It's Summer!
Time for S'more Vacation!


Hi, there!

This is S'more the Elf, and I'm on vacation!

Today I am visiting the beach... area in the shoppe. It's full of sea shells and sea life, but no sand in my pants!

I know what you are thinking: Boerne is quite a few hours from any beach. So, why sell beach related items? Well, for one thing, Mr. C. loves the sea. When he was still rather young, he dreamed of being a Marine Biologist and studying sea slugs out at sea for months at a time. So, Mr. C. has a sea life tree of his own at his Hill Country home.

The other amazing reason for our beach area is YOU! Lots of regular humans collect ornaments to celebrate special memories. As they decorate their trees, they can remember specific events from years gone by - maybe to remember moving to Boerne or that grandma can't stand cheese but serves cheese-filled goodies for her much loved grandson OR finding a live starfish at the beach. Several times, we have had people ask for a super-specific ornament (like a cheese or a beaver) because they have a special story they want to commemorate. So, beach memories happen, and we are prepared to meet your request.

Personally, I LOVE this sand dollar ornament! Few people are aware of the legend surrounding this amazing creature. I am learning all about it from my friend, Mr. Narwhal.


The Sand Dollar is actually a live sea creature (like a starfish) and lives on the sand bars a little way out from the beach and it's crashing waves. If you find a live one, please, gently return it to the sand bar where it can live happily. The live ones are brown or kinda pink and feel soft with fuzzy hairs on their underside, but the dead ones are hard like a shell. They burrow in the sand to find their food.

Sand Dollars are named because they are round like a dollar coin, but most people don't see gold or silver dollar coins very often anymore. Finding a whole sand dollar on the beach is rare, too.

Sand dollars have lots of parts to them that remind people of Jesus. They have what looks like a star inside a poinsettia on one side which reminds us of Christmas! (That is my favorite part!!!) On their other side, they have what some people think looks like an Easter lily, but I can't find it on our ornament. They, also, have five holes (also, not on our ornament) that remind us of the wounds on Jesus in his hands, feet, and chest when he died. If you break a sand dollar, you will find five small, white pieces inside that look like doves. This reminds us that even though Jesus died and the sand dollar died, there is new life and peace. Just like a dove flies far and wide sharing its beauty and a reminder of peace, we should spread peace and goodwill wherever we go.

So, go! Have fun this summer! In fact, seize this summer to spread peace to everyone! Enjoy the beach! And, visit me, too! Boerne is a fun place to vacation as you can see by visiting www.visitboerne.org.

See you soon,
~S'more the Elf!

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THE CHRISTMAS SHOPPE, 132 S MAIN ST, (830) 816-2176, www.thechristmasshoppetx.com 

PINTERESTING DISCOUNT!

The Christmas Shoppe's Pinterest account is still new news. So, our first 50 followers will receive 25% off any one item in store. Go here to find our Pinterest page, click "follow", and look for your secret discount code that will be messaged to you.