Welcome to Beamer’s Holiday Beat, Bronner’s enewsletter for everyone who shares Wally Bronner’s and my passion for Christmas. (Wally asked me to tell you there are only 203 days until Christmas!)

New items have begun arriving this spring. Bronner’s receiving department will be bursting at the seams as new product arrival peaks in July and exciting, new items quickly make their way into the store.

Wonder what’s going to be hot this fall? Personalization is huge again this year. Bronner’s offers free personalization on a large selection of ornaments in addition to stockings, Santa hats, and snowman and penguin wall plaques accommodating personalization for up to 10 family members. New inflatables this year include an animated penguin with a baby, a snow globe with a Nativity, an animated Santa in a chair, an animated Santa in a car, and a snow globe with a turkey and a pumpkin. Lighted street signs featuring Santa, a reindeer and a snowman are new this year, along with lighted, 4½-foot door greeters available in elves, reindeer and gingerbread.

Retro-look lighted plastic and paper-mache ornaments are making a comeback. Nostalgic, blinking plastic bells should also be popular, along with red and black artificial trees. Trendy colors for Christmas 2007 include platinum, silvers and black/red/silver combinations.

I really enjoy hearing from you so please take time to answer my survey question about Nativity scenes. Responses will appear in survey form in the next quarterly e-newsletter.

Thank you for inviting me into your home. You’re welcome at my home, www.bronners.com or 25 Christmas Lane in Frankenmuth, all year long!

Celebrate your love of summer with our grilling Santa tabletop display.

Bronner’s is offering an in-store, summer shipping special for guests who have little or no space in their vehicles to take home purchases from Bronner’s. We’re extending this special to web and phone orders for a limited time. During June, Bronner’s enewsletter readers can receive FREE REGULAR GROUND SHIPPING on any retail order of $100 or more sent to one address in the continental U.S. Any oversize or other additional charges still apply. Be sure to enter the coupon code WEB100 at checkout or mention at time of phone order. Not valid on prior orders. Offer expires June 30, 2007.

Big Bad Guy is Christmas Buff at Heart
World Wrestling Entertainment bad guy Mankind, a.k.a. Mick Foley, is a softy at heart who loves Christmas and keeps a Christmas room at his house year-round. Mankind visited Bronner’s on Tuesday, April 24, 2007, and was spotted by WWE fan Lynn Harry (trims department).

“He was so nice. (A) wonderful guy,” said Carrie Sebold (web merchandising department), who took a photo of Mankind with Chad Harry (receiving department), Lynn Harry and Dan Sebold (visual merchandising department).

“Gnome” Where to Go The Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce/Convention & Visitors Bureau recently reported the “discovery” of a colony of gnomes in Frankenmuth. These gnomes traveled with Frankenmuth’s original settlers on the S.S. Carolina and settled in the riverbank along the Cass River. Recently disturbed by the construction of the Marv Herzog Hotel, the gnomes are now looking for new homes at Frankenmuth businesses.

Paint-N-Go Primes Its Brushes
Bronner’s Paint-N-Go promotion will begin June 29 and run daily through Labor Day. The painter will be located in section 8. Guests may order Paint-N-Go personalized ornaments at the personalization counter in sections 7 and 8. The ornament(s) will be available for pickup at the counter in one or two hours. After Labor Day, this service will be available weekends only through September.

One Christmas in the mid 1960s, Wally Bronner handpainted names on ornaments as gifts for staff members’ children. Because requests for the ornaments began coming in, Bronner’s started a personalized ornament department in 1967.

Bronner’s Is Reader’s Choice
Bronner’s was recently voted the #1 unique store by Oakland Press (northern metro Detroit) readers. A listing of winners in various categories was printed in an award section in the May 6 Oakland Press. Thank you, readers, for the honor!

Joy 361 Frankenmuth’s Finest Cache
Bronner’s joined the world of geocaching (gee-oh-cashing) on Tuesday, May 15, with the placement of a cache on the Bronner property. Geocaching is a growing, entertaining adventure game (similar to a treasure hunt) for GPS (Global Positioning System) users. A GPS unit is an electronic device that can determine a location within roughly six to 20 feet using coordinates given typically in terms of latitude and longitude. Geocachers use the GPS unit to navigate from one location to another in search of a cache (a type of treasure in a weatherproof container).

People set up caches worldwide and register the locations of these caches on the Internet. A cache generally holds a log, various small rewards, and often a “travel bug” that is trying to reach a particular destination with the help of cachers. (A travel bug is an item that is tagged so its movement can be tracked by entering the tag’s ID number online.) When a geocacher takes an item from a cache, he is asked to replace it with something else of value. When it was first placed, Bronner’s cache held a first-finder prize, travel bug on a silver bell, stickers, small toys, etc.

Thank you to Wendy Taylor (customer service department) and her husband Wayne for setting up Joy 361 Frankenmuth’s Finest Cache for Bronner’s. (The Taylors, experienced geocachers, are members of the Cass River Cachers.) For more information on geocaching, visit www.geocaching.com.

Summer Blooms in Frankenmuth Summer is a great time of year to visit Frankenmuth! The downtown area resembles a floral garden filled with a variety of plants and hanging baskets. Visit www.frankenmuth.org

WJR Radio interviews Wally Bronner

Wally Bronner and Dorothy Zehnder (Bavarian Inn Restaurant) were interviewed by Paul W. Smith with News/Talk 760 WJR (Detroit) during a remote broadcast from the Bavarian Inn Lodge on May 11, 2007.