Outer Banks Christmas shop a favorite for generations

There’s a place on the Outer Banks where it’s been Christmas every day for the last 55 years.

The Christmas Shop and General Store on U.S. 64 in Manteo offers a true maze of rooms — dozens of them — filled with magical holiday trees of every size, twinkling lights, ornaments, jewelry, gifts, locally-made chocolates and old-timey candy, plus a pretty spooky bonus Halloween section.

Generations of visitors to the Outer Banks have made wandering the shop a yearly tradition.

For the past several years, Gary Chatnik and Vicki Parks have owned the store, keeping the sprawling wooden building and its many rooms true to the original founder’s vision.

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Christmas past

New Yorker Edward Greene arrived on the Outer Banks in 1953 to perform as a dancer in The Lost Colony outdoor drama on Roanoke Island. In spirit, he never left.

But it wasn’t until more than a decade later, in 1967, that Greene made a permanent move to the Outer Banks, opening the Island Gallery and Christmas Shop with partner Richard Lacerre. It started with a small space where the two sold Christmas trees and some locally commissioned art pieces. Today, the popular shop on is a maze of 35 rooms over 25,000 square feet filled with all things Christmas and beach.

Greene died in 2021 at 96, but worked in the shop as much as he was able even after “retiring” and selling to the new owners.

“He couldn’t stay away,” said store manager Patricia Lassen, who has worked at the Christmas Shop for 27 years and was close to Greene. “He came in every day for probably a year or more after Gary bought the shop.”

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Christmas present

Chatnik and Parks’ purchase of the store grew their family-owned business, which also operates five other Christmas-themed stores in other states.

The family has kept the main areas close to the same as original, but have added some new artists, displays and brands to keep the magic and excitement building. New this year are rooms devoted to Harry Potter and the Grinch.

“People like the change up, it’s not the same year after year,” said Lassen.

Other rooms include Santa’s Toy Factory filled with hundreds of toys for kids, a room devoted to sports and pets and a home decor room offering coastal decor, jewelry, Outer Banks home accents, handbags, hats, coverups and accessories.

A favorite of visitors, the General Store, continues to sell locally-made chocolates and old-time candy brands, but has added all sorts of beach munchies, hot sauces, coffee and tea, hostess gifts and offers a wine shop with daily tastings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

On a recent summer afternoon, the daily wine attracted a gaggle of visitors from as far away as Indiana to sip local vino and chat with the locals.

Also new is a Santa Bucks program, where shoppers receive a $5 coupon for their next visit with every $50 spent and free personalization on all of the stores ornaments.

Over the past few years, the owners have started working with the regional food bank and the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce on charities and community initatives, and plan to do more in the future.

The Christmas Shop is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Learn more or shop online at outerbankschristmas.com