Come Home to Christmas Saturday

The momentum is growing for Saturday’s Come Home to Christmas event, which in the last four years has become a staple on the community’s Thanksgiving weekend calendar.
Julie Wasem, a member of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce board and chairman of the event said she’s excited about this year’s celebration.
“First of all I want to thank all our sponsors because the sponsorship has really grown,” Wasem reported. “That will help us this year, but it will also help us in the future to make plans from there and maybe add more attractions and so on.”
The main event Saturday will be the parade of lighted tractors and 4-wheelers, which is set to begin at 6:05 p.m. Wasem encouraged anyone interested to participate, noting that entries will be accepted right up until showtime.
“We’ll take late registrations right up until the end, but we like them as early as possible because that gives us time to put everything in order,” she said. 
The parade is the day’s grand finale, though activities begin at 9 a.m. in an itinerary which Wasem said offers a variety of events and opportunities to shop at local stores.
“Last year there were people here throughout the day and we had a lot of good comments from retailers, some saying it was their best day,” she said. “Our hope is that this is becoming an economic boom to the community. You have family in town for Thanksgiving, you watch the football game on Friday and what are you going to do on Saturday? This gives people something fun to do and everybody seems to be getting into it.”
Beginning at 9 a.m., Small Business Saturday kicks off at stores throughout the community, as does the Wonderland of Trees at the Plainsman Museum.
“I was at the museum the other day and they have done a great job decorating,” she said. “That would be a fun event for those coming from out of town who are visitors or relatives in the area.”
At 11 a.m. Santa will arrive by horse-drawn carriage to the square, setting up shop in the bandstand.
“The kids really enjoy visiting Santa, and this year while they’re waiting they’ll get to visit ‘Shortstack,’ a miniature horse out of Grand Island that does a great job calming people down,” Wasem said. “That will be kind of a new thing to see him and be able to pet him during the time they’re waiting to see Santa.”
The big guy in red will actually make two appearances, first from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., then again from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Wasem said the soup supper sponsored by the Aurora Fire Department, always a popular draw offering warm soup on what is forecast to be a chilly evening, will be from 4-7 p.m. this year at the Fire Hall.
Also during the late afternoon hours, guests can take in a performance by the Tempo Performing Arts students at 4 p.m. on the east side of the courthouse, followed by the live nativity scene on the northeast side of the square at 4:30.
Back from last year’s debut, a local business will be selling Christmas trees in the Fidelity Building lot, which Wasem said was well received.
“They did a nice job setting that up last year and they’re excited again,” she said of the Lincoln Creek Landscaping display. “That really gives it a Christmas atmosphere.”
Stores will remain open until 5:30, when all the attention starts to focus on the brick streets, where the lighted tractors and 4-wheelers will be on parade.
For more detailed information, including a registration form for the parade and a listing of event locations and starting times, scan the attached QR code.