Christmas in Edgartown is from Dec. 8 through 11, and the town will be packed with holiday activities.

Get the reindeer ready and the sleigh saddled up because Christmas in Edgartown begins Thursday, Dec. 8.

When the Old Whaling Church clock chimed 11 a.m. on Saturday, anticipation was high for the 34th annual Christmas parade, one of the marquee events of Christmas in Edgartown weekend.

Christmas in Edgartown arrives this weekend. Consider it three days of holiday fuel to propel you through the season full of hope, cheer and goodwill toward all.

In Edgartown the official start of Christmas is Thursday, Dec. 10 as the 34th annual Christmas in Edgartown festivities arrive once again and continue through Sunday, Dec. 13.

Away in a hotel, no crib for a bed, a giant six-foot stuffed Teddy Bear named Obie raised his sweet head. The stars in the Vineyard sky looked down where he yawned. The rest of his bear friends, Chappy, Edgar and Tisbeary, lay asleep until dawn.

The lighting of the Edgartown Lighthouse Friday evening launched a weekend of activities sponsored by the Edgartown Board of Trade. Horse-drawn carriage rides through downtown streets and sleighrides to Cape Pogue turn back the clock on Christmas.

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Along the streets of Edgartown, garlands twist up the lamp posts, lights string along shrubs and wreaths hang on the stores’ front doors.
For 31 years the town has celebrated Christmas with a Main street parade, and come Saturday morning, the sleigh bells will be ringing and the children singing as Santa makes his way down the street, with 45 other floats following behind.

But these days the event is much more than just a wave from Santa’s sleigh.

A friend recently said that "Christmas is about getting back to the basics, the basics that are so easily forgotten today."

A reporter was reminded of this walking through the doors of the Federated Church on South Summer street Saturday morning, where an elf workshop was in progress. Oblong tables were crammed with kids bumping elbows and building gingerbread houses. Parents stood behind them chatting with each other. Some leaned over to lend a hand, but they were ignored - so intently focused were the kids on their individual projects.

With six shopping days left until Christmas, Tisbury merchants say the women will come early, the men late. Parking will be tough, but when isn't it? And though the wind may be cold the shops are warm, and the white lights of a Main street night alone make it worth the walk.

Vineyard Haven store owners are hoping this weekend will bring a rush to boost holiday business. December is usually one of the more profitable months of the year, but so far sales have been lackluster.