Some former big box stores in New England will be filled with the holiday "spirit" to end the year. The pop-up retail chain Spirit Christmas is temporarily moving in to old Bed Bath & Beyond, Joann and Christmas Tree Shops locations in the region next month.

There are 30 Spirit Christmas stores opening across the country this holiday season, including two in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire and two in Connecticut. 

Like its spooky counterpart "Spirit Halloween," the Christmas version is known for moving into shuttered storefronts and then packing up shop at the end of the season. Spirit Christmas says it will be stocked with decorations like wreaths, lights and lawn inflatables, as well as Christmas sweaters, holiday party supplies and gift bags.

In Massachusetts, Spirit Christmas will once again move into an old Christmas Tree Shops store in Dartmouth at the Faunce Corner Shopping Center. Christmas Tree Shops originated on Cape Cod and was a favorite spot for bargain hunters for more than 50 years before it went bankrupt and closed all its stores in 2023.

A new Spirit Christmas will open at the former Bed Bath & Beyond In North Attleboro off Route 1. Just over the border in New Hampshire, a Spirit Christmas is opening in Salem next to the TJ Maxx at Cluff Crossing Road. 

And in Connecticut, Spirit Halloween is coming to two former Joann locations in Manchester and Milford. The more than 80-year-old fabric and crafts retailer closed all of its stores earlier this year, citing "significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment."

Defunct big box retailers in Massachusetts have been replaced with varying degrees of success. Ollie's Bargain Outlet recently moved into a closed Big Lots store in Fitchburg, while an old Bed Bath & Beyond in Danvers was just transformed into a pickleball complex. In Framingham, however, a supermarket that opened less than a year ago in a space vacated by Bed Bath & Beyond is already planning to close.