aren’t they?

Well, I think that’s about it for my random photo collection today – whew, I’m glad to share all that and get ready for the next group!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Mother’s Day is this Sunday – watch for a special one-day sale in The Boutique – 10% off all day long.

And, by the way, we moved the clearance area from upstairs to Santaland – so no more climb to check out the sales room.  It’s right outside Rudolf’s Retreat now, much easier for grabbing a last-minute bargain before you check out.

I recommend you put in some ear buds and listen to the conversation - it’s worth a couple of minutes of your time.

Here’s a funny ornament for the coffee lover in your life – ready to be personalized!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Have you tried the White Christmas Blend we use at The Inn at Christmas Place?  I hear it’s smooth– and addicting!

{Tune in for further adventures with Chrissy as she has fun playing all over the store while all the other elves are hard at work…

{Thanks to everyone who submitted a picture of their own elf and a name!

We’ve been adopted by our own Elf on the Shelf here at the store – isn’t she cute?  But … we have one problem.   When we asked what her name is, she told us one of you would know!   We really need to add it to her Christmas stocking, so we need you to help us find out just what her name is.

And then we decided that, since you’re helping us out, maybe a little contest for fun – and a prize - would be in order!

Here’s how you can help us learn her name:

1.  Share a picture of your own elf in his or her favorite spot on the planet – maybe around your home from last Christmas, or in the car, on vacation somewhere exotic, or just enjoying dinner around town – if your elf is still in town, you might want to take a new picture – and have yourself in the picture, too.

2.  Send us that picture any way you can -

*E-mail:  Send it to us at santa@christmasplace, put “Name Your Elf” as the subject of your message.
*Facebook:  upload your photo on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/ChristmasPlace.
*Twitter:  tweet your photo to us @ChristmasPlace, and include #nameyourelf.
*Pinterest:  Pin a photo of your elf to your own board, and include #nameyourelf in the description.

3.  Be sure to include your suggestion for the name of our elf in your message or description.

4.  We’ll pick a winner from among all the suggestions, and the one of you who knows her name will receive -

*The picture of your elf posted as the header on our Facebook page for a week (so you might want to include yourself in the photo!).
*A $25 gift card to spend in the store or online.

You have two weeks to submit your suggestions, and Monday, April 29th, is the last day we will accept pictures for the contest.  We’ll announce the winner on Wednesday, May 1st, and the winning picture will be displayed on our header through Wednesday,  May 8th.

Here is the necessary stuff:  Name suggestions without a picture will be appreciated, but not entered into the contest for prizes.  You can submit more than one picture and name, but please don’t submit the same picture more than one time.  Employees of Christmas Place Properties and their family members are not eligible to win, though we would love to see pictures of your elves!  All the pictures will be kept in a photo album on our Facebook page, so you can come back and enjoy them or share them with your friends.  You understand that your image may be used on a web site, Facebook or other social media site, mailing, design board, and other publicity, at the company’s discretion for promotional purposes.  You release The Incredible Christmas Place and The Inn at Christmas Place, its contractors and its employees from liability for any claims by you or any third party in connection with your participation and the use of your photograph and/or video images for their business uses, including but not limited to print, television, and web uses.  We may publish your picture when we talk about the store or products online, in print, or in any other medium, with no financial compensation to you.  Mom and Dad, we will not use your child’s or children’s full name(s), but we would like to use their first name(s) and geographic location when we announce our winner.  If the winner is under 18 years old, your mom or dad will have to help you spend your prize.

Whew, I’m sorry that has to be so long…

Okay, we’re starting now!  Send us a picture of your elf (and you), and the name you think belongs to our elf!  Good luck!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  Do you think she has more than one name? -you know, a before name and a behind name and a between name??  We can’t wait to find out!

Why, we do the same things you do in the winter!  We clean and we straighten up.  Check out this pristeen display of personalized family Christmas ornaments, just waiting to be discovered.

And sometimes we move the furniture around.

And we love to hide stuff from Santa!

Where has it all gone?  Why, here it is, right over here!

Our “Old & New Spice” area is getting a new look with the sports department moving in this year.  Of course, we’re heavy on the SEC collection, but we carry other collegiate souvenirs as well.  We just may have your team here.

And sometimes, we even move walls, if we’re really feeling a burst of energy.

Remember me? I used to be in the Floral Department!

Oh, yes, there are major changes in the works around here .. some of which will just be in place in time for your next visit.  Now where did the village go??

Here’s a sneak peek at one special area – look at these gorgeous new flower shop displays.

LOVE!  LOVE!  LOVE!  Gorgeous colors, and the profusion of silk flowers and stems look so sharp in their new, shiny black displays.

“Yummy” comes to mind – all those delicious spring colors massed together.  It’s still a work in progress, and we cannot wait to see the finished product – bet you can’t, either.

Tune in for our next “behind the workshop walls” report, as the elves continue to play while Santa is away!  He’ll be back five days a week after Memorial Weekend, though you can catch him this Saturday & Sunday at the store.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  We wish the blessings of peace and freedom for all who may be celebrating Easter, Pesach, or any other special commemoration this month.

 My favorites – giant pink and lavender peony blooms!

For a more subtle garden, peonies and roses that have a delicate, tea-dyed look.

If you can find it, this arrangement of flowers and birdhouse is attached to a grapevine chair, making this a wonderful and welcoming arrangement for a front porch.

Do you decorate your fireplace for spring?  Our floral team has created a colorful white, pink, lavender, and raspberry garland, highlighted with a couple bluebirds – for the happiness that comes especially with spring!

