Peddler’s Village: through the years

Peddler's Village

Its been a long time since I went to Peddler’s Village. When I was younger, and living in Montgomery County, it was such a thrill. About two or three times a year, our neighbor would pile us into the car and we’d take a day trip (that whopping 40 minute drive was so far. I’ll never forget the time my sister had an accident… but I digress.) The best part about the visit when we were young? The sticker store! We’d each bring our $5 and load up on stickers for the next few months. (Remember sticker collecting?)

Little and Jo-Lynne's daughter at the Fair

Later, Peddler’s Village became a place for Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s. Forty minutes wasn’t too long of a car ride when we were going to dance and play, right? I remember Jenny’s restaurant with the dance floor by the bar, and the luncheon room upstairs. (Jenny’s, by-the-way, is now Earl’s which is, according to @VillageInsider, a true homage to Bucks County.) (Future date night for me and the Huz, yes?)

Many years later, I returned to Peddler’s Village with my boyfriend (who then became my fiance, and then, of course, the Huz). Peddler’s Village became a spot for an evening stroll. A place where we enjoyed late night shopping in unique shops and romantic dinner spots. Going a few weeks before Christmas one year, I remember commenting that the ambiance was so fun and festive, I wanted a promise we’d come back every year.

Big with his only non-sugar prize at The Giggleberry Fair

Grand Carousel

And then we moved to Chester County and the drive to Peddler’s Village seemed so very long and daunting. But this week, I received an invitation to enjoy a morning at the Giggleberry Fair, a lunch at Sweet Lorraine’s and a tour of the village. A long day? Certainly. But the memories started to come back and I realized how much I’d love to share such a magical place with my children.

The kids and I joined about 75 bloggers and kids this week for what was a magical day. We played all morning at The Giggleberry Fair where Middle exhausted himself in The Mountain (a huge climbing and ball-play area) and enjoyed a dizzying (for me, at least) ride on the Grand Carousel and Big became addicted to earning tickets through a variety of games. That, inevitably, lead to him buying candy because he kept spending his tickets on prizes rather than saving for one big one. (Which resulted in crazy sugar high behavior that I was not proud of before he ate his lunch. Sigh. Children.)

We spotted the Vera bags that were such a hit at Blogher (and that Kelly and I had with us on Wednesday)

Our walk through the village jogged a lot of my memories and inspired me to write this post. Its a place where n.o.t.h.i.n.g. changes. Its frozen in time, yet its still so cool and fun. The bright flowers, the well-kept lawns, the animals and water-wheel. Even the shops. Just as I left them 8 years ago. And 8 years before that.

Town Crier Bakery

The Cakes! Just a small selection of their gorgeous masterpieces

After a delightful (yet crazy–the sugar high didn’t calm until after his lunch settled) lunch, we ventured back through the village in smaller groups. A stop at the Town Crier Bakery was inevitable (OMG! their beautiful cakes!), as was Piggydilly’s for home-made ice cream. We stopped at Canterbury Tales Forever, which is one of those children’s book shops like Meg Ryan’s in You’ve Got Mail, the ones that rarely exist any more. I loved the feel of the tight book shelves. And the kids were so cute the way they all plopped down to read on the floor.

Pigadilly's

 Its amazing that a quaint village such as Peddler’s Village still exists today. Completely timeless, you visit Peddler’s Village and you’re filled with comfort and peace in your surroundings. Everyone is friendly. Everyone is delighted to have you as a guest. Its like a resort village in the middle of suburbia.

Dying to go? Of course you are! I have a set of 2 tickets to the Giggleberry Fair to give away. Tickets include a visit to Giggleberry Mountain and Giggles Discovers, unlimited rides on the Grand Carousel and ten free tokens. The winner will also receive two coupons for a free children’s meal (each requires the purchase of an adult meal) at Sweet Lorraine’s Cafe, where we also had lunch. These coupons expire September 30, 2010.

To enter to win, leave a comment below sharing your favorite place to visit growing up (because then maybe I’ll check that out next!) Extra entries will be received by tweeting about this give away using the green retweet button above. (please do not comment that you retweeted. The button auto-alerts me to your retweet). 

Thanks to the Village Insider of Peddler’s Village for inviting members of Philly Social Media Moms to such a fun-filled day. We were treated to admission and tokens at The Giggleberry Fair, lunch at Sweet Lorraine’s Cafe and given a bag full of coupons for stores within the village.

Thanks to Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife for the photos. I wish I had some from way back when to share as well. But if you haven’t been in a while, I can promise you, it barely changes.

© 2010, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.

About Julie Meyers Pron

Julie Meyers Pron has written 813 post in this blog.

mom of 3 and wife, Julie is a former elementary school teacher and a Public Relations manager. She is the owner/editor of Just Precious, founding partner of Just Centsible, and a team member of Splash Creative Media. Julie is a PTOer, volunteer, elementary educator and that's just the beginning of the list!

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Tagged as: bucks county, Chester County Pennsylvania, Giggleberry Fair, peddlers village, pennsylvania