It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, or at least it will this weekend when Merrill kicks off its annual Christmas celebration weekend!
Summary of Christmas Activities in Merrill:
•Sixth Annual Very Merrill Christmas cards are now on sale at the Merrill Area Chamber of Commerce, Courtside Furniture, Trinity Church and at Blooming Wishes. Christmas cards, limited edition signed prints and smaller prints are also available at the Chamber while supplies last. Once again Ted Nicholson’s artwork was selected for the 2016 card. Ted has been the artist for the past six years and has depicted very different Merrill Christmas scene each time. The 2016 print depicts Trinity Lutheran Church.
•Annual Downtown Customer Appreciation – Saturday, Dec. 3, kicks off the holiday season with great shopping specials all day long. Shopkeepers will be serving holiday treats and the Merrill High School chorus and band students will provide Music on Main, serenading shoppers on the streets and in downtown stores in the afternoon.
•Breakfast with Santa – Saturday, Dec. 10, start your morning by taking the kids to the Smith Center for breakfast with Santa from 8-11 a.m. Cost is $3 per person. Please register by Dec. 1 by calling 715-536-7313 and be sure to bring your camera for Santa time photos.
•Annual Lighted Christmas Parade – Saturday, Dec. 3, begins at W. Main and State streets at 5 p.m. and ends at the Lincoln County Courthouse. Sixty-plus lighted floats will officially kick off the holiday season. At the end of the parade, Santa will light up the decorations on the courthouse lawn, officially ringing in the Christmas season!
•Park Lane Manor Luminaria – Saturday, Dec. 3, immediately following the parade cross the Center Street Bridge and head to the Park Lane neighborhood across the street from Good Samaritan Hospital for the annual luminaria tour. Thousands of luminaries line the streets of the neighborhood. Drive through in your vehicle or take a wagon ride to view the luminaries and Christmas decorations. Stop in at Assisi Hall at Bell Tower after the ride to warm up with hot chocolate, hot cider, popcorn and cookies. A free will donation is encouraged.
•O’Tannenbaum Tour – Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 3-4, enjoy an annual tour of decorated trees filled with magic and wonder at the O’Tannenbaum Tour at St. Stephen’s UCC Church. Plenty of fun for the family; tour the decorated Christmas trees and enter the raffles for the decorated trees, gift baskets and wreaths. Cost: adults $3, 6-12 years old $1, under age 5 free.
•The 20-foot Christmas wreath is up on the courthouse lawn and ready for Santa to turn on the lights. It costs money to keep the decorations lit up during the holiday season so the Chamber of Commerce Foundation is accepting donations from the community to help pay for the electrical costs. Tax deductible donations can be brought or mailed to the Chamber office at 705 N. Center Ave. and can be made in any amount.