Santa to visit the Stateline

Santa will be making his way toward the Montana stateline, where he will hand out presents to children in the rural east end of Boundary County.

The Stateline House will be hosting a community Christmas party on Dec. 18, kicking off the festivities with a pot luck at 2:30 p.m.

The fun starts for the children at 3:30 p.m., with gingerbread house decorating.

“Each child will have their own gingerbread house to decorate,” said owner Brooke Harris. “There will be vats of frosting and candy galore for the children to decorate with.”

Santa will arrive at 4:30 p.m. to hand out Christmas presents.

The Stateline House is currently inviting parents to contact them and have their child’s name placed on the giving tree so that every child has a gift. Children from zero to eighteen years old are welcome to participate.

If you would like to purchase a gift for the giving tree, you’re asked to have the gift returned to the Stateline by Dec. 17.

“We don’t want one disappointed child, so if you do commit to purchasing a gift, please make sure you drop it off before the party,” Harris said.

The Stateline House always purchases a few extra gifts just in case.

Children are welcome to request gifts or just provide their age and gender and receive a surprise.

“We’ve had some really great gifts in the past, everything from a complete lifetime supply of fishing gear to diamond rings,” Harris said. “We’ve found that when people pick a name off of the tree, and they aren’t held to one gift wish, they start to think about what they have at home that they no longer need or want, and they really get into the spirit of giving. They really want to bless the children with something special.”

To donate a gingerbread house, candy for decorations, or money to purchase the items, contact Brooke at 406-295-4939.

To choose a child’s name off of the tree, call before Dec. 11,, in order to have ample time to purchase or choose a gift. Call in advance to reserve your child’s gingerbread house so that there are enough for everyone.

We’re expecting a lot of chaos, sugared up children, running around in a sea wrapping paper and presents,” Harris said. “Everyone loves to see their child open the gift that they gave them and watch that smile that they created.”