Seeds of Hope Christmas Store Opens | Video

Kristin Clouston | 11/2/2012

We still have 53 days until Christmas, and there`s a place in Bismarck that`s already filled with holiday spirit. People don`t just go to the Seeds of Hope Christmas Store because they get good deals. They shop there because they know all of the proceeds go to help women and children who have escaped from their abusers.

If you need to find assistant manager Dorinda Eckroth, just look in the Seeds of Hope Christmas store. You`ll find her darting in and out of the aisles, restocking displays with holiday treasures.

"We`ve got quite a few boxes in the back. Back up stock. We receive donations every day and the volunteers clean it, process it, and we store it all year," she said.

And it`s all gone by the end of January.

"We`ve gotten really nice retro items that people have given up that have been in their family for years and that`s one of the more popular items. We`ve gotten villages, lots of nice floral items and wreaths, beautiful trees, lots of angels, Santa Clauses," she said.

People actually line up to get in here.

"It`s tradition. My mom and both my grandmas started taking me here," said shopper Karli Boehm.

"It just gives them the feeling of Christmas to come and they get real excited and say it brings tears to their eyes because of the memories. They see items we`ve received and brings back memories for them," Eckroth said.

"It`s fun because you can find unique stuff and everything`s got a story," Boehm said.

Boehm says she saved at least a $100 to $150 by getting decorations here.

"A lot of stuff still has the original tags on it. Like I got something, it was originally $42 and I got it for $8," she said.

Boehm says she also shops there because she believes in re-using and recycling.

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