​​Christmas Cottage in Lincoln City celebrates 50 years of year-round holiday magic

There’s an ongoing debate about when it’s best to start celebrating Christmas. Some say after Halloween is fine, while others insist that the day after Thanksgiving is the only respectable time to begin decorating. However, for Barbe Jenkins-Gibson, owner of the Christmas Cottage in Lincoln City, year-round celebration works just fine.

In May, the store celebrated 50 years of spreading Christmas cheer. Although Oregon’s year-round Christmas store scene has expanded a bit, the Christmas Cottage remains a popular destination for visitors along the Oregon coast.

The almost 3,000-square-foot store off U.S. 101 spans across two brightly colored pink buildings, filled to the brim with themed ornaments and holiday decor. From the moment you cross the threshold, Christmas music and over-the-top holiday decor welcome you. Thousands of ornaments decorate the space, hanging on lime green walls, spinning displays and Christmas trees sprinkled throughout the store.

Themed categories range from the usual suspects of Santa Clauses, snowmen, and angels to more unusual collections featuring dog breeds, food items, and Oregon coast scenes. The store also carries nutcrackers, nativities, puzzles and Halloween decor. Items come from all over the world: Europe, Egypt, San Francisco and local makers from the coast.

In 1974, Jenkins-Gibson set out to open what was Oregon’s only year-round Christmas store at the time. Her business model was based on having no competition — an idea that worked out for her, although it made opening her store more challenging.

“It was kind of a strange thing,” said Jenkins-Gibson. “When I went to the bank to see if I could get a loan to start my business, they told me I’d lost my grasp of reality and I needed to get psychiatric help [when] I told him I wanted to start a Christmas store.”

Undeterred by multiple loan rejections, Jenkins-Gibson found her own path to open the store.

“I took my life savings to the US Bank and I borrowed back against it and got started,” Jenkins-Gibson said. “And it was small for a long time and now it’s as big as we could handle.”

The store has grown steadily over the past 50 years, doubling in size in 1999 when a second building was purchased. Every day, there’s been a sale, said Jenkins-Gibson. Particularly during the latter half of the year, the store remains busy with lines at each of the four registers.

The Christmas Cottage is open 363 days a year, closing only for Thanksgiving and Christmas, when Jenkins-Gibson says she likes to take a break and spend time with her husband, Bob Gibson.

“Sometimes on Christmas Eve, we’ll just go to Portland, stay for a couple nights and go to a theater Saturday just to take a break,” Jenkins-Gibson said.

Employee Erin Caspers-Holmes has been working at the Christmas Cottage since 1997. She was 16 years old when she started and says she couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.

“I know this is probably hard to believe, but I enjoy coming to work every day,” Caspers-Holmes said. “I just don’t feel like it’s work. I enjoy it very much.”

Working with Jenkins-Gibson has also taught her a lot about caring for the community and forming strong relationships with customers, Caspers-Holmes said.

Although she didn’t study business, Jenkins-Gibson graduated from the University of Portland in 1964 with a degree in sociology, a field that she says has helped her maintain connections with customers and create a strong culture of return business.

“The most important thing to all of us is good customer service,” Jenkins-Gibson said. “Because that’s the only thing we can give that other people can’t buy.… We really pride ourselves in that.”

Jenkins-Gibson has known generations of families and regulars who continue to return for annual Christmas traditions.

“Barb knows so many, many, many families,” Caspers-Holmes said. “They’re not just a customer, they’re friends. Some of them, we could probably just go ahead and say, ‘We love that family,’ because we’ve grown with them.”

The store draws in visitors from all over the world, Caspers-Holmes said. With so many ornament styles and Christmas knick knacks, there’s something for everyone.

“We are a major asset to the town,” said Caspers-Holmes, who has lived in Lincoln City since she was 3 years old.

People who visit Lincoln City make time to stop by the store for some holiday magic, no matter the season, Jenkins-Gibson said.

“We’re not selling anything anybody needs,” Caspers-Holmes said. “But it’s the experience and the time that they have here, that’s why they come.”

Christmas Cottage, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, 3305 S.W. Highway 101, Lincoln City, 541- 996-2230, christmascottage.net

— Chiara Profenna covers religion, faith and cultural connections. Reach her at 503-221-4327; cprofenna@oregonian.com or @chiara_profenna

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