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Menards has moved completely away from Lemax Christmas village buildings and now exclusively carry what I think is their own private label brand:  FG Square .  At one time, I was a Christmas Village guy, but I, umm, went a different direction and have abandoned them completely.  And, I've been happy with that decision.  But, it doesn't mean that I stopped looking at them - especially at Menards.   I often invoke my collecting mantra when it comes to Christmas Villages:  It is enough to enjoy the existence of (Christmas Villages) things without possessing all of them. Here's a few structures: Country Creek ice staking rink, a ski hill called Powder Ridge Resort, Tree house Haven and Prime Cuts Steakhouse.  All lovely.  None of which came home with us.  The animated ski hill is a small-footprint structure that has some good action: Here's a photo of the same ski hill:

Here's a current look at our four Amaryllis bulbs.  One of them - the Star of Holland - is out in front in terms of growth as it has two buds that have emerged and are starting to gain some height.  You can see that one on the left of this photo above.  At center - near the bottom of the photo - is the Cherry Nymph bulb that cost almost 3x the other ones .  If you look closely, you'll see a little leaf emerging from the bulb, so things are moving on it. As for the other two, you can see them in the background of the photo above, but for a closer view, check out the photo below.  The bulb at the bottom of the photo is the Apple Blossom Amarylli s and is a little bit further ahead than the one in the back - the Red Lion Amaryllis . I've switched over now to watering these all with a alcohol-blended water mixture to try to limit the height/leggy-ness of the stems.  What is most striking is that all three of the Menards bulbs have taken off.  The last time I tried o

A few days ago, I posted about the Cherry Nymph Amaryllis bulb that I bought at Wannemaker's and planted in a pot to get the season started .  I mentioned in that post that we were going to try (again) a few smaller (and much cheaper) bulbs from Menards.  I found the receipt from Wannemaker's and the bulb that I bought there was $15.99 and after tax came in at $17.27.  The other ones that I bought at Menards are sold as a "gift box" and as you can see from the photo below are going for $5.49.  So...about 1/3rd of the price.  We bought three of them - one for each of the kids to do as a project.  These 'gift boxes' come with a plastic pot (with no drainage holes), what they call 'growing medium' (which I'm pretty sure is peat) and the bulb.  We bought one of each variety.  First is the Star of Holland.  Next is the Red Lion. And last is the Apple Blossom.  Here they are in their pots alongside the larger Cherry Nymph bulb.  E

This Mountain High Adventure Tours building from the Lemax Vail Village caught my eye at Menards.  It is one of the few Vail Village buildings that Menards is carrying and it is - according to Lemax's site - new for 2019 .  Back in the hayday of Mantleburg, the Village had a few Vail Village buildings and I think that I'm drawn to them in some way.  I also like the seaside nature of Plymouth Corners .  But, besides having a SUPER TIGHT sign ordinance, the Village of Mantleburg forefathers weren't too terribly picky on the architecture style of structures in town. This is the fifth Lemax Christmas building that I've posted about here this year. First was  the North Pole Tower  - part of Santa's Wonderland. Over the weekend was The Hop Stop craft brew building  - part of Harvest Crossing. The third one that  I posted included photos of the Sugar Plum Bakery . The fourth one was the fly-thru Reindeer wash building . And now this one with the Hot Air Balloon.

This one isn't 'new' for 2019, but rather was released last year.  At least....that's according to the  Lemax site that shows this Reindeer Grooming Barn being part of the Santa's Wonderland collection and 'new in 2018'. It is, however, new to me and new to Menards as far as I can tell. This is the fourth Lemax Christmas Village structure that I've put on the blog this year. First was the North Pole Tower - part of Santa's Wonderland. Over the weekend was The Hop Stop craft brew building - part of Harvest Crossing. And most recently, I posted photos of the Sugar Plum Bakery . Like the rest of the standard structures, the Fly-Tru Reindeer Washing Barn retails for $39.99 at Menards, but will be on their reverse Christmas pricing that has discounts that grow as we get closer to Christmas Day. As for Mantleburg...I think you know the answer by now:  the Village Board isn't going to annex anything like this in the near term.

Another 'new' for 2019 building from Lemax at Menards is this Sugar Plum Bakery.  The product page is here on Lemax's site .  It is part of the Santa's Wonderland collection.  This is the 3rd Christmas Village building from the Menards Enchanted Forest Christmas display that I've posted on the blog this year. First was the North Pole Tower - part of Santa's Wonderland. Yesterday was The Hop Stop craft brew building - part of Harvest Crossing.  This is a standard, non-animated building that is being retailed for $34.99. Once again, Mantleburg isn't growing as it seems the citizens won't be having a prosperous Christmas once again this year as the town continues to shrink. 

