SYV Star Staff Report
David Watts spent a great deal of his childhood at the Jule Hus (Danish for “Christmas House”) and has owned the store himself alongside his wife Lauren for 24 years.
Does he still enjoy his work?
“There’s nothing like Christmas,” Watts said with a joyful smile.
The Watts and their store employees will celebrate Jule Hus’s 50th anniversary of being Solvang’s Christmas House from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, with a special signing event. Stefano Fontanini, a fourth-generation leader of the Italian House of Fontanini, will personally appear to show and sign popular figures from his nativity collection.
Jule Hus will feature a limited-edition nativity figure, “Seth,” for purchase, one of only 20 retailers nationwide to do so. Fontanini will sign figures purchased on the event day, and up to two more from a customer’s personal collection.
Jule Hus, at 1580 Mission Drive, was founded in 1967 by Dwight and Claire Watts, parents of David. Four generations have been working together, celebrating Christmas all year round, since the store originally opened on Alisal Road behind the clock shop. While Claire believed she could keep Christmas going all year long, Dwight was skeptical and kept his day job. It wasn’t until a small chocolate shop run by the Ingeborg sisters opened below and brought a slew of visitors their way that the store’s business really took off.
As the oldest of three sons, David took over the business with Lauren in 1993.
“I have to give them [my parents] most of the credit,” Watts said. “I felt my job was to continue what they’d done successfully.”
Jule Hus fills a special niche of providing Old European Christmas ornaments with an emphasis on Scandinavian customs. Visitors can find the entire store twinkling with tiny lights, offering an array of European blown-glass ornaments and an extensive display of German wood Nutcrackers, Santa figures, pyramids, carved figurines, Nativities, and other European collectibles. Christian Steinbach, Christian Ulbricht, and E.M. Merck are among these lines of collectibles.
“The thing about Solvang is, the founders wanted to make it ‘the best of the Old World in the New World,’ and that’s what we try to do with the store,” Watts said.
Jule Hus owes much of its success to its many employees, especially Paula Cookenour, who has been as asset to the store for over 31 years, he added.
The Jule Hus includes treasures made by more than 300 vendors, including some past and present employees of the store.
“The people who work here make the store,” Watts said.
In some instances, the employees make what is in the store, too. Many of the hand-crafted and painted ornaments in the store are done by current and former employees.
The Watts love hearing stories from returning customers about coming to Solvang and how the store is part of their Christmas traditions. In turn, the Watts can often be heard sharing the stories of Old World Christmas traditions, the treasures of the store and their own family history of the past five decades.
“We find things are more valuable to people when they know the story behind them,” Watts said.
For more information, visit www.solvangschristmashouse.com.
