Merry Christmas! It’s Christmas everyday at Kris Kringl in Leavenworth, Washington

Do you start counting down the days until next Christmas as soon as you finish unwrapping the gifts from this Christmas? Are you one those people who love when stores have “Christmas in July” sales? Then, I have a place for you to visit. It’s located in the Washington’s Cascade mountains. Kris Kringl offers about 6,000 square feet of nothing but Christmas ornaments and decorations.

The nearly 30-year-old Christmas store in Leavenworth is worth the two-hour drive from Seattle. Leavenworth is a small town that transformed itself into a German village to help its tourism, which was a wonderful idea. The Christmas store fits Leavenworth’s eclectic style. Plus, come the holiday season, thousands visit the town on bus tours or via four-wheel drive vehicles.

I thought our visit to the store would be a quick one. Daughter Mallory and friends Thomas and Anita quickly regretted leading me into the holiday ornament nirvana. As soon as we walked in, I was like a kid in a candy store, or me in a Christmas store. Ornaments and decorations are grouped with themes, such as Christmas villages or Santa’s North Pole. Each display is immaculately organized.

Santa Claus flies in a sleigh above the second floor. The display is just one of a dozen or more you’ll love checking out during your visit.

I struggled in picking out the perfect ornaments for the family. When presented with thousands of ornaments, just when you think you have the right one, you see another “perfect” choice. I could have spent a few hundred dollars easily.

When you travel to the Seattle area, we recommend you plan a day trip to Leavenworth because you’ll love not only Kris Kringl, but the entire village.

For more information on Kris Kringl and Leavenworth, please visit www.kkringl.com and www.leavenworth.org.