Holidays in a Small Town

I am so blessed to live in a small town. I realize the speed of the small town may not be for everyone – it’s slow. It’s friendly. It’s full of folks who wave and call you by name. It can also be full of gossip and tall tales, but i prefer to focus on the highlights. The holidays are often an extra special time in a small town. We may not have the epic performance of The Nutcracker like Austin did, or huge parades with balloons or floats like New York or Portland. What we do have are family friendly events filled with happy kids allowed to run all around with their friends and little markets filled with hand-crafted goodies and your favorite neighbors.

We started our holiday season at the Philomath tree lighting. As childless adults who didn’t grow up here (and thus don’t know a ton of folks), we often feel a bit out of place at this event. Elementary kids sing carols, the school mascot makes an appearance and kids tear around the front lawn around the Christmas tree like bolts of sugar fueled lightening. We always bring OUR kid, Pocket and she helps to break the ice with our neighbors since everyone wants to say hello to her.

I’ve been singing carols in my head since way before Thanksgiving as i have been felting  a ton of little Fiber Friends ornaments for market and my online shop. Both holiday markets i vended were this past weekend and i had a real blast. The first market, north of Corvallis wasn’t quite our style: there were avon booths and the like, so my handcrafted soaps and felted ornaments didn’t quite blend in. Sunday found us in our “old stomping ground” at the Wren Community Market where we’ve been vending since we first moved to town. Talk about small town, the Wren market is VERY small, but can get a surprising number of visitors especially for the holiday market (it’s on the way to several Christmas tree farms!) I love hanging out with my friends, meeting new neighbors (did you hear that – we might be moving to Kings Valley soon!) and establishing myself as THE soapmaker for the Kings Valley/Wren/Pedee areas. There’s something about hanging out in an oooold community hall warmed by a massive woodstove, sharing stories with friends and listening to Christmas music that really stirs the holiday spirit.

How about you – do you live in a small town or a big city? Do you get your Christmas spirit from others around you? Events? Music? Is your Christmas spirit fueled by your love of Christ or by childhood memories of decorated trees and delicious cookies?