Linda Petrone’s love of Christmas has blossomed into a dedicated room for Christmas and winter decorations year round at her local store Copy Magic.

For years, Petrone would spend time setting up and taking down her seasonal items.

“I had a Christmas area in the front of the store but every year I would put it up, sell some of it and then take it down,” said Petrone.

A couple of years ago, a room next to Copy Magic was left empty.

Petrone then had the idea to put her Christmas and winter items in there year round and Christmas Cottage was born.

“I love Christmas and it just evolved. When the room became empty, I thought I'd keep everything up there all year.”

Petrone says the idea evolved when she was unpacking some of her seasonal things one year.

“I was unpacking stuff in July and had people asking if they could buy winter items then. That's how it evolved."

Petrone says that whenever the main store is open, so is the Christmas Cottage.

Petrone says the main reason she keeps the Cottage open year round is because things are selling.

“People buy all year round. Tourists come in and buy stuff from the Crowsnest Pass that's in there. Some people are looking for that unique granddaughter or grandmother gift and it's all in there.”

Petrone also says that everything in the Christmas Cottage is for sale.

“All of the items in our Christmas and winter area are for sale. If people aren't celebrating Christmas, they can still come in and see snowmen for example.”

When it comes to Christmas shopping, parents of young children can feel nervous about their children grabbing and possibly breaking certain items.

Petrone says she has a way to lessen the stress those parents may feel.

“Those parents can bring there little ones in and we will look after them. We have a separate little area in the Christmas Cottage that they can touch and feel and if anything breaks, it's my fault. Everything that's in there is kid friendly. We have some books in there, they can play with stuffies and they might even find a nice gift for their parents.”

Petrone also says she’s heard that her Christmas Cottage is similar to other Christmas stores in larger cities.

Petrone says she tries to make her service as personal as possible.

“It's personal service. If you come in and say you need a gift for a certain person, I'll ask questions to help target a specific gift for that person.”

Anyone interested in checking out the Christmas Cottage can do so Monday-Friday from 9:30am-5:30pm and Saturday’s from 12pm-4pm.

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