It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just TEN short days away!? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

I am so thankful I was able to make it to the First Friday ARTwalk in Newberg on December 5th, it was just what I needed to get into the holiday spirit. With caroling, Santa Claus, tons of little kids, and a grand Christmas tree, the ARTwalk was the perfect way to kick-off the weekend!

I learned that this year’s tree lighting marked 30 years of celebrating Santa in Newberg! It was great to see so many families out and about enjoying the ARTwalk and the Chehalem Cultural Center.

Inside the Chehalem Cultural Center, guests were treated to more caroling and a Holiday Market. We have such talented artist in our community and I’m always amazed with their creativity…I perused all of the booths and then picked up some one-of-a-kind gifts for family members.

Such a cute poinsettia apron…it would have made the perfect Christmas gift!

I even spotted Santa Claus when I stepped back outside!

As I walked around downtown Newberg I snapped a few photos that capture the essence of the holidays for me. My favorite sight was watching little kids dance on the sidewalk under the snow machine at the Blue Trout Gallery. Everyone needs a snow machine…everyone also needs pedestrian friendly sidewalks to play on!

I was also crushing on the felt reindeer at Pulp and Circumstance…they’d look perfect on our fireplace! On Dasher, on Dancer, on Donner, on Blitzen…

And of course, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t comment on the street light decorations. In my day job, I do a ton of roadway lighting design and we often come up with electrical designs to accommodate community holiday decorations. It’s always great to the decorations in action!

It was a wonderful night to stroll the streets of Newberg and take in the all of the holiday cheer!