When Dalia Browning Stokes and Bobby G. Bayless decided to start a Christmas shop in the first floor of their business litigation law office, they assumed they would only stay open during the holiday season, Browning Stokes said. But to their surprise, it drew customers throughout the year.
“A lot of people who come to stay here for treatment at M.D. Anderson are looking for anything to celebrate or decorate with,” Browning Stokes said. “They will come here any time of year.”
Others come while visiting family or on vacation, especially as the number of other Christmas retailers in the area, such as Hallmark stores, began to dwindle. Browning Stokes and Bayless, who have been together for over 40 years, began the store without much knowledge of collectable Christmas decor.
“We came to find out there is no such thing as a little Christmas shop,” she said, laughing. “It kind of got out of hand. ... But it has somehow magically worked over the years.”
