Gingerbread house to take center stage at open house

Sparkling cardboard peppermint pinwheels and an elf grinning from ear to ear greet customers walking through the front door of The Barn, an antiques and consignment store on Montana 82.

Both are part of a large gingerbread house display that owner Carol Hill said continues seven years of Christmas tradition at The Barn. Last Friday the display and the store were getting finishing touches of holiday cheer leading up to this weekend’s annual Christmas Open House.

“Just a fun little celebration to kick off the Christmas season,” Hill said. “The whole store gets transformed.”

Every year, The Barn has a large holiday display that introduces guests to the rest of the store. Last year’s display was centered around a huge sleigh filled with toys. This year Mrs. Claus is baking cookies inside the gingerbread house and Santa is outside, getting his toys ready.

Hill said every piece of furniture in The Barn gets moved around or put in storage and replaced by something reminiscent of the holiday season. Electric Avenue Gifts, Bella Baby, Carol Nelson Design, Red Wool Slippers, Texas-McGraw, Bear Mountain Mercantile, Stone Chair and King’s Antique all transform their consignment spaces into winter wonderlands.

“We’ve got just phenomenal customers who bring in the most awesome stuff,” Hill said. “We mix a bit of the new in with the old.”

The Barn is an antique dealer with large cubbyhole rooms against both sides for their own displays and the customers they consign items for. Re-furbished cupboards, stoves and antique knick-knacks are mixed in with new scarves, lotions, jewelry and furniture.

Hill said they like to dedicate the store to Christmas around the holiday season because they believe celebrating the birth of Christ is important. At least five decorated Christmas trees will be on display and a smattering of green, gold and red color will take over the center of the store.

The open house begins this Friday from 6-9 p.m. with music, snacks and beverages and will continue on Saturday and Sunday. Santa Claus will be at The Barn from noon to 3 p.m. to take photos with the kids. The Barn will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.