The craft brewing craze has hit Lemax's Christmas Village in the form of The Hop Stop .  This is new in 2019 - for Lemax and being sold at Menards and is currently listed for $34.99 as part of the Harvest Crossing series .  This is the second day of posting some Lemax Christmas Village buildings from Menards.  Yesterday, I posted some images of the animated North Pole Tower .  Mantleburg had a tavern back in the day , but one would think that the tough times might bring about even more drinking establishments, but the Hop Stop is a little too bougie for a town like Mantleburg that is down on it's luck. 

The time has come for the Lemax Christmas Village posts from the setup at Menards.  I've done this over the years as my interest grew in the little village things and now that my interest is on the wane, I still enjoy going to see the setup and posting some of the more interesting structures.  The first one up is this North Pole Tower that is animated and makes some sound.  You can see the animation in the top image and the product page is here on the Lemax site .  This is new to me - and I think new to Menards - but it was released in 2018.  Part of the Santa's Wonderland series, I suppose it would be nice in Mantleburg, but the town has fallen on some seriously hard times.  Oh, and for you crazy people...this thing retails for $99.99.  Woah. 

At the beginning of the month, I posted a couple of photos of the beginning of Menards Christmas setup at their Bolingbrook store.  The 'Enchanted Forest" is something that I look forward to every year as they always have some new items to check out.  Anybody who has been in a big box store during the holidays the past few years will attest that there is a HUGE market for inflatable outdoor decorations.  I've succumbed to the inflatable trend and we have a couple of BIG ones we put out at Halloween .   But, Menards is also holding strong with the blowmold market.  They put out holiday blowmolds for Halloween - and I've covered them here on the blog before - and looking at the analytics of this site, that's a popular post, so plenty of people are looking for Halloween Blowmolds from Menards.   There's more Halloween blowmolds in this post from 2011 , too.    They also do quite a bit of Christmas blowmolds as part of their Enchanted Forest incl

Early October means....Christmas time!  At least, that's how the fine folks at Menards view it.  And, I'm happy to admit this:  My name is Jake.  And I'm ok with Christmas Creep!  I've covered Menards Enchanted Forest Christmas setup for a number of years now.  In 2018 (last year), I posted on September 24th showing off the Enchanted Forest .   In 2017, I posted on September 28th . In 2016, I posted on September 26th . In 2015, I posted on October 6th . And, back in 2011, I posted on September 17th . So, October 1st is *late* in terms of when I get around to posting things.  I was at the Bolingbrook store over the weekend, so I suppose this could have, technically, been a September post.  But, I didn't get around to posting the photos until this am.   I love walking through all the Christmas stuff - and the kids love it even more. Also, the one thing that I've learned about holiday decorations at Big Box Stores is that they don't restock stuff

I've mentioned in all of the recent Lemax Christmas Village posts that Mantleburg isn't annexing any new structures into town this year and with the recent election of a slate of Libertarian candidates taking on new leadership roles in town, they've even moved to de-annex some existing portions of Mantleburg and just focus the town's operations on the seasonal train. This year, I've covered a handful of Lemax Christmas Village buildings that are part of the Menards holiday setup including: 1. Draft Brothers Craft Brewing Supplies Store from the Harvest Crossing Collection. 2. The Elf Workshop from Santa's Wonderland Village. 3. Nora's Christmas Boutique from the Caddington Village Collection. 4. The Round-up animated carnival ride from the Carnival Village Collection. The one in the post today is interesting because it *is* potentially train-related.  And that's why, despite their anti-growth/anti-government leanings the new Mayor and

Another day, another Lemax Christmas Village building. This one is from the Carnival Village and is called The Round Up.  It is pretty neat.  Lemax lists it as being released in 2012 on their site , but this is the first time I've seen it at Menards.  Quick refresher for this year's Menards Christmas Village buildings: 1.  Draft Brothers Craft Brewing Supplies Store  from the Harvest Crossing Collection 2.  The Elf Workshop from Santa's Wonderland Village. 3.  Nora's Christmas Boutique from the Caddington Village Collection.  Now comes the first carnival-focused, animated, musical structure here on the blog.  This isn't the first one we've bought or come across, but the first one on the blog.  And it is pretty neat. Called The Round Up Village Carnival Ride - priced at $89.99 -   it is described by Menards thusly : The Round Up is an absolute blast! This spinning carnival ride puts gravity to the test as a southern-sounding cowboy announcer tell

