Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
In the December edition of Checkouts, retailers shared how they bring holiday joy to their customers and communities. Here, we share several more examples of the different ways retailers are making the holidays bright.
Happy Helpers Decorate Hardware Store
Lee and Terri Stolz, owners of Hometown Hardware Store in Union, Oregon, welcome elf-sized helpers to decorate the store. The local elementary school classes make ornaments and then bring them to the store to hang on the community tree. During the town’s annual Christmas parade, which travels in front of the store, the Stoltzes open their doors for families to see Santa and grab a drink at the store’s espresso and liquor bar to warm up their chilly hands.
“The kids love it. When we have our annual Christmas parade they get to stop in to visit with Santa and see their ornaments on the tree,” Terri says. “It means the world to us to have such a community orientated event. It’s all about the kids.”
Walking in a Winter Wonderland
When customers walk through the doors of Charlie’s Hardware & Rental in Mosinee, Wisconsin, they will feel like they’re in a snow globe in the Winter Wonderland tent. Owners Jeff and Pamela Kyhos set up the holiday scene that includes a family of snowmen, mesmerizing Christmas lights and plenty of holiday decor to shop.
Reining in the Holidays
At Ossian Do it Best Hardware in Ossian, Indiana, customers can kick off the holiday season at the store’s annual Reindeer Day. Owner Eventt Norris says the store has hosted the event for the last 13 years, which includes visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, holiday crafts, decorating sugar cookies, scavenger hunts and meeting live reindeer.
For Norris, the event isn’t about making money or bringing in more customers, but it’s about giving back to the community. 
“It’s about seeing the kid’s faces light up when they see Santa and his reindeer and seeing families come year after year to capture a memory and enjoy a tradition,” Norris says. “It’s about watching the kids decorate the sugar cookies that my daughters baked the night before in our kitchen and then watching their faces light up when they get to add all the sprinkles they want! It’s about serving others and giving.”
