Käthe Wohlfahrt of America

Käthe Wohlfahrt of America is a festive little treasure tucked into Stillwater — a shop that embraces the charm and tradition of old-world Christmas. The moment you walk in, you’re greeted by ornaments, delicate woodwork, and a sense of warmth that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a European winter market. It’s easy to get lost wandering the aisles, discovering hand-painted baubles, nutcrackers, and heirloom-quality decorations. What stands out most is the attention to tradition and craftsmanship. Whether you’re picking out an intricate ornament or browsing for unique nativity pieces, the care is evident. The team behind the counter seems genuinely proud of the pieces they sell and happy to talk you through the history and origin of many items. On the downside, things can get pricey — some ornaments and décor feel more like keepsakes than casual buys. But if you’re shopping for something special: a family heirloom, a centerpiece decoration, or a distinctive Christmas accent — Käthe Wohlfahrt is worth the splurge. Overall: a cozy, enchanting shop that brings a little European Christmas magic to Stillwater. Perfect for tradition-lovers and anyone wanting a meaningful keepsake.

Beautiful Christmas decorations store with lots of traditional decorations. Nothing plastic here, it's all wood and glass ornaments. The prices reflect the quality of this being sold, so expect to pay accordingly.

What a gorgeous store! Wow! I was just beyond joyed with all the ornaments and decorations. The ladies that were working were so sweet and willing to help. Just gorgeous.

Pretty amazing that this little gem is in the small town of Stillwater when you realize the brand heritage feom Germany and quality of their products. No this isn't a cheap store but you get what you pay for.

My order arrived in a timely manner, and was well-packaged. Very pleased with the item.

I purchased a smoker from here which appeared to be a nice product. I went to use it for the first time today while preparing for the holidays and the incense holder broke off the base! It looks as though it was put together when the paint was still wet and the glue was sloppily applied. Must be some very cheap glue if it would not hold this small base on. An inferior quality product made in Eastern Europe...not actually made in Germany. Most items in this store do not appear to be made in Germany. For this price, this item should not have broken before it was ever used. Terrible quality. Avoid!!!

The BEST Christmas store you'll ever see. So many wonderful beautifully crafted products that will make American Christmas decor weep.

Was in Minneapolis for a day and decided to go to Käthe Wohlfahrt. It’s in a nice little tourist town next to the water that has a walking bridge to Wisconsin. I’ve been to the stores in Rothenberg, Nürnberg and Rüdesheim, Germany and they have a lot of the same ornaments and hand painted things you come to like from these stores. The prices are pretty comparable to what you pay overseas, which was also nice. If you’re looking for something a little nicer than the mass produced Christmas decorations at Lowes, Hobby Lobby, etc., this is the store to check out.

One of my favorite Christmas stores to walk through especially on a cold day in downtown Stillwater. They have the most beautiful and unique ornaments. This store is a one of a kind in the USA but they have another in Germany. Lots of wonderful smokers, clocks, etc. The craftsmanship is top notch. We have a lot of their smokers at our home and some ornaments on our tree. This trip I bought some mini advent calendars to include in our Xmas cards. They're so adorable. Their stuff is pricey but well worth it if you want something unique and handmade.

Fun place to find unique gifts and Christmas wonder. Every time I go in there, I see something different.

Buyer Beware! We loved the store until all the stuff we bought started falling apart. They honor nothing and don't respond to emails and don' answer calls. Items from street vendors are better quality! They either swapped items with broken or broke them wrapping, then refused to honor. Waste of time and money and they overcharge for everyrhing. They are looking to take tourist money and run! It's polished garbage and nothing more. The US arm wasn't able to assist with Germany and continue operating and taking advantage of people.

