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| The Christmas fair at the Congregational Church will feature many handmade ornaments. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz) |
With all their guns a-gluing and seamstresses a-sewing, the parishioners of the Congregational Church are ready to host the annual Christmas fair, featuring handmade holiday crafts, ready-to-decorate gingerbread houses, baked items, and the ever-popular “Lunch with Santa” this Saturday, Dec. 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church on the Common.
Santa himself will arrive on a fire engine at 10:45 a.m. with his missus beside him. After taking a ride around the Common with his elves—members of the high school youth group—he will preside over three separate seatings for lunch, at 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. More than 250 parents and children had lunch with Santa last year, said event coordinator Dennis Bradley, and many more came for the chance to find holiday greens offered by the church’s flower committee, a Christmas coffee cake, or a slice of quiche in the tea room.
“It’s really a great event,” Bradley said. “There’s something there for everyone.”
Susan Barber said she is excited about the variety and quality of the handmade items for sale this year. She hosted a series of crafting sessions in her home for the past several months, and said the group has come up with an excellent assortment of gifts and decorations. The seamstresses in the group made a number of fleece hat and scarf sets for adults and children, many with a Red Sox or Patriots theme. The other crafters made a wide variety of Christmas ornaments; nesting birds, vintage-looking “pine cone ladies,” angels, skiing penguins, and snowmen round out the offerings. Many of the ornaments can be personalized on the spot, she said. Barber, an accomplished painter, made many of the holiday pins that will also be for sale. Made from cinnamon sticks and wooden stars, the faces of the Santas and snowmen have a European folk art look.
While modest about her own contributions, Barber is enthusiastic about what the group will have to offer on Saturday. “It will be much better than it’s ever been before,” she said.
High school youth group leader Pam Cochrane will coordinate with a group of 15 elves to serve lunch with Santa and Mrs. Claus. She reported that the 11 a.m. seating is already sold out, with tickets for noon going fast. However, there are almost always tickets available for the 1 p.m. seating, she said. Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased at the Congregational Church office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, or by calling 978-456-8788. Depending on availability, tickets can also be purchased at the door on Saturday.
Now in its second year, the festival of trees and wreaths is also a popular draw of the Christmas fair, Bradley said. Coordinated by Sharon Schmidt, wife of Congregational Church minister Greg Schmidt, the festival features an assortment of artificial trees and wreaths, each decorated in a unique theme. When all the trees and wreaths are assembled upstairs in the sanctuary, Schmidt said, it’s “a magical place to be.”
“It’s just so much fun to walk around and look at everything,” she said.
One of the wreaths comes with a certificate for a weekend on Cape Cod, while another is decorated with more than 15 CDs of Christmas music. One particularly creative parishioner made a number of tiny, hand-knit sweaters in a variety of different patterns and hung them on miniature hangers all over one of the trees.
“It’s absolutely adorable,” Schmidt said.
Those interested in a tree or wreath buy raffle tickets for $2 each or 12 for $20, then walk around and deposit one or more tickets in the raffle ticket box in front of that item. The winning ticket is drawn from each box at 3 p.m., at the end of the fair.
The majority of proceeds from the Christmas fair benefit outside missions and charity, Schmidt said, with a small amount designated for the church’s general operating fund. However, both Sharon and Greg Schmidt indicated that the money is almost beside the point; the spirit of community the event brings to town is the true value of the Christmas fair.