A new Christmas store is coming to Idaho Falls. You’re invited to the grand opening.
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IDAHO FALLS — A store will be opening in Idaho Falls this week, and the owner hopes it will become a new Christmas tradition for families.
Santa’s Magical Lights will have a grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. It’s located at 1941 Madison Avenue. The business started with Christmas light installation and has now expanded into a store, a lifelong dream for the owner, Erik Beck.
“I’m super excited about it; I can’t wait. I enjoy the holidays a lot. We offer all sorts of Christmas items. Christmas figurines, Santas, outdoor decorations, and nativity sets,” said Beck. “I have been a Christmas fanatic forever, as long as I can remember, and I just love it.”
At the grand opening, Beck will give away an Old-World Christmas ornament to the first 50 families who show up (one per family, not per person). Old-World Christmas ornaments have been around since 1979 and are blown glass, hand-painted, and hand-glittered.
There will also be cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes, along with other fun items, given away. The store will be open until 8 p.m.
“We are expecting a lot of people. We have people who are already calling, so we are pretty excited about it,” he said.
The Christmas products ship from all across the country, including New Jersey. There are products from places like Christmas by Jim Shore, Disney, Peanuts, Vickerman and more. The store has RGB Christmas trees, which are smart, color-changing LED lighting systems. There’s a corner where candy and drinks will be sold at “Santa’s and Mrs. Clauses Favorites.”
The store is meant to be an attraction for families, where they can come together and spend time. Beck said he loves the traditional values it represents and the time spent with family. He remembers looking at Christmas decorations when he was a kid.
“It’s more than just going out and buying decorations. It’s really about family values and those things that we did when we were younger. It’s all nostalgic,” he said.
Beck wants to bring back traditions that have faded over time.
“We get so busy, all of us. Let’s slow down and start enjoying the traditional values and family time we used to have. Go make your cookies, go watch those Christmas movies with your families again,” Beck said. “I think it’s important. My kids and I still drive around and look at Christmas lights together.”
Inside Santa’s Magical Lights, the building has different rooms. Each one has a built roofline with lights. It was created that way to look like Santa’s village. The rooms are themed.
“I have a full-blown Nativity room that will just feature Nativity sets and Nativity items in there,” Beck said. “We have a village room with village pieces. Santa’s and nutcrackers and snow globes and all sorts of things like that.”
He even has a local section too.
“We have a room dedicated to local vendors. They handmake everything. They are fantastic and so nice. It’s people who live here right in town,” Beck said.
He plans to have Santa Claus visit the store, and he has an area for him with a big red chair. Santa will come on Dec. 5 and 19 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Beck will still be running Christmas light installations. He also offers permanent lighting. According to his website, they “design, install, maintain, remove, and store Christmas lights throughout Eastern Idaho. Commercial-grade products, clean installations, and a local team you can actually reach.”
“Not only am I opening a Christmas store, but we started a Christmas program with my installation company called ‘Light Up The Community,’ and what we are doing is working with local businesses around here to actually decorate their buildings and make it so people can literally drive around town and just look at lights everywhere,” Beck explained. “That’s something we have really prided ourselves on.”
Beck invites the community to check out Santa’s Magical Lights this Saturday and hopes it will become a place where families can spend time together. It will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays.
After the holidays, the shop will close in January and will reopen in April. This gives the store time to restock and bring in new Christmas items.
