The Big Sandy Christmas Stroll will be returning this weekend after a two year hiatus. The event is returning with a full roster of activities. Many old favorites will be back, like the button drawing, visits from Anna, Olaf, and the Grinch, and the parade. Some new activities will also be taking place, like every restaurant in the community having a Christmas lunch special and the opening of Charbaby Clay on Main Street, and this will be the first year the Breakfast with Santa will be hosted at the Senior Center.

"We are very excited about this year because we haven't had it in two years and are super excited that more people wanted to be involved," explained Leslie Gregory, who has been involved in organizing the stroll for years. "It has gone very smoothly, all the prizes are really great, and we hope this is the best stroll yet."

The Christmas activities kick off at 8 am with Breakfast with Santa at the Senior Center. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs are on the menu for families and you will have an opportunity to take pictures with Santa. The 6th grade class will be playing the part of Santa's Elves again this year. Children will have the opportunity to register to win a Big Christmas Stocking full of prizes. In addition, baked goods will be for sale and multiple raffle items will be available. All of the proceeds from the breakfast will go to the Senior Center. Breakfast is $5 for kids and $8 for adults. The breakfast ends at 10 am.

Children looking for fun at the stroll can then move over to the Big Sandy Public Library, which will have a kids craft table from 10 to 2, as well as cookies and other refreshments. They will also be hosting a raffle.

The Bakery will be open starting at 7 am until 2 pm that afternoon.

Beginning at 8 am and running until 4 pm, the Craft Show will be open at City Hall. Crafts, food, and gifts from vendors will be available for purchase.

The Big Sandy Mountaineer will be hosting an Art Show and Sale, featuring the work of Big Sandy High School Students from 8 am to 2 pm. Stop in and check out our local students' work.

A new business will be open on Main Street for the stroll: Charbaby Clay. Charlotte Danreuther will be selling her pottery from 8 am to 4 pm during the stroll.

Christmas strollers will have their choice of lunchtime spots, with every restaurant in town offering lunch specials Saturday. The Mint will be offering lunch and dinner specials as well as Christmas Drink Specials (hot buttered rum and Alpines). Peps Bar will also be offering lunch and dinner specials. The Bakery will have a lunch special and homemade soup. The Senior Center will also be offering a lunchtime option of taco salads or nachos for $10.

At 3 PM, just as things are beginning to slow down for the afternoon with the Christmas Stroll, everyone can visit the High School Auditorium for a Big Sandy Theater production of "It's a Madhouse" featuring a cast of over 50 local students and adults.

At 5:30, the Christmas parade will kick off and run through Main Street and past the Senior Center. Twila Grant, who is overseeing the parade along with LeaAnn Williams, explained that the parade participants should begin to line up at the women's home at 5 pm. "The theme for this year's parade is 'Montana Christmas.'" Floats should be inspired by whatever the float maker sees as a Montana Christmas tradition. Twila suggested that this could be anything from a horse pulling a Christmas tree home or anything else that says "Christmas in Big Sky Country." There will be two prizes awarded this year. The prize for the float that best displays the theme will be $150. A $100 prize will be awarded to the float with the most lights. Those with questions can contact LeaAnn Williams or Twila Grant.

The Christmas Button drawing and Auction will take place after the parade at City Hall. Buttons for this year's drawings are $10 and can be purchased at Hair I Am, the Grocery Store, First Bank of Montana, Agri-Prairie Insurance, the Mint, or Big Sandy Pharmacy. All of the prizes for the drawing are on display at the Bank along with some of the auction items.