No matter what your Christmas style is, you’re sure to find something at Tinseltown to add to your collection. While there are over 27,000 items in stock, including ornaments, figurines, fillable advent calendars, candles and more, the jam-packed shop is incredibly well organized by theme and colour. Like its sister shop next door, Marie Antoinette (which focuses on home décor items), the aesthetic at Tinseltown is riotously ‘over the top’. “We are proud to make a grand statement in support of the ‘more is more’ philosophy,” jokes Audy Czigler, who owns both shops with his mother Tonie.

You might wonder why a store dedicated to keeping the traditions, joyful spirit and festive décor of Christmas is open year-round. The answer is simple, according to Audy. “These days it seems like there is more demand than ever for a dose of happy nostalgia. We used to start seeing increased traffic in midsummer but this past year things kicked into high gear in June, which we interpret to mean that people really want to tap into their warmest memories in the face of so much global strife.”

Joy comes in many tangible forms at Tinseltown, including an expanded selection of Christmas trees, Italian-made Fontanini nativity figurines plus handmade European baubles, including gorgeous German glass reflector ornaments, which Audy says bring back a flood of memories among customers, many of whom recall poking their fingers into them as kids. Among the more unique decorations to be found is the December Diamonds collectible line of mermen and mermaids with a naughty twist.

So what about the pickle and the spider? In German tradition, the pickle was always the last ornament to be placed on the tree, hidden somewhere in the branches. On Christmas morning the first child to find the pickle would get a special Christmas present and could open their gifts first.

Spider ornaments relate to a Ukrainian folktale which explains the origin of tinsel, when spider webs magically turned to silver and gold on an impoverished family’s Christmas tree.

Audy notes that Tinseltown’s year-round offering of what he calls ‘intense Christmas’ involves careful sourcing of items that are as well-made as possible, but at a reasonable price point. “We want to make it appealing for people to shop locally to add that extra bling to their holiday collections. We love helping families reconnect with the past and make new memories.”

For more fresh FINDs from Wellington West, check back here every Tuesday!

Keyword tags: WWBIA, Wellington West, Ottawa, shop, local, Hintonburg, Christmas, year-round, ornaments, Christmas trees, advent, decorations, Santa, nativity, gifts, shop local, German Christmas Pickle, Ukrainian Christmas Spider