Chamber of Commerce event brings holiday cheer to Bonners Ferry
Photos by MANDI BATEMAN Santa Claus visits with Levi Jones, 6, and three-month-old Chloe Jones during his evening in Bonners Ferry on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in style on the fire truck.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN The rain did not deter the families from coming out to meet Santa.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Santa and Mrs. Claus took time to greet the children when they got off the fire truck.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Santa and Mrs. Claus awaiting the children at the Georgia Mae Plaza.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Wyatt Bustillos and Gabriel Crum got the chance to sit on Santa’s lap.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Santa arriving in the fire truck.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN The children eagerly waited for a chance to meet Santa Claus.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Melissa Bustillos, Ryder Bustillos, Gabriel Crum, and Wyatt Bustillos enjoying Hometown Holidays.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN Santa Claus greeting children in the rain.
BONNERS FERRY — A cold, drizzly day did not deter the crowd of people — especially children bouncing with excitement — from turning out to great Santa and Mrs. Claus when they arrived at Georgia Mae Plaza, not in a sleigh, but in a fire truck on Saturday, Dec. 7.
The widely anticipated annual event was a part of the Hometown Holidays put on by the Bonners Ferry Chamber of Commerce. They invite Santa and Mrs. Claus every year to come and do the honors of lighting the Christmas tree on Main Street.
Santa stepped off the firetruck with the lovely Mrs. Claus and greeted children with hugs, before the couple settled in on their chairs in the gazebo to listen to each child’s Christmas wish list.
“I am going to ask for a tablet, a guitar, and a drum set,” said eight year old Constance Allen, while waiting in line.
“I just love the way that it is — everybody is really cool and really nice,” said her father, David Allen. “Santa Claus and Santa’s wife are so awesome. It is a cool thing to do for the town.”
Multiple businesses help put the Hometown Holidays together, including Coldwell Banker North Woods Realty, Safeway, Super 1 Foods, Boundary Consignments, Chamber of Commerce, Auburn Crest Hospice, P1FCU, North Idaho Collision Repair Center, Mugsy’s Tavern and Grill, Rusty Moose, and Riverside Auto. The day also featured the 9B Ladies on the Loose, and a showing of “The Grinch” at The Pearl Theater.
As children finished telling Santa their Christmas wishes, they were treated to a candy cane, cookies, hot cocoa, and hot apple cider.
“It is the best little thing in a small town,” said Lori Allen. “The decorations and everything are spectacular.”