Day Three of the Menards Lemax Christmas Village reveal.  First was the Draft Bros Home Brewing Supplies store . Then yesterday was the Elf Workshop .  Today comes Nora's Christmas Boutique.  Nora's is part of Caddington Village which is a Victorian Era town.    If you search [ Caddington ] here on the blog, you'll see a series of structures that I've featured over the years.  It seems that Menards sells a lot of the Caddington Village line every year.  Above you'll see the building in the Menards Village setting.  Below is the box - with the price of $39.99.  (11% back, of course!) As you guys know, Mantleburg isn't adding anything to the town, but the Economic Development Commissioner can't help but listening to the presentations from the merchants who are looking to move into town. In terms of villages, you can get lost over on the /villages page at Lemax's site .  Sure, I've flirted with Vail Village or Spookytown or even the Carniva

I warned you yesterday.  There's a few of these Lemax Christmas Village / Mantleburg posts in the hopper here.  First was the Draft Bros. Craft Brewing Supplies store .  Today is The Elf Workshop that features a few cute elves around the place.  Again, Mantleburg won't be annexing one of these, but if you had a Christmas Village scene, it seems like this would be a good addition. Below is the box at Menards - with this one listed for $10 more than the Home Brewing Supplies structure - at $49.99.

Another year, another display of Lemax Christmas Village buildings at Menards has arrived!  Here's the post from 2017 that heralded the return of the Christmas Village at the store .  And that means a whole series of posts are about to arrive here on the blog showing off some of the new buildings.  The first one, here, is the Draft Brothers Home Brewing Supplies store.  Very topical, eh?  Here's the product listing on the Lemax site  that provides the description including the fact that this structure was released this year.  Alas, Mantleburg is full of libertarians and there is a initiative on the ballot this fall to disband the local municipal government.   Which means, for now, the Mayor and Village Board are not in a position to make any sort of annexations or additions to Main Street.  This Draft Bros Home Brewing Supplies store is listed for $39.99 at Menards this year.

Continuing the annual tradition of trying to document on the blog the various times we first come across the Menards Enchanted Forest Christmas setup.  Posting this on the 24th of September, but I took this photo a week ago.  I've talked over the years about the notion of "Christmas Creep" and how I'm just fine with it.  Mid/late September is right in the middle of Fall holiday planning for most, but I understand why retailers are moving Christmas earlier and earlier.  I've done the Christmas Creep documenting on the blog over the years.  Here's 2017's version  that I posted on September 28th. Here's 2016's version that I posted on September 26th. Here's 2015's version that I posted on October 6th. Here's 2011's version that I posted on September 17th. So this is the second earliest, but based on when I took this photo, it might have been a tie?  As for the actual display, they have both their Halloween stuff up in

Almost one year ago to the day, I posted a photo of Menards Christmas Creep showing up at the Melrose Park location .  I remarked last year that they had most of their Christmas stuff up, but not the full 'Enchanted Forest' and I was surprised.  This year?  I'm no longer going to the Melrose Park location, but instead now head to Bolingbrook most often.  And that has the old store layout.  And that means that they still have the Halloween stuff up in the seasonal section, but they've converted a lot of the patio furniture area into Christmas decorations that you see above.   It is mostly lights, but there are a few blowmolds scattered around.  No inflatables, though.  I only had the King of the Ball Tossers with me and had him strapped into the cart, so there wasn't running around the aisles like there was last year .  Here's some photos of Menards Christmas last year . Here's a post from Menards Christmas 2015 .   And their Christmas Village fr

Released in 2015, this building from Lemax is called "Twas the Night" and has all the bells and whistles that Lemax offers including lights, music and interior scenes.  It even has Santa in the house with his reindeer awaiting him on the roof.   Here's the official product page . Unfortunately for Mantleburg , there's a moratorium on residential construction in place until they get more businesses or the train station in place.

More Christmas village stuff, Jake?  Yep.  More. This time it is the East Lake Station that Menards is selling at $69.99 because of both the interior lights and the exterior ones, but also because it plays music.  That is, according to the product listing on the Lemax site . Mantleburg - as a once proud growing community - might need a commuter station, to inject some new life into the village, right?  Become a bit of a bedroom community to some other larger town (that we don't need to construct?), perhaps? Maybe.  But the federal grant didn't come through and funding is tight with the drop in sales tax, so the Mayor of Mantleburg has shelved the station project.  Too bad.  Maybe next year.