Holiday Shopping Guide for Branson, Missouri

Branson is a holiday shopper's paradise with three major outlet malls featuring more than 200 name brand shops. Hundreds of area boutique and specialty stores offer one-of-a-kind hand-made heirloom quality gift items. This season, one trip to Branson can fulfill all of your holiday shopping needs.

With so many places to shop in Branson, an Ozarks Shopping Guide can be helpful. The following is an overview of the great shopping found in the Ozarks.

Outlet Malls in Branson

• Tanger Outlet Mall: This outlet mall is home to many name brands, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne, American Eagle, Gap, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works, Banana Republic, Nike and more. With 65 name brand shops to choose from, Tanger Outlet makes your holiday shopping easy. The Mall is also located right on Highway 76, creating a convenient location for shoppers who want to experience the rest of Branson.

Helpful Hint: Tanger Mall will be open midnight of Thanksgiving day and will remain open until 9pm Friday, November 23. Coupons for the Tanger Mall are also available. Be sure to check out their after Christmas sales too!

• Factory Merchants Mall: This large mall is home to various stores, including Reebok, Nautica, Lane Bryant, Jones New York, Crocs, Famous Footwear, Carter’s, I love Quilt, Pfaltzgraff and more. The over 50 factory shops allow customers to get a bargain when the do their holiday shopping. They are also conveniently located on near several theaters, including Mickey Gilley, The Duttons and The Hughes Brothers.

Helpful Hint: Don't miss the biggest sale of the year at Factory Merchants Mall. Stores will offer additional savings off their everyday low outlet prices. There will be extended center hours and added savings for early shoppers. For Factory Merchants Mall sales information, click here!

• Factory Shoppes at Branson Meadows: This beautiful mall is home to shops and a movie theater. A few of the shops include Christian Gift Outlet, Golf USA, Hush Puppies, Tool Town USA, Vanity Fair Outlet and more. This mall is also close to the new Branson Mill Village.

Helpful Hint: Print the directory of the mall (click link) to receive FREE VIP coupons. Simply print and present at the Vanity Fair Outlet.

Malls

• Branson Landing: Your family can discover Branson’s newest “Winter Wonder Landing” at the Branson Landing waterfront, featuring a promenade of trendy specialty shopping and dining establishments, and a brilliant water and fire spectacular that dances to the sounds of the season in the Town Square. A few of the shops located at the Branson Landing include Bass Pro Shop, Belk Department Store, Charlotte Russe, Build-a-Bear, Ann Taylor, Coldwater Creek, Hollister, Cardinals Clubhouse, Journey’s and many, many more. A few of the eateries include Joe’s Crab Shack, Famous Dave’s Barbeque, Cantina Laredo and numerous specialty eateries like It’s A Wrap.

Helpful Hint: Visit Santa at Branson Landing. Enjoy the magic of the season by visiting Santa in his very own Christmas Tree House located in Branson Landing’s Town Square. Pictures available. There is also a special Thanksgiving Day concert featuring the Blues Brothers from Legends in Concert and the musicians/singer from Take it to the Limit: A Tribute to the Eagles.

Specialty Shops

• Branson Mill Craft Village: The Branson Mill is a 60,000 square foot specialty retail shopping center and working craft village combined. It is comprised of 20,000 square feet of retail space including Mountain Man Nut and Fruit Company, The Leather Trading Company and Bandana’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant. The Branson Mill Craft Village is a working craft village with 40,000 square feet devoted to craftsmen demonstrating their skills in glass blowing, leather carving, china painting, oil painting, stained glass, wood carving, silversmith, scrimshaw, pottery, copper colorist, etched glass, custom framing, custom sign making and much much more. In addition to these fine artists demonstrating their skills, there are 150 showrooms of upscale home furnishings, accessories and crafts, with many one-of-a-kind items and best of all it is open to the public at no charge.

Helpful Hint: This craft village is close to Factory Shoppes of Branson Meadows, with easy access to Tanger Outlet Mall and Factory Merchants Mall. The Amish Country Store is right next door and Playtime Pizza (great for Kids) is right across the street.

• Engler Block: With 30 individually-owned shops, the Engler Block offers a whole world of the Ozarks craftsmanship and artistry under one roof. With artisans at work on their creations, Engler Block is more than a collection of stores; It is sight, touch and sound. A few of the shops include Helwig Art Glass, Fall Creek Pottery, Father Time Clocks, O’Neil Stained Glass, Sunrise Leather and more.

Helpful Hint: This shop is located near the Dixie Stampede and Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, as well as the Haygoods.

• The Grand Village: Enjoy the talent of Thomas Kincade in his Signature Art Gallery and visit Missouri's largest Christmas Store, Kringles. The scenery is delightful with lovely paths and sparkling fountains all the way up to the restaurants. All of the shops in this complex are unique and offer the best of Branson's craftsmanship and souvenirs.

