December brings lights, music, concerts, Christmas trees, elaborate outdoor displays, gifts, Santa, and special food treats most everywhere in the United States. But there is a small town in Michigan where the season is celebrated year-round in grand fashion.
Frankenmuth, about an hour north of Detroit, attracts the greatest number of visitors this month, but any time of the year is a good time to discover the wonders of this Bavarian town founded in 1845 by 15 German immigrants.
The name came from two German words—Franken, represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria and “muth” means courage. A number of the town’s 5,000 residents can trace their ancestry back to the early settlers.
Known as Michigan’s “Little Bavaria,” it is easy to imagine you are in a small German town while walking down Main Street with its old-world charm and Bavarian architecture everywhere.
It is a fun town for all ages and Travel & Leisure Magazine named Frankenmuth “Best Family Town in the U.S. for 2025.”
It is also called “Christmas Town” thanks to the award-winning Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland which bills itself as the “World’s Largest Christmas Store.” Walking inside, it would be hard to dispute that label—it is huge.
The store covers 2.2 acres or 1.7 football fields of shopping. It is set on 27 acres of landscaped grounds. Approximately 100,000 lights illuminate the half-mile long Christmas Lane every evening from dusk until midnight.
Best to have a meeting point for families or you could end up like my brother-in-law, who had to be paged when he became separated from his family.
“It is not unusual to have to page someone in the store who gets separated from their group, especially husbands,” explained Autumn Bronner, a personnel assistant and part of the Bronner family.
It is truly an enormous and breathtaking store which attracts two million visitors a year. Take a deep breath when you walk in and you will inhale the wonderful aroma of sugar cookies.
As many as 25,000 children visit Santa Claus each season from the day after Thanksgiving through December 24. More than 300 decorated trees are displayed.
The Bronner family believes in advertising their special store on more than 60 billboards—the furthest is on I-75 near Ocala, Florida.
Every year, the store sells more than two million ornaments and more than 125,000 light sets. Bronner staff personalize 600,000 ornaments annually. “Merry Christmas” ornaments in more than 40 languages are among the 8,000 styles of ornaments available. Many of the items for sale are under $10 and two thirds are under $20.
One of the more famous customers was John Wayne, who ordered a Santa suit from Bronner’s by telephone on December 15, 1976.
In 1992, with permission of Austria, Bronner’s erected a replica of the Austrian Silent Night Memorial chapel in tribute to the Christmas hymn “Silent Night” first sung in the original chapel. It is open daily.
Frankenmuth is the place for water lovers with the state’s largest water park at the Bavarian Inn Lodge, the largest hotel in town. It also boasts an on-site arcade, swimming pools, indoor mini golf, nightly entertainment, and multiple restaurants.
All you can eat, family style fried chicken dinners have become a major draw. Two establishments across the street from each other are the place to go for the experience that attracts visitors from around the globe. The Bavarian Inn offers a Bavarian atmosphere and boasts that it has been serving chicken dinners since 1928 and Zehnder’s has an early American vibe.
The same chicken recipes are used at both restaurants operated by different branches of the same family. There are a multitude of other choices on the menu. Both pay homage to their German heritage with authentic Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, and other favorites.
Walking down the colorful Main Street there are chocolate, cheese, and fresh baked pretzel shops to satisfy most all taste buds. The Frankenmuth Cheese Haus boasts more than 120 varieties of cheese from Michigan-made Gouda to chocolate cheese. Zak & Mac’s Chocolate Haus serves handcrafted toffee, gourmet chocolates, and other seasonal treats.
Visitors can tour the 1894 Frankenmuth Woolen Mill and learn about traditional milling processes. They can even craft their own woolen dryer ball as a keepsake.
Grandpa Tiny’s Heritage Farm was founded in 1938 by William “Tiny” Zehnder and has been a working farm with crops and livestock ever since. On weekends during December, Santa and his reindeer take over the farm and visitors can pet the reindeer.
During the spring, it is baby season on the farm and there will be lambs, baby chicks, bunnies, and more in the petting barn that stays open throughout the year. The summer brings 20 acres of sunflowers as well as other flowers.
Cass River winds through town and in the warmer weather there are riverboat cruises onboard the Bavarian Belle Riverboat, as well as the smaller Frankenmuth FunShips. There are also kayaks for rent for anyone who wants to paddle their own watercraft. Paddle under the iconic Holz Brucke Covered Bridge.
The Frankenmuth Historical Museum is compact but a good introduction to a town that has been called Michigan’s quirkiest. It traces the development from its founding by Franconian Lutherans to its modern identity as a tourist destination.
About an hour west of Frankenmuth is another special Michigan town—Mt. Pleasant, home to Central Michigan University. When school is in session the 21,000 population doubles in size.
Much of the area is located on Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribal lands. Instead of banning the use of Native American names for school sports teams as New York has done, the University uses the Chippewa name with permission of the tribe and in partnership with the tribe. The use of the Chippewa name has opened the opportunity for closer relations between the tribe and the community and university.
The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways is a must visit. It is a museum and cultural center designed to support and communicate the culture and spirit of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and other Great Lakes Anishinabek.
Our guide was a member of the tribe and an experienced educator. Thanks to his descriptions based on firsthand experiences, our visit was a deeply moving experience. For the first time I learned that it was not until 1924 that Indians were considered full American citizens.
His tales of the Indian boarding schools in which young children were taken away from their families, their communities, and everything they knew “to take the Indian out of them” were both sad and enlightening. Children were punished if they were heard speaking their tribal language, according to our guide.
The Diba Jimooyung (Telling our Story) permanent exhibit tells the story of the original people of the Great Lakes and shows their struggles to hold onto the land, language, and lifeways.
Across the street is the Soaring Eagle Casino Resort that boasts Kids Quest, a supervised play center filled with activities designed for children 30 months through 12 years. It is a perfect spot for parents who want a dinner without the children. There’s also the Cyber Quest, an arcade that features family friendly games for all ages.
The Soaring Eagle Waterpark and Hotel features its own river, a waterfall, waterslides, a climbing mountain and a huge hot tub.
Travel Tip of the Month: For information on Frankenmuth visit Frankenmuth.org or call 800-Fun-Town. For information on Mt. Pleasant visit mt-pleasant.org or call 989-779-5300.
Deborah Williams lives in Holland, NY and is a veteran travel writer whose work has appeared in national and international publications. She is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award.