FESTIVALS BECKON WITH GINGERBREAD, REINDEER AND BETHLEHEM'S SPECIAL "CHRISTMAS TOWN" CELEBRATION

New England’s Christmas Town

There’s no better start to the season than Bethlehem’s 34th annual Christmas Town Festival on Friday and Saturday December 5 and 6. The center of the village comes alive with strolling carolers, live music, free horse-drawn wagon hayrides and more than 70 art and craft exhibitors filling in seven buildings with original gifts. The Chime-In Bell Choir is one of several groups providing special music and kids can visit Santa’s Elves Activity Center to make crafts or write a letter to Santa.

The Bethlehem Post Office stays open until 8 p.m. on Friday and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. so that cards and letter can be mailed with the cachet of an official Bethlehem postmark.

Following the lighting of the big village tree on Friday night, revelers will enjoy a new treat this year, rides on the Roaming Railroad with an engine pulled by no other than Thomas the Tank Engine, Santa will be on hand both days to pose for pictures with his young admirers.

The Festival will be held at the junction of Rtes. 61 and 132 on Friday, Dec.5 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sat. Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A shuttle bus runs to town from the Bethlehem Fairgrounds on Rte. 61. For information see www.christmastownfestival.com

The Gingerbread Trail

The irresistible aroma of gingerbread is in the air in Kent, a classic New England village ready to greet the season with its third Annual Gingerbread Fest, an eagerly awaited new tradition. From December 5th to January 5th, over 40 creative displays of gingerbread houses will adorn shop windows, as merchants of the town compete for prizes for best display. Strollers are invited to vote for the winners as well as enter their names to win a visitors’ prize.

Visitors can also download a Gingerbread Manhunt Walking Map to find the frisky gingerbread man named Freddie, his girlfriend Ginger, and his crew of ten Gingerbread Bad Boys all hiding in the windows among the houses. Kids love the challenge.

The sights and scents add to the perennial pleasure of checking off the Christmas list in a beautiful town filled with one-of-a-kind shops. See www.kentct.com for more holiday activities in town.

Dancer, Prancer and a Jolly Old Friend

Santa and four of his LIVE reindeer - Dancer, Dasher, Prancer and Blitzen are coming back to town for the sixth annual Greenwich Reindeer Festival. Santa will once again set up his Workshop at McArdle’s Florist & Garden Center, 48 Arch Street from November 28 until Christmas Eve, when he is expected elsewhere. He welcomes visitors to his workshop for photos. Four of Santa’s reindeer are on view in their comfortable outdoor pen. A recommended hour to visit is feeding time at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. For hours and information see www.greenwichreindeerfestival.com.

For more holiday ideas and events or information on restaurant or lodging in the area, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.visitwesternct.com. Ask for a free copy of Unwind, a full-color, 152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in Fairfield County and the Litchfield Hills.