Front view of newly constructed retail storefront.

Photo courtesy of Spirit Christmas

The well-known Spirit Halloween holiday pop-up chain is branching out to a new holiday with a new store concept it plans to test out in Connecticut.

The Crystal Mall in Waterford will be host to a Spirit Christmas store starting in mid-November, one of 10 test sites nation-wide.

Four test stores will be in New Jersey – one each in a New York City and Philadelphia suburb and two along the coast – three in New York State in Albany, Poughkeepsie and in central Long Island, one in Erie, Pennsylvania and one in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, close to the state’s border with Rhode Island.

“Spirit Christmas is a new concept for us, and we’re hopeful it will resonate with our customers. Our goal is to create a festive retail experience that captures the spirit of the season, much like we do for Halloween,” company spokesperson Nikki Balles said in an email.

Like its existing Halloween pop-up stores, the Spirit Christmas stores will be stocked with “vast assortment” of seasonal items, in this case holiday decor, apparel, inflatables, gifts and stocking stuffers. The stores will also host Santa Claus appearances and a “life-sized” gingerbread village.