Last year, my wife and I celebrated Christmas by visiting one of Michigan’s most Christmasy towns, Frankenmuth. We saw a brochure for this town and had to see it for ourselves. Of course, I added other stops since it was a lengthy drive for a two-day affair.
We started our journey to Frankenmuth on Friday night, leaving work and heading to Sarnia. Being the Christmas time of year, private citizens decorate their homes for the occasion. I mapped out the houses featured on the Celebration of Lights Sarnia webpage, and we viewed as many as possible before heading to our hotel.
Saturday, we crossed the border into Michigan and stopped at waterfalls and museums before we entered our goal, the town of Frankenmuth. Here, we would see the largest Christmas store we had ever visited, Bronners. After that, we would walk downtown, checking out the decorations and the incredible shops on the street. Every one of these merchants had some of the best quality items at reasonable prices. We tried to find the gnomes hidden around town, but because this is a popular tourist destination, finding the gnomes was hard to do because of the crowds.
After celebrating Christmas, shopping and wishing we had a bigger wallet, we would end our day in a motel. Sunday was the drive back, but only after visiting another Christmas-themed location, Meadow Brook Hall and Garden. Being Christmas, we would have to stop at a Walmart and Meijer before heading home.
Generally, I would have wanted three days, not two, for a trip of this distance. Still, celebrating this festive season together was very enjoyable. Our Christmas gift to each other is the gift of time spent. I can think of nothing better than spending time with my wife.
Places visited on this two-day weekend trip:
- Bayshore Park and Celebration of Lights Sarnia
- Stepping Stone Falls
- Silent Night at Bronner’s
- Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland
- Castle Museum of Saginaw County History
- Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum
- Frankenmuth downtown, stores, displays, and private homes decorated for the season
- Meadow Brook Hall and Gardens
To download the itinerary (no background images) – smaller file:
To download the itinerary (with background images) – larger file:
A Google Map that shows all the destinations.