Every year around Christmas time you will find Kathe Wohlfahrt among the holiday markets in certain cities. Pittsburgh happens to be one of them and believe me it is worth checking out! First the tent is heated which means you can get out of the cold. For this reason and others there's usually a line to get inside. They only permit a few people at a time into their large heated tent. Once inside you are given a basket and proceed clockwise to check out the merchandise and make your selections. Photography is prohibited inside the tent. Everything is set up the same way each year. You first see candlelit pyramids with propellers on top which will rotate while the candles are lit. They are very beautiful and extremely expensive! Then you make your way back and you are surrounded by different Christmas ornaments and authentic beer steins. There are signs throughout telling you to ask for assistance before handling an object. In the back are Nutcrackers and German smoking men. In the middle of the tent you will find more things to decorate your holiday tree. On the far side of the tent they sell music boxes, metal ornaments, German paper cut ornaments and table runners, incense for the smoking men, German candy as well as your check out area. Please note that not everything is Kathe Wohlfahrt. What may look enticing may be made elsewhere. The best way you can tell you have the designer is that there is their signature tag attached to the merchandise. The do carry fine authentic German nutcrackers and smokers made by other companies but do be wary of some of the ornaments. Those items are much cheaper and not authentic to the company. I usually find that if I ask I get the help I needed. Over the years I've collected different Nutcrackers and Smoking men. Both of these products come in unique designs. They are also more affordable if you get smaller sizes. Normally when someone helps me they put the display one back and bring one out to the checkout counter. Cards are the preferred method of payment. Some of their Christmas ornaments are worth a look too. Make sure to keep your receipt. One year I purchased a damaged Nutcracker. I told them about it when I returned a few days later and they let me pick out one of my choice. They give you a complimentary catalog and you can shop for their merchandise all year on line. Now and then they offer discounts but the best part is being able to purchase holiday gifts to make the season bright. Our holiday market just opened last week and will run until just about Christmas. Located in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh there is garage parking nearby along with public transportation.

We went to this store to pick up a few Christmas ornaments while on a weekend trip to Minneapolis. I grew up in Germany and remember going to and enjoying their flagship store in Rothenburg, and I also remember seeing Kathe Wohlfahrt at the Christmas market in Chicago. I was happy to see such a nice store with all the great ornaments I remember seeing at these other locations. Their ornaments are beautiful and of high quality. While here, we picked up about 5 or 6 glass ornaments and one pewter one. They also sell other German/Christmasy items - spinning candle pyramids, beer steins, other candle holders, etc. As much as I liked this store, I have to admit it could be better. The store is rather small, which is disappointing. I think their tent in Chicago was of comparable size to this store. Both were dwarfed by the store in Rothenburg, so I was hoping for something larger. Also, their ornaments are not cheap. All of their wooden ornaments are $15 or more, and their pewter ones start around $25 each. Some of the glass ones with traditional shapes are rather reasonably priced ($6-10), but the ones with more unusual shapes are around $25-30 or more, which I found to be a lot for one ornament. Also, apparently they don't let you take pictures inside. There is one small sign by the front door I didn't notice, but a store employee made it clear to us there is no photography inside. I don't see what the problem is with it, as this policy almost cost them additional income, since someone requested we pick up two pewter ornaments for them but wasn't clear which ones, which necessitated an exchange of pictures to determine which ones they wanted. Regardless, we were happy to come here and get some ornaments, and Im glad it wasn't too far from the Twin Cities. It was also nice to see Stillwater, which we wouldn't have visited if not for this store. So it's a great store and worth visiting. Just don't expect to be able to fill up an entire Christmas tree worth of ornaments from here.

Do not waste your time purchasing from the online store. If you can't see the item in person before you buy it to make sure everything is fine don't buy it. I received a nutcracker which included several areas that looked like the paint had been watered down in order to finish the job and was not something anyone would display, especially given the cost of the item. The customer service team was completely unhelpful even after I sent multiple emails with pictures and calls. Their only solution was for me to pay the shipping to return the item and then pay for the shipping on a new item because mine wasn't "damaged" and tell me that "variations" in items are to be expected since they are hand-painted. This was not a "variation" this was a quality control failure that they expected me to pay for. 0 stars

The customer service for Kathe Wolfhart is absolutely terrible. I have a shipment that appears to be lost and they are refusing to help me handle this with UPS, resend the items or refund the money. Several of them stated to me that once the items leave their warehouse that they did their part. Everyone is aware there are issues with packages now and that they go missing fairly often. I am dismayed.

I wish I could leave this place 0 starts. Their customer service skills are non existent. If you touch anything in the store the snobby employees/manager/owner scold you like a naughty child. There's absolutely no signage asking to not touch anything, so when you do you're treated like a filthy low class sub human. They lost all future business from me due to their rude behavior.

Terrible customer service and interaction between locations! We have spent thousands of dollars at Kathe Wohlfahrt venue's over the years. Yes, we have an account with them. Through our travels we have enjoyed stopping at the Rothenburg store and at their booths at many Christmas markets across Germany. Normally we put all our purchases in our luggage, but this year we bought a nutcracker that would not have fit in our bags. We chose to ship our items instead. The shipping was prompt, we received it the day after we returned from our river cruise, but I had to repair three of the ornaments and the schwiboggen we bought as a gift would not light up at all, even using different plugs. We just happened to be going to Atlanta, GA, where they had a booth, but they had sold out of the exact schwiboggen and referred us to the MN location. They, in turn, referred us to the German location. Between the two locations, all they said they could do was refund the money. Even though the MN location has the exact schwiboggen, they will not allow us to ship it to them, from MI, in exchange for a working model. It was a special gift for my half-German sister-in-law, who has never gone to Germany. I'm really disappointed in their response. Why have an American location, if they cannot help loyal customers who have supported their stores in Europe for over 40 years?

