
Rob Marshall
Photos: Elizabeth Collado
Specialty ornaments are the calling card at Christmas Mouse, comprising about 80% of sales — and there are 33,000 items in rotation on shelves in the nine shops owner Rob Marshall operates along the eastern seaboard.
“When folks are on vacation, they want to take home a memory of their adventures, whether that’s hang gliding off Jockey’s Ridge in the Outer Banks or finding ornaments based on their interests,” Marshall says.

Christmas Mouse ornaments feature nautical holiday themes, including name-drop mementos.
Hospitality is always in season
Holiday spirit carries on to the customer service approach at Christmas Mouse. It’s back to the Golden Rule, “and we remind our associates the most important thing is to just treat people as you would want to be treated,” Marshall says. “It’s easy to lose sight of just being kind and having someone say hello to you. We want people to come in and feel welcomed.”The way ornaments and holiday goods are presented is also designed for a hospitable and smooth shopping experience, as well. The decked-out trees are the basis for displays with peg boards flanking those that hold similar-themed items.

Christmas Mouse stores stock ornament options to suit every age and stage of life.
“We used to be more seasonal with our buying, but a couple of years ago, I said, ‘If it’s a good item and a vendor has it, then we need to have it.’ That has changed our buying patterns and warehousing.” — Rob Marshall
Christmas Mouse also stocks collectibles for guests, such as Byers’ Choice Caroler figurines, playful Jim Shore figurines and Possible Dreams Clothtique Santas in a variety of poses — including with Frosty the Snowman or petting a Labrador with a stocking in its mouth.
Stocking up
Marshall stocks up for the year at the Atlanta Market, and he says his buying preference is “not really trend oriented.”
Christmas Mouse owner Rob Marshall stocks up at Atlanta Market.
Christmas Mouse has three shops in the Outer Banks in North Carolina with a mall popup; locations in Duck and Nags Head, North Carolina; a North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, store; an outpost in Pawleys Island, Virginia; a Virginia Beach, Virginia, boutique; and two souvenir destinations in Williamsburg, Virginia, including the headquarters with storage for inventory.
This year alone, he bought 9,100 different items to sell across his stores. Stocking up has been key since the pandemic, he points out. “We used to be more seasonal with our buying, but a couple of years ago, I said, ‘If it’s a good item and a vendor has it, then we need to have it.’ That has changed our buying patterns and warehousing.”
Before, Marshall typically maintained an inventory of about 3,000 items in the Williamsburg warehouse. Now, there are 5,100 items in storage so he can be sure shelves are full.
And people are thinking Christmas even at the beach, he adds. Among surf shops and souvenir shacks, customers find the holiday vibe to be an inviting change of pace. Marshall says, “Our stores are an annual stop for many beachgoers.”