
Christmas was certainly in the air last Sunday, December 17 with two family friendly activities going on that afternoon. The "Shopping with the Elves" event provided an opportunity for children to shop for their family members and was a great success with many gifts purchased and wrapped. Volunteer students from Yellow Medicine East were a great help!
The same afternoon featured Lomen's reindeer at the Andrew J. Volstead House with Santa and Mrs. Claus inside taking orders and posing for photos. Carl Lomen was married to Andrew Volstead's only daughter, Laura, and is credited for bringing part of his Alaskan reindeer herd to parades in St. Paul and other large cities in the 1920s. So along with celebrating the season, there is also a historical reason for the reindeer to visit Granite Falls. The warm weather was probably a factor accounting for record attendance at this event. It was fun to see all the family photos with Santa and outside in his sleigh flanked by the reindeer.
Thank you to all the volunteers who made this possible! Thank you for the donations for the children's shopping mall both from local businesses and individuals. The Granite Falls Historical Society plans to make this a yearly event and the Chamber will also host the children's shopping mall again next year.