LITTLETON, Colo. — Shawn Sealy starts the day by opening the back door of his business and heading straight to the breaker boxes — turning on Christmas whether it's March, June or September.
Let me explain.
Sealy and his family own St. Nick’s in Littleton, a year-around Christmas store located near W. Belleview Avenue and US 85.
“We’re one of the largest and the oldest Christmas stores in the country”, Sealy told Denver7 recently, as he explained customers wait out in the old, even in 17-degree weather, for St. Nick’s to open its doors.
“Our ornament selection is second to none in my opinion”, Sealy said.
The Sealy family started a little Christmas store 49 years ago in the old Cinderella City shopping mall in Englewood before outgrowing the space and relocating. Since then, the family has seen generations of customers come through the store.
“That’s what makes it special, we’ve been part of people’s lives for a long time. We have that connection,” Sealy said.
Kathleen Hodgen, who Denver7 encountered roaming the isles, said her friends brought her here, and realized, without knowing, she had already spent about three hours in the store.
But customers roaming the store won’t see it all. In fact, they may miss a version of Santa dancing, and the Santa with icicles, and a surfing Santa, or Flamingos in trees, and rubber chicken ornaments, Polaroid camera ornaments, cassette tape ornaments, and there’s even Halloween ornaments here at St. Nick's.
But Sealy thinks people don’t come here only for a Christopher Radko ornament. He thinks they come for something they can’t buy.
“People come here just to be treated nice, it’s like a bonus”, Sealy said.
Sure, if you’re a dog lover, or a cat person, or you couldn’t find a guinea pig, it’s all here. But it’s the connection to the community that makes all this special.
“I think it’s a lost art in retail, how you’re treated. We’re so happy that people still come here 49 years later, and people come bringing their kids, and that’s our favorite part”, Sealy said.
