Let There Be Lights

The downtown merchants hosted an open house for the lighting of the city Christmas tree and we decided to go.  It was so very cold, about 16 when we left home, so we bundled up and headed out.

This is Main Street as we approached it from our house.

All the shops along the street were open for shopping but, the stores are small and the crowd was large so we just went in long enough to warm up.

This is the tree before the lights. Notice the sound system, they were playing Christmas music that could be heard for blocks.

 

All along the road there were Christmas displays and merchants serving warm cider, hot dogs, and even roasting chestnuts.

My hubby peeling the soft outer skin off a hot chestnut so we could try our very first chestnut roasted on an open fire.  It was good!

 

 

Some of the windows had cute displays.

 Some had live displays.

 

We even had snow on the sidewalk-leftover from yesterday.

There were hayrides North Dakota style.

And then everyone headed north for the tree lighting.

and then the countdown 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1

This was as close as we could get for a picture and my poor hubby was so sweet to bring me, and so cold, that I didn't want to ask him to wait around so I could get a better photo.  It was fun and it was cold and we can now say we have been to a Minot, ND official Christmas tree lighting.