Blog for Zipline Attraction in the Smoky Mountains
Located in Pigeon Forge, TN and near Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
Christmas Shopping In The Smokies
By Ross Bodhi Ogle
Posted on November 30, 2021
It's not time to panic. Not yet, anyway. You still have about three weeks to wrap up your holiday shopping. So with that consolation in mind, take a deep breath and resolve to head out to the stores (or go online) and get it done this week.
In the meantime, we'd like to help out with a few suggestions for shopping destinations in the Smokies that are all Christmas-themed. So if you happen to be visiting the area this month, you'll have a sure-fire way to get your gift buying all wrapped up (see what we did there?) and get you into the Christmas spirit at the same time. (And if you're looking for more things to do, Gatlinburg is close to our outpost here at Smoky Mountain Ziplines. Don't forget that we're open on weekends and on select days during holiday weeks, so give us a call for your last chance to book a zipline tour in 2021.)
Christmas Place
This is an obvious place to start when discussing Christmas-themed shops in the Smokies. Located in Pigeon Forge, this year-round collective of shops offers tens of thousands of square feet of Christmas-related merchandise. In fact, it's regarded as the South's largest holiday-themed retail business. You can do your shopping there online if you want, but there's nothing like being in the store, especially at this time of year, to make your experience complete. The entire place is reminiscent of an old-world village, and with all the lights and decorations, it truly is a holiday wonderland.
Shoppers will find ornaments, nativity scenes, designer trees, dollhouses, gifts, decorations and much more. If you're into Christmas collectibles, look for items from names like Boyds Bears, Christopher Radko, Department 56, Fitz and Lloyd and Precious Moments, just to mention a few. Among their unique offerings are more than 700 kinds of personalized tree ornaments and, during the holidays, onsite visits from Santa Claus. And if you go to their website, they have a page devoted to designer tips for making your own holiday decorations spectacular.
Santa's Claus-et
You have to give this place kudos just on the wordplay in their name. You'll find this shop in the Gatlinburg Arts & Crafts Community, and fittingly, it also carries all things related to the Christmas holiday. They offer free personalization of ornaments, which you can either hang on your own tree or give as gifts. In addition to finding Christmas trees and decorations, you can sample holiday foods, discover toys and games for the young ones and even get your hands on gifts for kids as old as college age. New for 2021 is Santa's Candy Cane Cottage, a gingerbread-looking house where Saint Nick reviews his naughty-nice list of names and asks visiting children for their gift requests. He'll even be handing out free ornaments and candy canes.
Christmas Eve Gift
Let's hope you're not actually waiting until Christmas Eve to buy those remaining gifts, but even if you get your shopping done now, this store (also located in the Arts & Crafts Community) will have you covered when it comes to holiday shopping. They're open year-round, carrying classic and traditional décor items like handcrafted, Old-World Santas, personalized ornaments, centerpieces and hand-painted and sewn gifts. They've got everything from Christmas lights to life-size stuffed animals.
Christmas & Collectibles
We'll take you back to Pigeon Forge for this shop, which has more than 30,000 square feet of decorations. In fact, it's the second-largest Christmas store east of the Mississippi. The whole place sparkles with thousands of lights and glittering ornaments, nativity scenes and much more. If you're into Christmas collectibles, look for brand names like Possible Dreams, Jim Shore, Precious Moments, Byers Choice, Fontanini, Snow-babies and Cherished Teddies, to mention a few.
