We pass them in the aisles, silently snickering at their boldness.

We pretend like it doesn’t bother us – the brazen show of cotton and flannel, maybe dotted with Betty Boop or the horseshoe emblem of the Colts.

But really, we secretly wish we could be so confident … and comfortable!

And now we can. It is now socially acceptable to shop in your pajamas!

Well, for one day anyway.

Saturday, Feb. 4 is Pajama Day in Shipshewana, where merchants all over town offer refreshments and attractive discounts to shoppers who arrive in their PJs.

I hear it’s a friendly, if not entertaining experience.  And I hear people come from all over the country just to participate – even men!

So hurry and make your reservation at the Farmstead Inn. And when you come, don’t forget to stop at the Antique Gallery next door to the Inn, where you can grab free coffee and cookies while browsing the many booths offering special discounts.

Be free … be creative …

Be here to enjoy this memorable event!

Pie, pie … and more amazing PIE! This piece is Chocolate Peanut butter, a Shipshewana Auction Restaurant favorite. Mmmmm!

Many thanks to our Farmstead Inn patrons who donated an incredible amount of nonperishable food items during November’s “Take a Break…Lend a Hand” promotion.

Antique vendors geared up for the holiday season and spoiled patrons with quality merchandise and sweet treats during the Antique Gallery’s, “Evening at the Gallery!”

Move over, Rudolph! Shipshewana Auction’s Day After Thanksgiving Horse Sale brought some Christmas pony cheer!

It was a Happy New Year for Farmstead Inn patrons
who enjoyed some safe, family-oriented New Year’s fun with games & fabulous door prizes!

1. Shipshewana is the only Indiana site listed in Patricia Scultz’s book, “1000 Places to See Before You Die.”
2. In Indiana, an auctioneer must have 80 hours of completed auction instruction from a course provider approved by the Indiana Auction Commission.
3. One of the reasons for #1 is not only because of the Shipshewana Flea Market but also because of Shipshewana Auction.
4. Shipshewana Auction’s Antique Auction increased from 4 to 10 auctioneers in 1968.
5. In 1978, we built a 200’ x 80’ building for the antique auction, enclosed the building in the fall of 1980 and added a snack bar.
6. Our Antique Auction is held every Wednesday at 9 a.m. in our Miscellaneous Barn, and every week we have sellers and buyers from all across the country. Some have come from as far as California to New Zealand.
7. No matter where you’re from, we’d love for you to join us!

And the opportunity of another New Year is a gift most of us are blessed with, but it’s a gift that cannot be returned or re-gifted. It can, however be thrown away.

So now is the time to think about using our time wisely – making the most of every minute and setting some worthy goals.

We can resolve to do some great things this year, but really, a resolution is just a state of mind, a desire for a change. An actual goal, however, involves planning, or in Wikipedia’s words, “establishing specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-targeted objectives. “

We at Shipshewana Auction & Flea Market have set goals for 2012 – goals to continue to improve and grow our business with our first focus on our customers and how we can serve you better.

We have some exciting changes coming, and we invite you to experience them with us.

So make one of your goals for the New Year to visit us, whether to take advantage of some specials at the Farmstead Inn, eat some home-cooked goodness at the Shipshewana Restaurant, or stroll through the many unique booths at the Antique Gallery.

Or you could participate in one of our three weekly auctions – the antique and livestock auctions on Wednesday and our Friday horse sale – while anticipating our May 1 opening day of the Flea Market.

Happy 2012 to all of you … and happy goal-setting as well!

Forget the crowds, Dick Clark and New York City’s Times Square Ball, and the babysitter.

I’ve got a better idea.

Reserve a room at the Farmstead Inn and enjoy the perks of being our guest.

Perks, you ask? Why, yes, there are many. And one of them is celebrating the New Year safely and alcohol-free at the Farmstead Inn’s annual New Year’s Eve party.

In the warmth and comfort of a place like home, you can play bingo and win prizes, play the Inn’s “Favorite Candy Game,” and win special coupons and, well, candy.

Or you could watch all three Toy Story movies with the kids and a bag of popcorn.

Stick around from 7 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. and you just might win a free overnight stay and a gift basket in one of the hourly holiday gift drawings.

If movies and games aren’t your thing, you can start your New Year’s resolution early by playing some ping pong or working up a sweat in the fitness room.

But come back for the New Year’s Eve countdown.

And when you’re done hugging and kissing your loved ones, continue the New Year celebration by washing away the stress of the old year in the heated swimming pools and hot tub. Both will be open until 1 a.m.

Or, you could just ring in the New Year shooting some hoops in a half-court basketball game.

It’s your choice.

Enjoy the perks and have a safe and Happy New Year!

Although I’m a generation or so removed from knowing much of anything about antiquing, I still can appreciate those old-fashioned, “frozen in time” keepsakes.

And I can’t think of a better place to find those treasures than while strolling through the Shipshewana Antique Gallery.

