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Road Trip to Virginia’s Ginger Cottages

Year after year, some of the most popular items in our Christmas Shop are the Ginger Cottages, which are hand-made in the heart of central Virginia. A few weeks ago I was invited  to visit their factory and see where the magic is created. Of course, two of our Christmas elves (Patricia and Becky) were ready to go with me on the 2 1/2 hour drive.  Patricia is a big fan: she has more than twenty of the Ginger Cottages houses. Instead of taking I-95 we decided to take Highway 301…and what a great idea that was! Leaving the dreary rain in Beltsville on Monday, we drove into sunshine in Virginia, enjoying the easy drive.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by Pam, one of the Ginger Cottages’ elves. She gave us a brief history of how this amazing company got its early start. As she was talking and we were eyeing the various houses, a tall gentleman strolled up and introduced himself. Glenn Crider–who started the company with his wife–took us to his workshop where he was assessing prototypes for 2019 and 2020. We met some of his graphic team and saw how they work on different ideas and projects.  As we left that area we saw the team of “elves” (as Glenn calls them) assembling houses and beautiful carousels adorned with different animals in glorious, textured, vibrant color (we’re excited to have two of them for sale at Behnke’s).

Leaving the elves, Glenn took us to his wood shop and explained the process of making nutcrackers and how they have come a long way. Glenn is one of only four USA nutcracker makers and the only one that can make the entire nutcracker from A- Z, as he calls it.  Then we watched a young man running ten different computer driven laser cutters. We also saw the painting room where still more elves painted parts of the cottages as needed. And finally, we given the opportunity to purchase some items that I might not have at our garden center. Patricia went crazy and bought four music boxes!

This company is a true ‘cottage industry’ where folks can work from their homes, assembling the tiny cottages or come in and work in the shop.  I was impressed by the friendliness of everyone there and just how clean and neat the whole place was.  Seeing the process of building our much-loved Ginger Cottages was another thing that really made me appreciate just how much work goes into each one. They are made from start to finish in the USA with products made in the USA.  Every year I can’t wait to see what’s new.

Glenn’s mind is always working a mile a minute. He asked us questions about our customers and what we find sells well in our Christmas Shop. They also make special items for different places like Dollywood, the Biltmore, and Coca Cola. In 2008 Glenn was approached to have his nutcrackers made into USA stamps and they, along with his nutcrackers, were displayed at the Smithsonian. What an honor! You can read more about that here.

After we saw everything we were taken out to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant by our salesman Ray Stopper and Glenn joined us for more conversation. It ended up being a terrific day and a beautiful drive back home, once again avoiding all that endless traffic on I-95. I hope you get a chance to stop in our Christmas Shop and see some of the new additions to the Ginger Cottage line!

by Stephanie Fleming, Behnke’s Vice President

Stephanie Fleming was raised at Behnke’s Nurseries in Beltsville. Her Mom, Sonja, was one of Albert & Rose Behnke’s four children. She was weeding from the moment she could walk and hiding as soon as she was old enough to run, so many weeds, so little time. Although she quickly learned how to pull out a perennial and get taken off of weed pulling duty.

This Post Has 43 Comments

  1. We recently visited Virginia. I had no idea there was anything like these Christmas Cottages. I think that a tour would be really fun.

    1. It really was a lot of fun. You should check their web site since I think once a year they might open up to the public and do tours but not sure

  2. This looks like fun. I always like doing factory tours and seeing how things are made. I appreciate things so much more once I see all that goes into making them.

    1. It really was a lot of fun. You should check their web site since I think once a year they might open up to the public and do tours but not sure

  3. These are adorable and I’d be fascinated by the factory tour. Not to mention, I LOVE both Ginger Cottages and Nutcrackers!!!

    1. It really was so much fun. They took the time to show us pretty much everything. Does not look like they do tours for the public so I was very happy that agreed to show us around.

    1. Hi there! Yes they are made in China now. Old World Christmas bought the company when the owner decided to retire a few years ago. That said, Old World owns their factory in China and has fair trade practices on everything they make. Like with their ornaments they still use the same methods that were used in Germany. I spoke to Glen right after he sold his company and he was excited that his Ginger Cottages would be made the same way he did. Just many more. Take care, Stephanie

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