If you're into German trinkets and whatchamacallits, this is the place for you. Coo-coo clocks, steins, collective ornaments and more. The lady running the store was friendly and informative, to boot.

We visited the Kathe Wohlfahrt stores in Bruges, Belgium in April and found the products very unique and seemingly well made. Upon return we found the USA store online and ordered a beautiful pyramid. The first one arrived broken even though it was double boxed. It looked like quite a bit of glue was missing. Got the replacement after about 3.5 weeks. Have used it about 10 times this month and tonight it caught on fire! Luckily we were looking at it when the fire started and stopped it immediately. I cannot believe the poor quality of such an expensive product ($180)! I worry about other families who have these pyramids and look away momentarily and a fires starts and ruins their holiday! Will contact Kathe Wohlfahrt when they are open this week. Extremely disappointed - Beware!!

Shopping there was a humiliating experience. The female clerk behind the counter was incredibly rude and condescending. After spending $179.00i I had to ask a number of times for a box and was refused. I finally insisted that I must have a box and the clerk sighed and put one in my bag. Then after explaining these were gifts i asked if she could remove the price tags and she again refused , stating they must be kept on the product because of returns. Wanting to get out of the store as quickly as possible I paid and left, only to bring home my purchases, unwrap them, take off the price tags and re wrap -a silly waste of time. Ihave never written a yelp review before much less a negative one but her behavior and attitude was unlike anything I have ever experienced in any store. That said, the follow up after my posting has been respectful and service oriented.

Purchased collectible ornaments for our daughters there for years. So impressed with the quality of each, a true keepsake. The staff has always been very accommodating and helpful. We look forward to our annual Christmas visit each year. Jennifer

I toured two Kathe Wohlfahrt stores in Bruges, Belguim and found them highly over priced. When traveling, I tend to look for stores with Christmas related goods and am somewhat familiar with what the competition offers. So while Kathe Wohlfahrt has a nice atmosphere, something hard to avoid when dealing with all things Christmas, it does not compete well with other such stores, incuding De Witte Pelikann, also in Bruge.

I first shopped at Kathe Wohlfahrt in Germany and was very pleased to discover a shop in the US. The quality and detail are superb. They have a good selection. I try to visit whenever I am in Minnesota.

After a nice afternoon spent with my daughters and mother-in-law yesterday at Teddy Bear Park, we headed into Kathe Wohlfahrt of America to pick out our Christmas ornaments like we have for the past 7 years. (Longer for my MIL) I feel compelled to write this review because I have never in my life been so disrespected nor have my children been so disrespected- especially by a business. From the moment we walked in the women working were following us around, hovering around my two children to be sure they didn't break anything even though my MIL and I were both there with them with gentle reminders when needed to not touch. The girls were excited to pick out their very own ornaments and did a good job being careful and taking their time. While at the register, the woman behind the counter, Kathy, took it upon herself to snap at my daughter when she thought my 5 year old was not acting appropriately. I found it very insulting that she thought it was ok to parent my child, and while I was standing right next to her. But I said nothing. (Regrettably) On the way out of the store, another employee walked us to the door as Kathy followed us out onto the sidewalk, raised her voice to me, and in front of my kids, MIL, and everyone on the street on that beautiful afternoon scolded me that "If you could control your children, I wouldn't have to." Flabbergasted, I did my best to defend my children and self before leaving the store. But not before getting this awful woman's name. After dropping everyone off at my in-law's I decided to drive back to the store to return my $60+ worth of ornaments because I do not want those reminders of this day hanging on our family's Christmas tree. Nor do I plan to continue to give any more business to this place now or in the future. After posting about this experience on a Facebook parenting site I belong to, I found that several other people share similar experiences with this store. One woman was there with her husband while a group of women were there with their kids. They were being treated poorly by the employees for having their children along, and it caused not only that group of women and children to leave, but the woman and her husband as well. The man told the women working before he left that'd if this is the way they treat people with kids then he didn't want to give them his business either. This experience was a huge disappointment, and I hope that something is done with this woman and other employees to change the shopping experience for people who do choose to shop here.