So many ways to add pink – berries, ribbons, glitter, a butterfly – if we added a strand of pink LED lights inside the mesh box, it would be a pink dream!   Too much?  Never!

Let’s not forget the wildflowers – and bear cubs – that we love so much up in the Smokies!

We start our Spring Break store hours this Saturday, March 16th – we’ll be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week – taking advantage of those new evening daylight hours we’re enjoying.  If you’re headed to the mountains, be sure to stop in and say “hello!”  We’ve missed you since Christmas!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Spring is also the time of new releases from many of the companies that our collectors love, so it’s a good time to check our site for the newest items.

For those of you who simply insist on putting the tree away for at least a couple of months each year, and since we have made it past Valentines, Gumdrop, and Presidents days, now might be the time to take down the Christmas tree.

Think about it for a moment, though.  Do you really want to struggle with making it all fit back into the original box, adding a 5th .. 6th .. 7th .. layer of tape, and then having to drag the big, unwieldy box through the house, wedging it through doorways and around end tables and furry family members who have no concept of what you are trying to accomplish without their assistance, thank you very much, and finally into a storage area (probably up or down stairs, or even outside)?

No, you don’t!

Look no further, sweat and struggle no more.  We are pleased to tell you that we have the perfect solution for you right here.  You must get one of these marvelous tree storage bags – not just a bag, but a bag with wheels.  How fabulous is that?

Portable, lightweight, flexible, stuffable, handles for easy transport .. where’s the cup holder on this thing??  Room to store your power strip and extension cord(s) right in the bag, so you don’t have to hunt them down next year.  I don’t know if there’s a Facebook fan page for it yet – but it seems like there ought to be!

You also need bags for your wreaths, to keep them free of dust and other potential off-season mishaps.

There, the last part of Christmas 2012, taken care of in a most convenient way.  Now you can sit back and wait for the new trends and styles in Christmas decor to form themselves into your perfect decorating scheme for 2013.  We’ll be right here to help with that, too.  Don’t you just have a wonderful feeling of peace and calm and preparedness for next Christmas, you lucky thing.

Good for you, because, well, Christmas is only 309 days away.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  Speaking of next Christmas, the new Snowbabies and Department 56 pieces are available for pre-ordering already!  If you’re a fan of the National Lampoon movie “Christmas Vacation”, this is the year for you – remember Cousin Eddie’s RV?  It’s here! 

Guests at The Inn at Christmas Place will have exclusive access to a private evening of food and entertainment on Wednesday, February 20^th, when Kent Rollins and T. Scot Wilburn team up to offer a sampling of chuck wagon cooking, storytelling, and music in our own parking lot!

T. Scot Wilburn was born with western music in his blood.  The Montana native’s father and uncle, Harold and Vernon Wilburn, were members of the legendary Snake River Outlaws, one of the hottest cowboy bands in the Northwest during the late ‘40s and early ‘50s.  Scot, a talented musician who can play anything with strings, toured more than a decade with Wylie & the Wild West.  He produces Saddle Up’s “Stories & Strings” concert and this year performs with his own band, the Shut Up -N- Playboys.  Follow this link to an interview and performance during “Stories & Strings” at Saddle Up! 2012.

T. Scot Wilburn

Kent Rollins is the epitome of what a cowboy should be; he doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk each and every day.  And he’s a darned good cook.  Just ask the folks at The Food Network, where Kent recently appeared on “Throwdown! With Bobby Flay” and “Chopped: Grill Masters.”  Kent, his 1876 Studebaker chuck wagon, stove “Bertha” and wife Shannon travel across the country to cook and entertain and make new friends.  He’s been cooking and telling stories at Saddle Up for years and has helped grow the event during its 13 seasons.  (He also comes with a supply of his own killer mix called Red River Ranch Seasonings – I’ve used this on everything from scrambled eggs and green salad to steak, and it makes anything taste better!)  Learn more about Kent here.

Kent Rollins

There’s still time to reserve your nights at The Inn before the cowboys hit the trail again ~ just be sure to pack your boots!  (Check out the selection at Stages West if you need a new pair.)

Not all the events require tickets, but for those that do, you can purchase them online at www.mypigeonfore.com/saddleup, or on-site during the event.  Saturday’s Buckaroo Roundup at Clabough’s Campground in Wear’s Valley (no admission charge) offers a variety of fun activities for the whole family, including branding and roping demonstrations, pony rides, and a chuck wagon cook-off between seven wagons.  It’s a truly a great way to bust out some plaid and spend a day with the family!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  We’ve got to get in on the fun here at the store, too ~ we’ll be offering 15% off all our Western ornaments and decor here at Christmas Place throughout Saddle Up!

P.P.S.  NO NO NO, I categorically refuse to try the mechanical bull.  So don’t even try to change my mind about it.  Now, how are my hair and lipstick??

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Extra credit if you can point out the two most unexpected elves in the room…

It’s amazing to see the water surging around our picnic tables and into the lot!  By the way, I did not use a special lens or any computer manipulation - the special effects here are just raindrops on the camera lens – kind of interesting, I’ve decided.

Just to compare, here are pictures I took Thursday – the day after the flood.  If you are familiar with the area, you can see that the water that surged into our lot left a bit of a mess in its wake.

You can’t even see the water in the river today!

Oh, wait .. here it is - still surging – but down several feet from yesterday.

Okay, yes, a few feet of river water rise is quite an event for January in Pigeon Forge!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  Beautiful snow on the mountain peaks – more on the way this weekend.  It’s okay if it stays up on the mountain peaks – camera range will be quite sufficient, thank you.