Travel NC With Kids: The Christmas Shop and General Store

The Christmas Shop and General Store in Manteo NC © Katrena

Go ahead, look back at the date. I realize April is not anywhere near Christmas, but my crew tends to celebrate holidays at any time of year. After working as a cancer nurse for nearly 18 years and losing quite a few relatives suddenly, I decided that any holiday is fair game on any given day!

Star Trek Themed Room at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

I last visited this shop about 25 years ago, but I remember how much fun it was to look at the vast supply of ornaments and other holiday items way back then.

Fun Things to do in the Outer Banks © Katrena

My kids and I were headed back from a short vacation at the Outer Banks, so I thought it would be fun to visit the store again. For me to say I enjoyed going to a store is a big deal - I typically despise shopping and would rather go to the dentist than to shop.

Fun Rainy Day Activities at the Outer Banks © Katrena

The store is easy to find. It is located at 621 S. Highway 64 in Manteo. It is very close to The Lost Colony theatre and the NC Aquarium at Roanoke. You could easily make an entire day of those three activities.

Glass Ornaments at The Christmas Shop in Manteo, NC © Katrena

The Christmas Shop and General Store is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Apparently, the store closed for a few years, but the owner, Mr. Green, got a bit bored and wanted to open his shop again. This resulted in some challenges as the Christmas items and huge supply of antiques had been sold when the store closed. But folks who are determined simply look at challenges as another opportunity and keep moving forward.

Antique Organ at the Christmas Shop at OBX © Katrena

I don't have a good memory of exactly what the store had 25 years ago, but I was impressed with how the shop was set up, decorated, and themed. The shop looks to be an old house, or perhaps several houses connected, and each room or area features similar items.

Wizard of Ox Nutcrackers © Katrena

The very first thing that caught my kids' eyes were the nutcrackers in the check-out area as you enter the building. They were characters from The Wizard of Oz. Anything Oz is going to be a favorite with my kids, and from that point, my kids knew they would like this store.

The Christmas Story Ornaments © Katrena

There were quite a few nostalgic areas with items related to old TV shows and movies, such as I Love Lucy, Star Trek, The Christmas Story, The Wizard of Oz, etc. Many of the rooms and hallways had trees decorated with various ornaments and decorations that were for sale.

Nutcracker Room at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

One room featured different types and sizes of nutcrackers. Some of them were pretty unusual, perhaps an idea for someone who collects nutcrackers.

Minions at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

They also had quite a few themed areas featuring newer items, such as Minions, Frozen, and Disney princesses. The store had items younger boys would like, but since my crew is all girls, we didn't linger in those areas!

Antique Baby Doll at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

My youngest particularly liked the room for new additions to the family. That area had several antique baby dolls and an old play stove. According to my source, the store has fewer antiques than it did before, but the ones they have are nicely displayed.

Pet-themed Room at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

Several ornaments could be customized, with space for adding a name, such as in the pet room where they had a good variety of ornaments resembling various types of dogs and cats. They have an area at the check-out where staff will personalize items.

Beautiful and Unusual Ornaments at Manteo Christmas Shop © Katrena

One large room had several Christmas trees and many different types of glass ornaments. Some looked to be blown glass. They also had brightly colored thicker glass decorations and wild animals featured in this room.

Beach-themed Room at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

Another area featured beach-themed ornaments and items. After all, we were in Manteo, right by the ocean. We saw a few pirate-themed items as well.

Handmade Soup and Other Items at The Christmas Shop and General Store in Manteo © Katrena

Moving farther back in the store, I noticed a nativity area and another large room, this time with more of a country store feel. Jewelry, hand-made soap with fairly intricate designs, and some shells caught my kids' eyes.

Sports-themed Room at The Christmas Shop © Katrena

A sports-themed area beckoned to those who enjoy the thrill of the game. They had a pretty wide selection of different teams in that area.

Halloween-themed Room at The Christmas Shop in OBX © Katrena

Past the sports area was a hallway that led down to several Halloween-themed rooms. If you have folks in your group who are frightened by scary figures and items, I wouldn't recommend taking them through this one, but this is off to the side, so it is easy to skip.

Halloween Room Like a Haunted House at Manteo Christmas Shop © Katrena

The Halloween area lighting is low, and quite a few of the figures are motion activated. You have to go through several doorways to see all of the Halloween areas, and the area gives you the sense of walking through a haunted house. If you have people in your group who love all things Halloween, you might have to drag said members out of this area.

Suncatchers at The Christmas Shop and General Store © Katrena

You can bypass the Halloween area by turning left and heading down another hall toward a large room. This one has fudge, candy, magnets, suncatchers, and more. This area reminded me a little of The Candy Shoppe in Salisbury, NC.

Several halls are lined with artwork, perhaps reminiscent of when Mr. Green and Andy Griffith would sit by the road in front of what would become the store and sell paintings many years ago.

I *think* I found all of the rooms at The Christmas Shop and General Store. Although I had planned to run in for 30 minutes or so, we ended up exploring for about an hour and a half. All of the people who worked in the store were very friendly and helpful.

The store looks to be accessible with a ramp going to the front door and fairly wide aisles for maneuvering. You might contact the store if you have special needs as they would have more specific information on that.

We visited during the off season and there were very few other customers, but I would think this store could hold quite a few people browsing due to the many rooms and shopping areas. We could have checked out very quickly, but we chatted a while since nobody else was waiting in line behind us. Like I said, everyone was very friendly!

I don't typically purchase Christmas ornaments, so I'm not a good one to rate the prices. Many of the ornaments were running $10 and up. My oldest daughter said this was her favorite activity of our trip to the Outer Banks. Particularly if you run into a rainy day while at the OBX, this would be a great idea with the potential to be memorable and fun.

NOTE: I wrote this article because this shop interested my group and we enjoyed the experience. I did not ask for or receive anything from this store to write this article. I can tell that a lot of effort has gone into bringing this Christmas shop back to life. For more information, including hours, visit The Christmas Shop and General Store official web site.