Helpful Hint: This village is right next door to the Grand Palace, which is showcasing The Christmas Sounds of Mannheim Steamroller. They also have a unique eatery, the Hard Luck Diner, where singing waiters and waitresses are the special.

Celebrate the Holiday Season with an Ozark Mountain Christmas

Do you find yourself asking, "Whatever happened to a traditional family Christmas?" Come to Branson, Missouri, and celebrate the true meaning of the Christmas season. Nationally recognized by newspapers and travel associations as one of the top Christmas destinations in the nation, America's Live Entertainment Capital is all aglow in the spirit of the season. It all begins on November 1! With lots of star-filled Christmas shows, the famous 76 Strip and a glittering array of animated lighting displays including the 1-mile Branson Area Festival of Lights drive-through, a visit to Branson will create beautiful memories and new Christmas traditions for your family.

Branson's star performers, special effects and elaborate holiday production numbers are ready to dazzle visitors and their families in November and December. From the famous voice of "Mr. Christmas" Andy Williams to the multimedia extravaganza of The Christmas Sounds of Mannheim Steamroller at The Grand Palace, as well as Mel Tillis and Connie Smith at the Welk Resort, there's a multitude of Branson Christmas shows that deck the halls with boughs of holly and showcase the holiday's finest talent. Music fills the air at Branson's family shows like the Presleys, The Baldknobbers, and the Hughes Brothers and peals of laughter roll through the aisles at Jim Stafford, Hamner-Barber and Yakov Smirnoff's shows. From the Lennon Sisters with the Gatlin Brothers to Barbara Fairchild, the Twelve Irish Tenors and Broadway's Spirit of Christmas with The Osmonds, Branson wraps up its musical packages with one-of-a-kind holiday family fun. And, for the kids in all of us, there's a "magical" Christmas celebration as well, at world-famous Kirby VanBurch's Christmas Spectacular.

Silver Dollar City, an internationally awarded theme park, presents an all-new, $1 million light and sound extravaganza for "An Old Time Christmas" the park's biggest light show ever. Called "Christmas on Main Street," the show features a new 5-Story Special Effects Christmas Tree that blazes to the musical movements of Christmas songs, joined by one million lights on trees, shop fronts and hanging canopies all flashing, as surround-sound fills the Square. The entire park glows with millions of flickering lights and a Holiday Light Parade with colorful, musical floats winds through the streets.The acclaimed Dickens' "Christmas Carol" returns with the special effects said to be one of the best productions in the history of the park. Plus, holiday food, strolling Christmas carolers and the roller coasters are open after dark for the thrill of the lights from above.

The Showboat Branson Belle is bedecked in Christmas finery and charts a course for holiday food and fun on Table Rock Lake though December. Also, the World's Largest Titanic Museum Attraction will be decorated with thousands of merry lights and holiday trim that recall those elegant Christmases past. Your family can discover Branson's newest "Winter Wonder Landing" at the Branson Landing waterfront, featuring a promenade of trendy specialty shopping and dining establishments, the brilliant water and fire spectacular that dances to the sounds of the season in the Town Square and Santa Claus, who has even been known to vacation in Branson himself!

For all of your Christmas shopping, there are three name-brand outlet malls, boutique shops at the Grand Village and Ozarks craftsmen at Branson Mills and Engler Block with their stores all decked out in lights with elaborate holiday decorations that beckon Yuletide visitors.

A host of Branson lodging options are available from a cozy cabin at one of the lakeside resorts to luxurious hotel rooms and condos throughout the area.

While in the Branson/Lakes Area you can also enjoy a Christmas light display at the Enchanted Forest on Indian Point Rd. and the Christmas on the Trail show and Trail of Lights at Shepherd of the Hills Historic Homestead. On the first Sunday in December, thousands of people gather in downtown Branson to watch a Christmas parade dedicated to "the true meaning of the season." This year marks the 59th Adoration Parade in Branson, an evening event with dozens of high school bands and lighted floats. The theme has always been "Keeping Christ in Christmas."

"When I started my solo career, I believe God told me to come to Branson and sing with my kids. I'm a Southern California guy, but Christmas in the Ozarks is truly magical," says Righteous Brother Bill Medley, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who performs at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater.

Branson's Veterans Homecoming, Nov. 5-11, pays tribute to our nation's heroes from all wars and conflicts and all branches of service. For details about this weeklong series of events, tribute shows, reunions and more, click the above link.

Outdoor activities in the Ozarks like fishing, hiking, camping and other outdoor pursuits are year-round opportunities for sporting enthusiasts in the Ozarks. The cool, crisp weather in late autumn and early winter is an appealing time for outdoor activities. Those three pristine lakes never freeze, so they are ideal for fishing for bass, trout, crappie and other species, and there is boating and many other types of water activities even in mid-winter. The mild winters also allow visitors to enjoy the area's dozen championship Golf courses.

Information courtesy of Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce