Imagine Christmas every day of the year. Not the long lines and the miserable traffic and the cold weather kind of Christmas, but the lights and the toys and the magic. The kind of Christmas where children lie in bed on December 24 holding their breath at each strange noise, thinking it might be reindeer on the roof. Imagine that feeling all year long. Impossible, you say? No, it’s just another day in Paradise . . .
That’s Paradise, Lancaster County, PA, home of the National Christmas Center. What better way, I thought, to get in the Christmas spirit than to take a drive down I-283, out Route 30 past the outlets (more on them later!), and get a large dose of Christmas?
The Monday after Thanksgiving was grey and rainy and very un-Christmas-like. My friend Mary was happy to come along for the ride, which guaranteed I wouldn’t sink into any bah-humbug mood. We arrived at the National Christmas Center with no problem and pulled into the parking lot of this large but unassuming building. Even the enormous Christmas trees outside didn’t seem that out of place (at least for this time of year).
As soon as we walked in the door, it was Christmas--1944 to be exact. “The War Years” display contained a very lifelike figure in a Navy uniform decorating a tree filled with shiny ornaments. Next to it, a case full of paper Nativities from the 1890s to the 1920s and on the other side of the room a Nativity scene with a stable from the 1880s.
Mary stopped right there and said, “I didn’t expect this. I thought it was a shop.” She was thrilled to be mistaken. Now she understands one of my cardinal rules for traveling, learned while I was writing The Best Places You’ve Never Seen: Pennsylvania’s Small Museums: Don’t ever judge a place by its name, its size, or its outward appearance; walk inside first.
The admission table at the National Christmas Center, and the official beginning of the tour, started in the next room with a “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” display, including a photocopy of the original letter Virginia O’Hanlon wrote to the New York Sun in 1897 and a desk from the home of Clement Moore, author of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Now it was my turn to be surprised--and pleased. I love the authentic. They may say “Center” but I’ll happily say “museum!”
From that introduction we were left to wander through on our own. Room after room of Christmas. First stop--Christmas around the world. Life-size figures of gift-givers like Grandfather Frost of Russia and St. Lucia of Sweden, standing in a setting. Then one of my favorites--a replica of the first F. W. Woolworth’s in Lancaster, which opened in the 1880s. Dolls! Fire trucks! Sea monkeys! I had to resist picking things up because it looked so much like the five-and-ten I remember (the original “dollar store”).
One of the best things about the National Christmas Center is that visitors get to walk among the displays. Not everything is behind a glass case. We got to see things up-close and life-size. That really helped evoke the warm-and-fuzzy.
But not all Christmas memories are fond ones. While I was looking at a silver tree with its rotating color wheel, two women walked behind me and one said, “We had a rotating silver tree, but the dog kept chasing it and knocked it down. I was so glad. Trees aren’t supposed to be silver! I hated that tree!”
A highlight for us was the walk through Tudor Towne, a little storybook village. Open books in front of colorful scenes told the story of Meggie and Jestifer and a visit from Father Christmas. We read each chapter aloud as we walked through the display and booed the evildoers at every turn.
So much more than can fit on this page--the history of Santa and Coca-Cola. Clear (barley sugar) toys. A 1950s Christmas. How “Christmas gardens” turned into the elaborate villages we see today. I’ll leave the “under the tree” magic for the visitor to discover. The tour ends on a more serious and very interesting look at the world Jesus was born into.
This visit was--and I’m sorry I have to say it--educational, but don’t let that turn you off. It was really interesting. My favorite was discovering how they make ornaments. Mary added hand motions to show me because when she was a student she worked at Shiny Brite near York. (The things you learn traveling with someone!)
On the way out I met curator Jim Morrison (aka Santa Jr.--he’s not kidding), who started the Christmas Center, and museum director Jennifer McElhany. She told me that the all the very lifelike people-figures in the Center are Life-Cast figures, a process originally started by Ray and Mary Daub for department store displays. While Santa Jr. may have started the Center, he’s not alone in his “obsession.” Some of the collection we saw came from the former American Christmas Museum collection of Judy and Dave Murtagh in Chadds Ford.
After all that touring, we were famished. The café right next door has sandwiches and snacks, which came in handy since we spent literally hours in the museum.
Refreshed and Christmas-ized, we pondered not a minute about where we would head next. The Rockvale Square Outlets! After all, it was on the way home. And we did need to buy some gifts. In fact, I’d done my homework. Their website (www.rockvaleosquareutlets.com) lists stores’ special offers so I already knew where I needed to be. Mary bought a few ornaments at Lenox, I tried on shoes at Bass, we loaded up on giftwrap at the Paper Factory. It was a great time.
We ended the day the way every shopper should--a very relaxing dinner at the Bistro at the Netherlands Inn and Spa (formerly the Strasburg Inn), right down the road from Rockvale. It was truly a day spent in Paradise.
Where to Eat
The true diner experience
Jennie’s Diner 2275 Lincoln Hwy E Lancaster, PA 17602 717-397-2507
Right across the street from Rockvale
Lemon Grass Thai Restaurant 2481 Lincoln Hwy East. Lancaster, PA 17602 717-295-1621 www.thailemongrass.com
For a relaxed meal
The Bistro Netherlands Inn & Spa One Historic Drive Strasburg, PA 17579 800-872-0201 info@netherlandsinn.com
Where to Stay
After Eight Bed & Breakfast 2942 Lincoln Highway East P.O. Box 24 Paradise, PA 17562 888-314-3664 www.aftereightbnb.com
Best Western Revere Tavern 3063 Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) P.O. Box 336 Paradise, PA 17562-0336 (717) 687-8601 www.reveretavern.com
Netherlands Inn & Spa One Historic Drive Strasburg, PA 17579 800.872.0201 info@netherlandsinn.com
What to Do
National Christmas Center 3427 Lincoln Highway East Paradise, PA 17562 717-442-7950 www.nationalchristmascenter.com
Board Santa’s Paradise Express!
Strasburg Railroad Rt. 741 East Strasburg, PA 17579 717-687-7522 www.strasburgrailroad.com
Christmas show runs through Dec. 30
American Music Theatre 2425 Lincoln Hwy East P.O. Box 10757 Lancaster, PA 17605 800-648-4102
