Popular Retail Chain From 18 Years Ago Is Making A Comeback With New 10 Stores

This year, Spirit will be keeping some of its locations open long after Halloween and rebranding as Spirit Christmas for the first time in 18 years. Spirit Christmas will be available in up to ten locations in the Northeast, with some as an extension of Spirit Halloween and the rest new.

The stores promise a unique shopping experience featuring holiday decorations, gifts, Christmas-themed clothing, plus a meet and greet with Santa Claus at the locations. Guests can book their session with Santa– which comes with a free digital photo, via the website.

Why is Spirit Christmas back?

Founder Joseph Marver noted in 1990 that prolonging their two-month lease by another three months for a Christmas offer was an awesome idea. However, it was not a success for the most part. There were a couple of flopped attempts in the 2000s, and the company has decided to shelve the offer until now.

The first store opens in a week at Mays Landing in New Jersey, while other locations including New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts will follow suit in November. Customers can look forward to a life-size Gingerbread village, where they can find out if they have been naughty or nice via a mail issued to the North Pole.

Customers react as Spirit announces Christmas return

Customers have responded to the announcement from Spirit, with many noting that Halloween is not even here yet and Christmas is already getting commercialized. “I remember when Christmas items didn’t come out until after Thanksgiving, now they are brought out late August, early September,” someone complained.

Another explained that some people actually shop at the stores months before Christmas, hence why the retailers provide early holiday stock. “This having holiday stuff in stores early has been going on for a long time,” they noted. “When I was growing up, Christmas items came out after Thanksgiving,” a 70-year-old argued further.