Holiday Kickoff

Even in November, it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Plains last weekend with the "Kickoff to Christmas" holiday gala put on by the Plains Lions Club and the businesses of Plains.

Three businesses held activities for children and several held special sales all day. This was the first time for the 406 Outlet to participate in the annual event, which is in its fourth year, though in the past it's been called the Christmas Extravaganza.

"I think people came in just to get their face painted," said Jessica Holland, owner of the 406 Outlet. Holland estimated that more than 40 people showed up to have Cassie Peacock paint their faces. The kids ranged from 18-month-old Briggs Bache to 17-year-old Bridger Bauer, who had a snowman on one cheek and a candy cane on the other. Peacock said the most popular was the string of lights, which she did across the bridge of the nose. Holland also gave out cookies and a goodies bag. "It was awesome. We're going to keep doing this every year," said Holland, who's been in business three years.

Hello Sweetness Designs, owned by Briana Rivinius, switched this year from Christmas tree decorations to Christmas cookies. She and her daughter, Emelia, 13, baked nearly 90 cookies - bells, stars and trees - for the kids to decorate with candy and frosting. Rivinius guessed that about 50 people, including five adults, decorated cookies during the four-hour event.

On the other side of town, the Mangy Moose Mercantile set up tree ornament decoration stations, a switch from last year's cookie decorating. "They had a great time. We even had one adult do it," said Crystal McDonald, who coordinated the festivities at Mangy Moose. The man made a popsicle Christmas tree, wrapping the outline of the tree with red pipe cleaner, and leaving it for others to see. McDonald, along with employees Billie Holyk and Stephanie Johnson made up 80 ornament templates and several samples to guide the kids. The store, owned by Kayle and Shauna O'Brien, also had an assortment of treats for visitors. The Bean Bug, which isn't normally open on Saturdays, had a good flow of people throughout the day, some coming to get their photo taken with the life size Yeti poster.

The main event ran from noon to 4 p.m., but the festivities continued along the greenway with Christmas music and two fire pits for marshmallow roasting. There was also hot cocoa and the chance to make pine cone bird feeders for the lighted Christmas tree, which was strung by Whitney Spurr and her daughter, Cooper. Daughter Kendall helped place tinsel on the tree. The girls also collected two boxes of pine cones, which guests covered with peanut butter and topped with bird seed. Whitney Spurr tied strings so people could hang them on the tree. It was a project that she used to do as a Girl Scout.

McGowan Grocery donated the marshmallows and cocoa and Gambles Hardware donated the bird seed. The night was topped off with a tree lighting ceremony and the town's first "Parade of Lights Christmas Parade." Twenty-five decorated vehicles, including five antique vehicles sserveerving as reindeer for the 1967 Ford Bronco sleigh carrying Santa Claus, played once again by Steve Spurr, president of the Plains Lions Club, and Whitney, his wife, as an elf.

Other upcoming festivities scheduled for Plains include a Plains Winter Stroll from 6-8 p.m. on December 8 and on December 10 Santa will spend time visiting businesses in Plains. On Saturday, December 3, Santa Claus plans to hand out presents from his temporary workshop at the old log schoolhouse along Railroad Street, complements of Joint Operation Mariposa.

Spurr and Plains Lions Club members Marvin Tanner and Rick Powers, along with Justin Martin of NorthWestern Energy put up 28 Christmas pole ornaments along Railroad Street Saturday morning. The club this year added three more near City Hall.