Fireworks and fun make community Christmas celebration a family favorite each year

When it comes to a small-town atmosphere, Palmer is hard to beat. And when that small-town atmosphere includes walking around town and sharing in the holiday cheer with friends, family and neighbors, it must be the second week in December -- and Colony Christmas.

Last weekend, Palmer rolled out the red carpet for Santa Claus and his reindeer, as Colony Christmas took center stage in downtown Palmer. Three craft bazaars, fireworks, reindeer, Santa Claus and hay rides were all located within a few hundred yards of each other.

It's the holiday before the holiday for many in Palmer.

"Oh yeah, Colony Christmas is part of our holiday tradition in our family," said Palmer's Cherri Alexander. "We bundle the kids up and go from event to event. For us, the highlight is the fireworks.

"We make a Thermos of hot chocolate and sit out on a snow bank and watch the fireworks," Alexander said.

This year, there was snow, which was news in itself. The chance of having a Christmas celebration without snow was a real possibility, right up until the last minute.

Until this week, not a speck of the white stuff could be found. There wasn't exactly a snowstorm of epic proportions before Colony Christmas, but at least the ground was white.

"Here we are in Alaska and we almost didn't have a white Christmas," Alexander said. "But Christmas is a happy time, whether there is snow or not."

Alexander's two children -- Cyrus, 8, and Chloe, 6 -- were like every other child at Colony Christmas. Thoughts of what Santa Claus is bringing them filled their heads, but not enough to make them slow down.

When asked if they had fun at Colony Christmas, they rattled off about a hundred things they did that day, and gave glowing remarks for every single one of them.

"The fireworks were cool," Cyrus said. "They were even better than last year. I like the loud ones the best."

His sister said she prefers the "big fireworks that look like flowers," but she said the highlight for her was meeting a man she hasn't seen for a while.

"I sat on Santa's lap and told him what I want for Christmas," Chloe said with a smile. So what exactly did she ask for this year?

"I can't tell. That's a secret I made with Santa," she said. "I'm not even telling my mom."

With a wink and a nod, Cherri Alexander acknowledged that while she may not be as smart as Santa Claus, she is a mom, and mom's do have special powers -- like knowing what their daughter asked for for Christmas.