I ran up to Holyoke last weekend to visit one of my favorite aunts, accompanied on the drive by another of my favorite aunts. I’m a lucky lady, what can I say. We had a wonderful time sightseeing, gossiping, dining out and SHOPPING! The shopping was great as Holyoke has a delightful mall that houses many of the big box stores all under one roof.
The Holyoke Mall at Ingleside is located at
50 Holyoke Street
Holyoke, MA 01040

We enjoyed the mall because we are frugal folk who really appreciate the pricing scheme of the big chain department stores. This place is one stop shopping at its very best. The following is just a partial list of the stores you can visit while at the mall:
Abercrombie & Fitch, A.C. Moore,
American Eagle, Apple, Babies R Us,
BabyGAP, Banana Republic, Bath & Body Works,
Best Buy, Borders, Burlington Coat factory
Christmas Tree Shops, Forever XXI, H&M, JCPenney,
Macy's, Pottery Barn, Sears, Sports Authority,
Target, Victoria's Secret, White Barn Candle Co &Williams-Sonoma.

Once you’ve had your fill of that sort of shopping there is still plenty to do in Holyoke, including, but not limited to, more shopping!

We chose to visit the Yankee Candle headquarters next. It is located in South Deerfield and is only a few minutes ride from Holyoke. The address is
25 Greenfield Road
South Deerfield, MA 01373

What an amazing store they have there. I loved everything about the place from the window boxes and sprawling porches out front, to the winding maze of interconnected rooms that continually coaxed sighs and gasps from each one of us as we passed through them. It was great fun to stand in the snow room in July. It is full of artificial evergreens and it snows every four minutes. There are toy trains running around the top of many of the rooms and the most unique Christmas ornaments you’ll find anywhere. The selection is staggering.
Oh and then there’s the fudge. We tried a sample pack of multiple varieties but trust me on this, the caramel fudge is the BEST!

If you ever find yourself in the area of Holyoke Ma, visit the mall and the Yankee Candle store. If you don’t have time for both then just do the latter. If you have any energy left over, the view from Mount Tom is also worth taking in. I wouldn’t give up the snow room for it though, just so you know.