Christmas arrived two months early in La Quinta with the opening of a seasonal holiday store in the Washington Park shopping plaza.

With the scent of cinnamon apple cider in the air, the Christmas Cottage sells hundreds of colorful Christmas ornaments, collectibles, Nativity scenes, wreaths and gingerbread houses.

It opened Oct. 23 and will remain open through Jan. 15.

“It is so nice to have something so pretty in our backyard,” La Quinta resident Linda Delaney said while shopping recently.

The Christmas Cottage is the seasonal store for the Riverside- based home decor store The Gardener's Cottage, which now has three Christmas Cottage locations, owner Sylvia Paulsen said.

For the past six years, The Gardener's Cottage in Riverside has become The Christmas Cottage for a few months during the holiday season, Paulsen said.

The seasonal shop sells more than a dozen themed holiday trees and specialty brands of holiday decorations, including Mark Roberts fairies, Willow Tree angels and Jim Shore figurines, Paulsen said.

This year, Paulsen wanted to branch out to San Diego and the desert, Paulsen said.

“I was told that people are interested in Christmas in the desert,” she said.

Since its opening in La Quinta, the Christmas Cottage has had at least 100 customers, said La Quinta store manager and resident Carla Cornish.

“It feels really good that people are so excited to see a store like this out here,” she said.

Delaney and her daughter Katherine Grace stopped by the store Saturday and bought holiday ornaments, including a green glitter-filled sea star.

“Halloween gets you in the mood for the holidays,” 10-year-old Katherine Grace said. “Once one season goes, you want to go for another one.”

An open house will be held Nov. 13-15 with giveaways and door prizes. The Christmas Cottage will also extend its hours as the holidays draw closer, Cornish said.

Paulsen said she is considering opening another store in the same spot after the Christmas boutique closes in January.