I have been in several antique shops and malls, but there is just something about the Shipshewana Antique Gallery. Maybe it’s the wide array of antiques tastefully displayed among hundreds of booths, lining two floors of 31,000 square feet of gallery space. It could be the knowledgeable, personable salespeople who treat shoppers like family. Or it might just be the atmosphere created by both.

Whatever “it” is, it makes for an enjoyable, memorable shopping experience, especially at Christmas time.

Trying to find that perfect, unique item for those who have everything? Coffee lovers might appreciate a Swift Mill Lane Brothers Coffee Grinder. Surprise the hunter in your life with a Painted Tramp Art Frame with a hunting dog print. For those eclectic collectors, there just might be an item they don’t have yet among the many book collections, glassware items, sports memorabilia, jewelry pieces, historical items, toys, etc.

For a sample of the kind of quality items offered a the Shipshewana Antique Gallery, visit www.rubylane.com/shop/tradingplaceantiques.

Yes, there’s just something about the Gallery … and something for everyone — even for the “antique challenged” like me.

Happy shopping!

Just the other day I hosted a small Christmas gathering at my home. The holidays seemed like a good excuse to get everyone together and just cut loose and catch up with my friends.

I always have the best intentions of being organized. You know, have a small menu planned a week beforehand, the ingredients bought and all the food prepared the night before. But somehow I always end up buying everything the night before or, (gasp!) the hours before the party! Inevitably, while nursing a burnt finger or assessing my post-party kitchen mess, I wonder why I just didn’t buy something already prepared.

My procrastination carries through to Christmas shopping as well. Every year I vow I will get it all done at least by the end of November. But every year I am running around trying to pull off some last minute “Twas-the-night-before-Christmas” shopping!

A little help, please!

Then I remembered one of my friends had purchased several pies from the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant for Thanksgiving. She didn’t have to slave in a hot kitchen, and her fingers were burn-free! And she raved about her chocolate-peanut butter, pumpkin and butterscotch pies.

Wow, why didn’t I think of that?

It’s too late for my party, but Christmas dinner is just around the corner. I could be the envy of my family and walk in with a decadent, Old Fashioned Crème pie or delight my diabetic uncle with a sugar-free apple pie.
Come to think of it, I could do some holiday gift shopping as well. A lot of people on my list like pie. I could give them a gift that keeps on giving all year round: a Pie-A-Month card.

Thanks, Shipshewana Auction Restaurant, for making my holidays just a little less stressful!

Some people feel the Christmas decorating urge long before December has its foot in the door while others like to savor Thanksgiving just a little while longer. Either way, for many of us the challenge of placing the Christmas tree perfectly in the holder, stringing a tangled web of lights around it, and hanging our sacred ornaments without dropping them is an annual tradition. Add in some Christmas carol background music and a marshmallow laden cup of hot chocolate with some homemade Christmas cookies, and we’re good to go!
For those who want to continue their Christmas traditions outside of the comfort of their homes, the Farmstead Inn offers a great environment in which to create new memories. Stop in and check out our beautifully decorated accommodations, and while there, take off your coat and stay awhile with a discounted reservation. December is Customer Appreciation Month when lodgers can enjoy a 2-night mini vacation for $59.99 a night plus tax. (This special is based on 2 adults and 2 children under the age of 14). As Old Man Winter settles in for a long stay, kick back and warm yourself with the beckoning, cozy fireplace or a dip in the hot tub while your young ones splash away in the heated pool.
While you’re enjoying your “home- away-from-home” comforts, you may want to explore the many Christmas festivities the town of Shipshewana has to offer. The Christmas Tree Walk at the Town Center begins today and continues through the end of the month. Saturday is Kid’s Day at the Davis Mercantile downtown. Also on Saturday is Santa’s appearance at the Town Center from 11-2. And if cold temperatures excite you, the Shipshewana Ice Festival begins Dec. 28 with ice carvings being completed throughout the town. The festival ends Dec. 30 with a snowmobile race and chili cook-off.
You deserve a break from the hustle and bustle.
Let us make your visit here a new Christmas tradition.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and we are all lit up for the holidays! We are grateful for our customers, our vendors and our associates! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I’m excited to be able to take everything we learned about the Flea Market this year and evaluate it and improve on what our guest’s experiences will be in 2012. So, I say “hello” to the slowness of winter. I say “hello” to the quiet and the time to regroup and plan for the future.

Indiana winters can be very unpredictable, but this year the meteorologists are telling us it’s going to be a humdinger. I don’t think that’s quite fair because we had a humdinger last winter, but we don’t really have a say in it, do we? So, we make a cup of hot chocolate, sit back, study the summer, remember and know that summer is coming again. Next year’s Flea Market will be even better!

So good-bye summer and the Mid-West’s largest Flea Market, and hello winter and a time to plan for the future! See you all in 2012! And if you get nostalgic, come visit us for an exciting antique auction on Wednesdays at 9am or visit our Gallery across the street. Some things are open all year round!