Twas the Night Before Christmas event draws a crowd
Santa Claus reads “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to the crowd at the first Our Town Coshocton Christmas event held Dec. 10. Jen Jones | Beacon
COSHOCTON – When Our Town Coshocton decided to plan a Christmas event, the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was the easy theme to choose. The classic was written in 1850 during the days of canal boats, a time that Coshocton and Roscoe Village love to show off and celebrate.
Angie Brillhart, from Our Town Coshocton, said they wanted an event that would be fun for everyone in the family and still showcase the canal era that draws so many people to Coshocton every year. Brillhart said shopping local is so important to the area and they wanted to highlight just how many unique places we have to shop in this holiday season.
“Since this is our first year, we are hoping to learn what works and build on that to make this an event that brings people from all over to see us next year,” Brillhart said. “We want families to experience an old-fashioned type of Christmas.”
The event took place on Saturday, Dec. 10 and started at the Art Park on Main Street (former home of the Park Hotel). Children were invited to hunt for Christmas ornaments that had been scattered through the park. Special ornaments would earn them a bag of candy. Despite the cold, several families took advantage of the event and children squealed with delight as ornaments were found.
The Coshocton Public Library brought a snowman craft for the kids to do and hot chocolate and doughnuts were given out. The high point of the morning was the arrival of Santa Claus. After greeting several children, Santa read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to the crowd and added several “Ho – ho – ho’s” to the story. He even shook his belly just like he did in the story.
Carol Watson brought her grandson, Clayton, to the park to enjoy the fun. She said one of his friends told them about it and, despite the frigid temperatures, they dressed like they were going sled-riding and came. Clayton found a big bag of ornaments and was happy he got to come.
The ornaments they found were pretty, but what Sadie, 3, and Bryly, 4, Welsh really wanted was a candy cane from the tree they saw decorated with them. Dad Bryan said he and wife, Kellly, decided to come for the kids, so they could have some fun and meet Santa. He said Christmas is all about the children and the fun they have. Both girls gathered ornaments while they waited for Santa.
Another part of the event was the Sugar Plum Shop Hop. Several downtown businesses donated gifts to be raffled off at the end of the day. The grand prize was a pair of diamond earrings. Most shops offered incentives at their store such as discounts on select products or BOGO sales. Raffle tickets could be earned by making a purchase at the participating stores or they could be purchased before the raffle.
Our Town Coshocton would like to remind everyone that shopping local keeps your money in your community. When you purchase from a small business, you help the owner pay for sports or dance lessons for their children, instead of putting more money into a chain store owner’s pocket. Your money stays here and helps build a stronger community for everyone. Shop local this Christmas.
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