Holiday happenings arrive downtown soon after October’s festivities

Hot on the heels of Gladewater’s Halloween hijinks, public works personnel will be hanging decorations ahead of the annual Holiday Open House.
Crafted each year by Gladewater Chamber of Commerce, the annual event’s set for 5 p.m. to 7:30 Saturday, Nov. 8, downtown.
Chamber dynamo Lois Reed’s at the center of the controlled pre-Christmas chaos, and downtown’s chief elf is finalizing plans for this season’s soiree.
“We’ll have the strolling Christmas Carolers. We have the carriage rides returning. There will be a new addition down by the Christmas tree this year,” she listed. “I’ve talked to Santa. He’s going to try to come that night and make an appearance. The children can write their letters to Santa – we have that special mailbox.
“One of the important things is the lighting of that 24-foot Christmas tree at exactly 6 p.m.”
The Gladewater High School Honey Bears will be participating in the holiday kick-off once again, Reed added, and Little Miss Gladewater Round-up Rodeo is going to make an appearance.
There will be food trucks, as well, to help cover the dinner rush during the event.
“Thankfully, we have such a crowd, the restaurants can’t handle as many people as are milling around.
DJ Randy will be spinning Christmas carols once again, and there’s a chance of ‘snow’ once more in downtown Gladewater.
“Once Halloween is over, we have to double-time it to get all the decorations up before Saturday, Nov. 8.”
Next on the chamber’s calendar will be the quarterly luncheon at noon Monday, Nov. 17, then a double-header on Saturday, Dec. 13 – the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony is set for 11 a.m. that day followed by the year’s Christmas Parade at 5 p.m. downtown.
This year’s theme is ‘The Sounds of Christmas.’
“People have been calling and wanting to know the theme. They say, ‘Wow, that’s hard,’ but it’s really not once you start thinking about it,” Reed said. “What sounds remind you of Christmas? Jingle Bells, the cracking of the fireplace, the crunch of the snow when you’re walking on it, the giggles of the children, that deep voice going Ho-Ho-Ho.
“The rest of the year is going to be busy-busy, but it’s going to be fun-fun-fun.”