BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Nestled in the Christmas City is a little shop devoted to everything holly and jolly. The store, Dear Santa not only allows visitors to shop for unique holiday gifts, but enjoy a Christmas experience.
It is owned by Santa himself. Manager Karen Dodge said, “My brother-in-law has been the Christmas City Santa in this area for about seven years now and every Christmas he talked to our family about opening a Christmas store.”
That dream finally came through when the perfect spot on Main Street opened up right across from Hotel Bethlehem. Dodge said, “He jumped on it.”
He recruited family, like Dodge to help run it. “I was a teacher for 31 years in Maryland,” she said. “He called me up and he said would you be my manager?”
The store is filled with unique handcrafted gifts, welcoming visitors from around the world.
“They love saying, I was in Denmark and I saw something like this, or I had something like this when I was a little boy,” said Dodge.
You can even get a piece of the North Pole. Dodge said the retired reindeer bells are their most popular gift they sell.
Holding one up she said, “This is the tag that says that it was worn by Dasher and it was retired due to general wear and tear.”
Just like the North Pole, there’s a workshop where kids can play with trains, a tea set, and write a letter to Santa. “There’s even a little door that leads to the elf workshop and if you listen closely, you can hear them working.”
Outside of the shop sits a special reindeer with a fitting name, Boop.
“His name is Boop because when people boop his nose, it brings some good luck,” said Dodge.
Open year-round Dear Santa hopes to bring good luck and Christmas cheer. Dodge said, “We hope we can continue to bring joy to Bethlehem.”