It Happens Here: Abington, Home Of The Christmas Place
ABINGTON (CBS) - Located halfway between Boston and Plymouth, Abington was the home of the first machine to sew the soles onto shoes. It became a major supplier of boots to the Union Army during the Civil War.
This is also a town that loves Christmas, even celebrating each year with an Ugly Sweater Ball.
If there is anything you need for the holidays, you will find it all under one roof at The Christmas Place: from trees and ornaments to handcrafted Christmas caroler dollars and snow-covered Christmas Village pieces.
Richard Dubois opened a small shop in 1982 to keep the workers at his pool supply store employed year round. It is now over 30,000 square feet.
The doors open just before Halloween and close for the season on Christmas Eve. Then Dubois and his team start thinking about next year.
"We set it up differently every year, so it's a different experience when you come back," he said.
There is plenty to keep the kids entertained. They can visit with Santa, check out a massive electric train display and even jam along with the band of 5-foot penguins.
Among the young guests there when WBZ visited, the O'Connor triplets came decked out in their Christmas pajamas and the Smith boys love the trapeze-flying elf. Their mom has been coming here since she was a kid.
"I love it, just the whole atmosphere and the spirit of Christmas," she said.
"It is part of the reason we do this, just to see the kids, the looks on their faces," Dubois said