Facing rising rents at the former location of her year-round Christmas decor shop, Gale Griswold made a difficult decision as 2025 began: shut down temporarily and reopen in time for the holiday season. It was a gamble, and with Christmas approaching, she hopes it pays off.
Christmas & Gifts by Gale recently opened with a new name and a new location at Edison Mall in Fort Myers, just inside the main entrance at 4125 Cleveland Ave., Unit 1400, across from Books-A-Million. The move positions the store for the peak of Christmas shopping.
Owner Gale Griswold stands inside her newly opened Christmas & Gifts by Gale shop at Edison Mall. Griswold hand-paints ornaments and designs most of the store’s holiday decor.
David Dorsey
Previously known as Gale’s Gifts and operating at Bell Tower Shops from October 2023 through the end of 2024, Griswold wanted the new name to emphasize “Christmas” for better online search visibility.
Griswold jokes that she’s not related to the fictional Griswold family from the holiday classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Each year she spends January through September hand-painting ornaments and designing wreaths and trees — her top three sellers.
But this year, that stretch also included searching for a new location. She chose Edison Mall, where she has significantly less space — 1,370 square feet compared with 6,500 square feet — but also far lower rent. She pays $2,500 per month there, compared with the $4,500 she paid at Bell Tower last December under a percentage-based rent agreement that charged her 20% of sales. The more she sold, the higher the rent.
The main entrance to Edison Mall in Fort Myers, where Christmas & Gifts by Gale recently relocated. The shop sits across from Books-A-Million near Entrance B.
David Dorsey
“I took all summer long trying to find another place,” said Griswold, who has lived in Fort Myers since 1976. “I’m planning on making it a year-round place.”
The space previously housed The Hideout, a bakery. Griswold said she used about 16 gallons of paint to refresh the store.
“I had 45 days to clean,” she said. “It was a tight window.”
Prices vary: ornaments range from $15 to $25; decorated trees from $35 to $375; and decorated wreaths from $75 to $275. Griswold does almost all the decorating and painting herself.
She also offers custom work. Recently, she designed red ribbons to decorate a client’s kitchen for the holidays.
“Ornaments are always my No. 1 seller,” Griswold said. “For the last week, sales are really starting to pick up.”