SANTA SEASON

Last weekend was Santa Claus' third time to make a special stop in Plains, but this time he had help from elf Kendall Spurr, 9, as he spent time in businesses downtown.

He visited with 23 kids, five adults, two dogs and a puppy named "Yogi" during his more than five hours in Plains Saturday. "I enjoy making the kids smile and keeping the magic in Christmas. I really just like helping my community," Santa said after spending the day in Plains. He said his time there wouldn't be possible without community support.

His "Santa Stroll" in Plains included spending an hour at each business - Mountain West Clothing, The Bean Bug, 406 Outlet, Garden Gift & Floral and Mangy Moose Mercantile. His largest crowd of kids was a dozen while sitting in a chair outside Mountain West Clothing and the Bean Bug. It was there that J.D. Crabb, an adult, gave Santa a big kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear. Ten kids visited with him at 406 Outlet, where owner Jessica Holland handed out hot cocoa bombs, which turn a hot glass of water or milk into a sweet holiday drink.

"He's very generous with his time and he's doing a good service for the community," said Holland, who was also a participant in the "Winter Stroll" event on Thursday, which included a scavenger hunt. Thirteen businesses took part in the event, including Napa, Gambles Hardware, Mountain West Clothing, Bean Bug, Garden Gift & Floral, Mangy Moose Mercantile, Studs Building & Home, Hello Sweetness Designs, Wildhorse Trading Company, Plains Drug Store and The Fabric Pixie.

Participants roamed from business to business collecting stickers that were applied to a card. The filled card was handed in and a drawing selected the winner, Nikki Ericksen of Plains. She credited her two sons, Jeremiah, 12, and Isaac, 8, for running store to store for two hours collecting the stickers. The Ericksen family won a large box of goodies, donated from each business, from a $20 gift certificate from the Wildhorse Trading Company to a chainsaw from Studs Building & Home.

Erika Lawyer, owner of Mountain West Clothing, felt the first Winter Stroll went well. She said there were a lot of new faces and people were commenting on how nice it was to get out and see people they hadn't seen in awhile. Kayla Lilja, who works at Garden Gift & Floral, and Briana Rivinius, owner of Hello Sweetness Designs, were the main coordinators of the Winter Stroll, which Lawyer said will happen next year with some tweaks based on public feedback, which included having a longer timeframe so people could visit.

Suzy VonHeeder, who co-owns the Bean Bug with Emmalie VonHeeder, said it was wall to wall people all night. VonHeeder opened the cafe special for the Winter Stroll and for the Santa Stroll on Saturday. Lawyer guessed that maybe a couple of hundred people milled around during the Winter Stroll. Almost 80 people took part in the scavenger hunt.

"The Winter Stroll was freakin' fantastic," said Kim Revier, owner of Garden Gift & Floral. "It wasn't a huge profit for any of the businesses, but it got a lot of people in the door and we got a ton of positive feedback," she said.

Santa had no kids visit him at the flower shop, but two adults, Carlotta Panek and Angela Ovitt, had their photos taken with Kris Kringle. Jim and Paula Anderson of Plains had their 11-week-old puppy "Yogi," sit on his lap at the flower shop. Santa mentioned that Yogi still has his puppy breath.

Santa said his day in Plains went well. He had two adults and two children at the Mangy Moose, his last stop of the day. He said that Sanders County Justice of the Peace Doug Dryden and his wife, Jolene, both took time out on Santa's lap at 406 Outlet. He said most kids readily volunteered what they wanted for Christmas, though a few had to be prodded. Six-year-old Aspen Glase of Plains wanted to get on Santa's lap, but couldn't think of anything she wanted. "I've been trying to find out for weeks, but she hasn't even told me what she wants," said Julie, her mom. Kids from newborns to about 13 years old sat on his lap, though he had only one screamer, Mya Aquino, 3, who wouldn't stop crying until mom, Alaina, retrieved her.

One boy at the Mangy Moose asked him for a nerf gun that shoots wads of toilet paper so he could shoot his brother. Four-year-old Ember Paquet gave Santa a page with a Santa sticker and a portion of the alphabet that she printed herself. Santa said that when he was at the Christmas tree lighting two weeks prior, she clung to his side, repeatedly telling him what she wanted for Christmas. Santa said Kendall helped him recall some of the kids' names.

Lawyer said that Steve Spurr and his family have been instrumental in bringing Santa Claus to Plains for a long time. "I'm just so impressed how willing they are to give up their time in the cold to make things special for the littles. It really is a family affair and I hope people appreciate their time and effort," she added. Mountain West Clothing also gave out a goodie bag.

"I think our downtown has been very active this year and particularly this holiday season. It's fun to have some new and young people in the downtown businesses coming up with new ideas and lending a lot of energy to make things happen," said Lawyer. "It takes people willing to not just come up with the ideas, but to execute and to get others excited and it's just really nice to see some of these young women taking a real leadership role," added Lawyer, who also said the businesses might have additional scavenger hunts during the year.

Santa said he appreciated members of the Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District for setting back up the decorated Christmas tree on the greenway, which had blown over a couple of weeks ago. Suzy VonHeeder asked a couple of the firefighters when they were in her café to right the tree, which had been put up by the Plains Lions Club. Chief James Russell, along with crew members Brian Reed, Zach Vanderwall, Joel Banham, and Jessie Behmerwohld of the Plains Ambulance Service, set the tree back up last Tuesday. Reed said they used a ladder and pulley system on district's water rescue truck to hoist it into position and staked it down with four ropes. Steve Spurr, president of the Plains Lions Club wants to see about planting a fir tree in the same vicinity that they could us as a Christmas tree each year.