Holiday traditions in Birmingham: Christmas Village returns for its 43rd year

JUST A FEW MINUTES. WELL, THE BJCC HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A WINTER WONDERLAND FOR THE 43RD ANNUAL CHRISTMAS VILLAGE. IT’S ONE OF THE BEST TRADITIONS AROUND. WVTM13’S EMMA OWEN JOINS US LIVE FROM THE NORTH EXHIBITION HALL. THIS MIDDAY. AND, EMMA, WE CAN SEE THERE BEHIND YOU, THE PLACE ALREADY PACKED OUT WITH SHOPPERS TO SEE A LOT OF VENDORS READY TO SELL SOME CHRISTMAS ITEMS. YES, SARAH, I WOULD SAY THERE ARE PROBABLY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HERE AND I’M JOINED HERE BY JENNIFER SMETANA, THE SHOW MANAGER HERE AT CHRISTMAS VILLAGE. AND THIS IS JUST AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF PEOPLE. IT’S AMAZING TO SEE THIS TURNOUT. IS IT LIKE THIS EVERY YEAR FOR THE VIP DAY? IT IS. THIS IS REALLY BECOME A CORE MEMORY FOR FOLKS. THIS IS HOW THEY KICK OFF THEIR HOLIDAY SEASON. AND OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE’VE HAD A LOT OF NEWS IN THE PAST 24 HOURS. BUT THE NEWS IS PEOPLE ARE OUT HERE SHOPPING AND THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE WANTING TO DO TO KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON. HAVE FUN. THEY’VE BEEN PLANNING THIS OUTFIT FOR THIS OUTING FOR QUITE SOME TIME. IF YOU LOOK AROUND, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE MATCHING T SHIRTS, SO THIS IS THEIR ANNUAL EVENT THAT THEY COME TO TO KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON. THAT’S WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY. I’VE NOTICED ALL THE COORDINATING OUTFITS, SO OF COURSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU SAID, THEY PLAN THIS OUT. THEY WANT TO COME HERE. IT’S ALMOST A TRADITION FOR MANY FAMILIES. AND OKAY, SO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW, WE’RE ABOVE ONE OF THE SHOWROOMS, BUT THERE’S ANOTHER ONE BEHIND US TO TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE CAN EXPECT. YEAH. SO THERE ARE OVER 700 BOOTHS OF SHOPPING IN THE SHOW, AND WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU COULD IMAGINE. THERE’S CLOTHING, DECOR, JEWELRY, GOURMET ITEMS, SOME OF THOSE GOURMET ITEMS ARE READY TO EAT, LIKE YOUR NOTHING BUNDT CAKES AND COFFEE CAKES, BUT SOME OF THEM ARE UNIQUE ITEMS THAT YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME AS WELL. I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE THERE’S EVERYTHING YOU KNOW YOU NEED IN THIS BUILDING AND EVERYTHING YOU DON’T KNOW YOU NEED ALL IN ONE BUILDING FOR PEOPLE TO SHOP. THAT IS SO FUN. AND ON THIS FIRST DAY, THIS VIP DAY, WHAT HAS THE EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE FOR THESE FOLKS? HAVE YOU GOTTEN SOME GOOD REACTIONS FROM PEOPLE? YEAH, WELL, ESPECIALLY VIP DAY, THESE ARE OUR HARDCORE SHOPPERS. SHOPPERS, RIGHT? SO THEY IT’S A SPECIAL TICKET TYPE FOR THE WEEKEND. AND SO THEY WERE LINED UP AS EARLY AS 7:00 THIS MORNING. WE DIDN’T OPEN UNTIL 9:00. SO THEY’RE VERY EXCITED AGAIN. LIKE WE SAID THIS IS SOMETHING THEY PLAN TO COME TO EVERY SINGLE YEAR. SO THEY’VE BEEN SUPER EXCITED. I SAW SOME FOLKS EVEN LIKE SINGING IN LINE TOGETHER AS THEY WERE WAITING FOR US TO OPEN. SO THE JOY IS IN THE BUILDING FOR SURE. WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE SANTA IS HERE TOO. EXACTLY. YES, I SAW SANTA EARLIER, SO OF COURSE THERE’S SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO TODAY AND IN THE COMING DAYS TOO. WE DO WANT TO SHOW YOU THE HOURS HERE ON YOUR SCREEN. IF YOU’D LIKE TO COME OUT AND CHECK OUT CHRISTMAS VILLAGE FOR YOURSELF, IT OPENS TO THE PUBLIC TOMORROW AND IT RUNS THROUGH SUNDAY HERE AT THE NORTH EXHIBITION HALL. THESE HOURS ARE THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY, 10 A.M. TO 7 P.M. AND THEN SUNDAY. THE HOURS ARE NOON TO FIVE. AND AGAIN, SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO HERE TODAY. I’M SURE YOU’VE GOTTEN A LOT OF REALLY AWESOME INTERACTIONS WITH PEOPLE. YEAH, AND WE HAVE SOME NEW THINGS AS WELL. LIKE OBVIOUSLY THE TEAM THEME THIS YEAR IS A SWEET CHRISTMAS. SO FOLKS ARE ABLE TO PURCHASE SHOPPING BAGS THAT HAVE THAT SWEET LOGO ON IT. AND IT’S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO CARRY STUFF ALL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE PURCHASING A LOT OF ITEMS, SO IT’S SOMETHING TO PUT THEIR PURCHASES IN AS WELL. ONE OTHER NEW THING THIS YEAR THAT WE’RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS A MARY MONEY FEATURE. SO PEOPLE CAN REGISTER TO WIN MARY MONEY TO SHOP THE SHOW FOR FREE AND WE ARE PULLING A WINNER EVERY SINGLE HOUR. SO THAT’S SOMETHING FUN. I MEAN, WHO DOESN’T WANT FREE MONEY TO SHOP THE SHOW? EXACTLY. THAT’S SO AWESOME. A LOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO AGAIN,