Bronners CHRISTmas Wonderland

Bronners CHRISTmas Wonderland is the anchor of Frankenmuth and one of the great roadside institutions of the Midwest. Founded in the 1940s by Wallace Bronner, who began by painting signs and decorating for local businesses, it grew into what is billed as the largest Christmas store in the world, a showroom so large that first-time visitors are routinely handed a map and a shopping basket in the same breath. Inside, hundreds of decorated trees stand among aisles of ornaments, nativity sets, nutcrackers, village pieces, artificial greenery and lights, and the whole thing is staged so that it feels more like walking through a series of holiday rooms than through a store. It is open nearly every day of the year, which means you can wander beneath twinkling trees on a July afternoon, and admission is free, which is why it works equally well as a quick look or a half-day outing. Many families treat it as the single non-negotiable stop in town, and plenty of couples drive in from across the state just to buy a new ornament for the year.

Bring a plan, because the scale takes people by surprise. The ornament department alone runs to thousands of pieces, including glass, wood, felted and personalized designs, and the staff will add a name or date to many of them while you browse. There are sections devoted to specific themes, from traditional European-style decorations to coastal, woodland and collegiate trees, and a wide range of lights and nativity scenes for people who collect them.

Expect to spend at least an hour even if you are only looking, and two or three if you are shopping for a household. Strollers and wheelchairs are common, aisles are broad, and benches appear at regular intervals, so older visitors and small children generally manage fine.

Outside, the grounds are part of the draw. The Silent Night Memorial Chapel is a replica of the small church in Oberndorf, Austria, where the carol was first performed, and it stands as a quiet, free place to stop and read about the song, with the lyrics shown in many languages. During the holiday season the property is covered in lights and becomes one of the most photographed spots in the region, and a visit after dark in December is a Frankenmuth tradition in its own right.

Parking is plentiful, but on busy weekends in the run-up to Christmas the lots fill and traffic backs up on the road in, so arriving early in the day or on a weekday is wise.

Because the store is free to enter and open so widely, it pairs well with everything else on this page. Many visitors do Bronners in the morning, walk into the old town for a family-style chicken dinner, and cross the covered bridge afterward. Others split it by season: summer for the quiet aisles and spring and fall for the shoulder-season crowds, winter for the full spectacle.

Shipping is available if you fall in love with something too large for the car, and the staff are used to wrapping and boxing fragile items for the journey home. Check current hours with the store before you set out, especially around major holidays, since the schedule shifts a little through the year.