Or perhaps you can at Findley Lake’s annual “Christmas through the Village.” This year’s event took place over the weekend and was well attended by both area residents and visitors, many of whom came to experience the feeling of a small town Christmas.

Christmas through the Village provided exciting activities for visitors of all ages. Horse-drawn rides were available in town and Christmas music floated through the air. The shops were cheerfully decorated and offered specials for their patrons, and September Moon Art Gallery hosted a book signing on both days.

Each shop hosted its own drawing for a special prize. At the end of the weekend, all of the entries were put into to one bowl for the grand prize drawing — a $100 gift card to Pine Junction restaurant, which was won by Mary Schwab.

Santa’s Workshop is always a favorite stop at Christmas through the Village, and this year was no different. Located in the Findley Lake Fire Hall, it was a wonderland of Christmas magic, decorated as a holiday forest, with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Santa’s Elves as the main attractions.

Gianna Susi is pictured painting a Christmas tree on Emma Nguyen-Ness’ cheek. Photo by David Prenatt

So what was the cost of all the fun, including a photo with Santa? Absolutely nothing. Nancy Sonney, owner of the Secret Cubby of Antiques who co-organizes the event with Shelly Sharp, said they decided a few years ago to rely only on donations.

“There are a lot of people out there who can’t afford to take their kids places,” Sonney said. “It is for the community. When you see the kids light up, it’s all worth it.”

Sonney and Sharp have been designing and setting up Santa’s Workshop for five years now. Two years ago, they moved to the Fire Hall, which allowed them to engage their creative talents.

Sonney said that this year’s crowd far exceeded that of 2018. By 4 p.m. Saturday, she estimated that the number of people who came through Santa’s Workshop was double that of the entire weekend last year.

She attributed the success to a concerted effort at getting the word out. “We teamed up, the Candle Company, Pine Junction and Secret Cubby all put it on our Facebook pages. We also advertised in the Jamestown paper.” Collectively, the face book information received more than 4,000 hits.

One of the great attractions this year may have been the tables in the center of Santa’s workshop, where Findley Lake resident John R. Schifler had seven train sets assembled and running. The most amazing thing about his display was that none of the trains had been set up for 40 years.

“These trains have been sitting in my garage in a crate for 40 years,” Schifler said. “Nancy (Sonney) was looking for something new this year and I said, ‘I have some trains’. This provided me with the opportunity to set them all up.”

Schifler said he had to take two of the locomotives to the train shop to get them running again. Also, one train belonged to his grandfather, John H. Schifler and dated from somewhere around 1900. The train was built by Ives Manufacturing Co which was bought by the Lionel in 1920, he said.

Another great attraction of the weekend were free horse-drawn wagon rides, provided by Laff N Lyon Ranch in Sherman . Owners Roger and Melissa Lyon transported riders, not only around the village but into another era. The 11-year old speckled draft horses, Susie and Sammy, not only pulled the wagon on both days, but allowed children and adults alike to come close and pet them.

“They’ve done this loop so many times today, they’re on auto pilot — they could do it without me,” said Melissa, who drove the wagon. “The best thing is meeting the people and spreading Christmas cheer. The response from the kids is great. Some want to go more than once and we let them.”