For decades, “Pip the Mouse” has been a holiday staple of the Lehigh Valley, and this year, he has a new home. Just in time for the holidays, “The Mouse Before Christmas,” puppet show, starring Pip, will appear at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum.

Pip the Mouse debuted in a front window of Hess Brothers Department store in Allentown on Oct. 27, 1962, and proved more enduring than anyone could have imagined.

The puppet theater, with its famous tale of “The Mouse Before Christmas,” was created by Dr. George R. Creegan and his wife, along with the Bliss Company of New York.

Since 1962, this puppet show has been beloved by generations of Lehigh Valley children. In the 1970s, Pip moved to Hess’s Community Room on the fifth floor, which was transformed into Fantasyland with mechanical animals and people and Christmas trees, creating a world of magic for children of all ages.

More recently, Pip resided at the Liberty Bell Museum in Allentown. With the dissolution of the Museum earlier this year, it looked as if Pip’s future was in jeopardy. Ultimately, the assets were absorbed by the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum, the headquarters Museum of the Lehigh County Historical Society. With that transfer, Pip the Mouse, his vintage stage, and all of his accessories and friends moved to their new home.

Performances of “The Mouse Before Christmas” will be held at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum:

• Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

• Dec. 16 and 23 at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

• Dec. 26 to 30 at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Each show will include a performance of the puppet show and a live appearance by Pip the Mouse himself. There is an admission fee. Children under 2 are free.

The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum is located at 432 W. Walnut St. in Allentown.