This past weekend, my friends and I decided to take a day trip to Yankee Candle Village in Deerfield, MA. Located just about 15 minutes from campus, I am now obsessed with this place and I highly encourage everyone check it out when you have a free afternoon. “Village” is an appropriate name; it is so big, it could be its own town. In fact, when we first arrived at the store, my friends and I were greeted by an employee who handed us a map. And we had to refer back to it several times.
First, we made our way into the “Candle Emporium”, where you can find every Yankee Candle you could ever imagine. From fresh to fruity to seasonal to the straight up bizarre (Bacon candle? Accurate, but interesting to say the least), there are candles to please everyone. We found ourselves playing “guess the scent” for a ridiculously long time. As a strong candle enthusiast, I found myself having to hide my wallet so I wouldn’t be tempted to buy every single one that I liked (which was pretty much all of them). That said, with quality comes price; prices range from about $5 for a small candle, to $30 for the largest.
We then visited the other areas of the “village.” There is a candy store and a toy store which were nice, but were geared towards families with children. My personal favorite section of the store was the Bavarian Christmas Village and the Nutcracker Castle. These sections are decorated for Christmas year-round and had so many cute decorations and ornaments from the traditional to the unique, and again, I had to resist spending every penny I brought. It got me so pumped up for the holidays that I forgot it was still November.
As our day was drawing closer to an end, we realized that we had yet to buy something. You can definitely still have a great time here without spending anything, but we wanted some sort of souvenir of our day trip. So, we decided to make our own candle. It was $12 to make one, but pre-made candles of the same size are $25, so it’s actually a pretty good deal. Plus, how can you put a price on memories?
After a long day of poking around, we treated ourselves to a caramel, chocolate, and M&M covered apple (that makes it healthy, right?) from the food court area.
On our way out, we strolled through the grounds surrounding the store. The beautiful gardens, wooden cutouts to stick your face in, wagon rides, and more, allowed for plenty of photo opportunities.
Whether you’re looking for a fun day trip, a place to do some shopping, or to get in the holiday spirit, Yankee Candle Village should be on your to-do list!