Last night, some of Washington’s downtown business community kicked off its second night of Festive Fridays, which includes a variety of activities available for individuals and families.

Santa Claus made several appearances throughout the night. He was taking pictures with children of all ages at Salon 208, among other locations, and was able to hear Beaufort County children request some of their most wanted items this Christmas. Other activities included the screening of holiday films, wine and cheese tastings, popcorn and slushy machines and a variety of other activities. Russell’s Men’s Shop recently held a bow tie class, which instructed participants on how to properly tie a bowtie. The Blue Crab Monograms and Gifts hosted a workshop for Christmas ornament making and will host the workshop again next Friday. The list of activities goes on and on.

The concept of having additional activities available at these businesses, especially during the holiday season, is simply ingenious. What a great way to not only generate traffic that might otherwise not have been, but also to keep the little ones occupied while mom and dad get some much needed Christmas shopping done.

One business, Salon 208, really had a merry gathering. There were probably 20 people packed into the little salon at any given moment, surrounded by Santa Claus. Visitors had the opportunity to meet Santa and have his or her picture taken with Jolly Old Saint Nick, and for $5, one could get a 5” by 7” inch photo, which was a convenient way to document the memory made.

Despite any decorating competition that may be going on between business owners in the downtown community, the business owners have really done a great job of decorating their storefronts appropriately for the Christmas season. Walking down Main Street, one can witness an array of bright lights, festive décor and, to the right of Washington Jewelers, a pretty cool nativity scene.

The downtown business community has really gotten into the Christmas spirit, and that is illustrated well by the decorations and the activities at each business. The concept of hosting activities like this should not only be continued, but also expanded. It will be interesting to see how this continues and who joins the fun.