MINT HILL, NC – Saturday, December 10, promises to be a day full of shopping and holiday fun when the 4th annual Christmas Pop Up comes to Mint Hill’s Town Hall Circle.
The idea behind the Pop Up Christmas Shop is simple: to encourage people to do their holiday shopping locally! “Our members in the retail space were growing concerned that what you could purchase for holiday gifts in the Mint HIll community was growing limited,” explains Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paige McKinney. “We wanted to create something that would showcase the value that local retailers bring to our community and encourage people to shop local instead of heading to big box stores or shop online.”
The Pop Up Christmas Shop provides exposure for brick and mortar stores located off Mint Hill’s main roads as well as local craftspeople who work out of their homes. It allows all Mint Hill’s businessmen and women to showcase what they have to offer for the holidays. Ultimately, it’s all about showing what Mint Hill has to offer and encouraging people to shop local.
If you’ve come to the Pop Up Christmas Shop in the past, you can expect it to look quite similar to past years. About 30 vendors will be set up around the Town Hall circle; there will be complimentary hot chocolate and food trucks arranged by Pour 64.
The Pop Up Christmas Shop’s main focus is shopping local, so vendors must be located within a 15-mile radius of Mint Hill. Unlike the recent holiday markets at the Mint Hill Historical Society and Blair Road United Methodist Church, the goods for sale do not need to be hand-made. They do, however, need to be products and not services – in other words, good gifting options for boxing up and put under your tree.
“It needs to be a take-home item, not a service,” explains McKinney. “We promote services so much here at the Chamber; this is a great way to promote physical products you can wrap up and put under the tree.”
In just four short hours, last year’s Pop Up Christmas Shop was able to keep over $21k in sales in the Mint Hill Community. “That’s just a great success story for economic development in our community,” says McKinney.
In conjunction with the Pop Up Christmas Shop, the Chamber of Commerce is holding a Toy Drive for Bright Blessings, a volunteer-led organization that aims to impact the lives of homeless and impoverished children. The Chamber encourages everyone to give back this holiday season by bringing a new, unopened toy on Saturday.
Strolling past the 16-foot tall Christmas tree to the sounds of Christmas music with a complimentary hot chocolate in your hand is sure to be a true “Hallmark Movie Moment” in our small town that you won’t want to miss. The 4th annual Pop Up Christmas Shop will take place on December 10 from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
