BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. – Dana Alyss starts many of her videos with a simple, bold premise.

“I’m trying to make a real-life Hallmark movie happen by saving a 100-year-old barn from being torn down by developers,” she said.

To anyone else, that might sound like the setup for a holiday script. But for the 38-year-old Lehigh Valley native and former television producer, it’s a high-stakes local crusade.

Alyss is fighting to revive The Christmas Barn, a historic year-round holiday shop in Bethlehem Township that closed its doors in 2007.

Dana Alyss is fighting to save a 100-year-old Christmas Barn in Bethlehem Township. (Contributed/Dana Alyss)

A nostalgic landmark on the block

Opened in the late 1960s, the Christmas Barn was an immersive wonderland for decades. 

Floor-to-ceiling displays overflowed with handcrafted ornaments, music boxes, intricate German windmills, tree toppers, and expansive Christmas village setups.

“I grew up going to The Christmas Barn,” Alyss said. “I loved listening to the music boxes and picking up the ornaments. It was Christmas any time of year, so when you needed your dose of Christmas, you could go there.”

Among her vivid memories is a towering piece of holiday history: a giant refurbished nutcracker standing guard in the lobby, straight from the iconic Radio City Music Hall.

But today, the doors are locked and the building stands silent.

“Right now, it’s like the ghost of Christmas past,” Alyss says. “But I want it to be the ghost of Christmas future.”

Preserving character in ‘Christmas City, U.S.A.’

The existential threat to the barn reflects a broader shift across the Lehigh Valley. As outside real estate interests move in, local landmarks are increasingly cleared for high-density development.

“You’d think we have more Christmas-related stores here in Christmas City, U.S.A., but developers are coming in and putting in generic medical buildings, apartments, and chain restaurants,” Alyss said. “We’re having our character taken away.”

The site of the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters, demolished in 2019, now sits mostly empty apart from a few medical office buildings. And the historic former Dixie Cup factory could be turned into hundreds of apartments. 

Currently listed for $1.9 million, the Christmas Barn property still sits untouched. But Alyss recognized that, without intervention, the century-old timber structure could easily be replaced by asphalt and concrete.

The Christmas Barn, a historic year-round holiday shop in Bethlehem Township, closed its doors in 2007. (Contributed/Dana Alyss)

She’s determined to bring the yuletide spirit back to her beloved Christmas Barn by pairing authentic restoration with modern community appeal.

“The vibe would be like a Pocono ski lodge, something that is cozy all year round,” Alyss said. “My vision is for people to grab a coffee and a muffin and walk around and shop.”

From viral dating feats to crowdfunded dreams

Alyss is no stranger to building a global audience. She launched a viral social media series titled “The Dating Hunger Games” while working in TV production.

One night, Alyss “swiped right” on all the profiles she matched with on a dating app. 

She woke up to 75 notifications and documented her dates on social media – keeping her suitors anonymous. 

The viral hit built her an international following of more than 80,000 people across the U.K., France, South Africa, Belgium, Japan, and Australia.

Now, she’s channeling that same digital network to save the barn.

She launched a GoFundMe to raise $200,000, enough to secure an agreement with the property owner, begin property inspections, and fund urgent structural fixes. 

So far, the campaign has raised almost $50,000, drawing micro-donations from supporters around the globe.

It even caught the eye of holiday royalty; Hallmark Channel star Candace Cameron Bure donated to the campaign.

“She was great. She told me she supported what I was doing,” Alyss said. “My dream is to have Hallmark film at the site.”

Alyss, whose friends nicknamed her “Buddy the Elf” for her lifelong obsession with the holiday, knows the clock is ticking in her race against commercial developers. But she remains convinced that grassroots support can outpace corporate checks.

“Even a $5 donation goes a long way,” Alyss says. “We need to get people to donate even just $5 to keep the momentum going.”