Tis the Season of firsts

While the COVID-19 pandemic has stolen many activities from people this past year, a police officer isn’t about to let the virus steal Christmas from the Blooming Prairie community.
For the first time ever, officer Dan Peach, who also helps his father run the local hardware store, is creating a Christmas wonderland in the same spot that provided residents with baked goods and treats to enjoy for decades. B-to-Z Hardware, which took over the lot where the Bakery burned down earlier this year, will offer “Have a Very Prairie Christmas,” daily and nightly throughout December.
The magical area will come to life with decorations and activities for all ages. One of the centerpiece displays will be scenes from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, an American family comedy film featuring Clark Griswald and Cousin Eddie. The display will feature Griswald’s station wagon with a tree strapped to the roof as well as Cousin Eddie’s RV, which was painted by local artist Sandy Jones.
Peach also plans to offer a holiday train, a large lit up Christmas tree, a scene depicting Toy Story and other decorated areas for families to enjoy photo opportunities.
Around the perimeter of the display will be eight large pots bearing Christmas trees which will be decorated by non-profit organizations within the community. There will also be a large community tree where people can bring an ornament either representing themselves or a business. People will be allowed to put the ornaments on the tree throughout the entire month of December.
Last week Peach erected a 40-foot North Pole sign facing Main Street with the help of another police officer Rick Ellingson, who also serves the area as a paramedic for Mayo Ambulance.
Peach admits much of what he is doing is being created “on the fly,” and he doesn’t know exactly how it will all turn out. He is always looking for ideas online. “Every day I’m changing my mind with the way it looks,” he said, noting he spends at least 4-5 hours every day at the lot before going to work at the police department. “The hours are adding up big time,” he said.
“I want to create a fun atmosphere for families to walk through,” said Peach. “I just like to see people happy and bring joy to town. I’m excited about seeing other people excited.”
The official kickoff for the wonderland will be Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be sleigh rides available and there are rumors floating around that Santa Claus will be making a guest appearance for kids to share their wish lists. “We’re going to be as safe as possible (with COVID-19) and allow the kids some normalcy to see Santa,” Peach said.
After the kickoff, the wonderland will be open daily for people to stop by and enjoy the activities as well as nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. “I want to bring in people from out of town,” Peach said. “I want them to see our town and help out other businesses, especially this year.”
Peach said he first got the idea for a Christmas wonderland back in August. In October, he created a pumpkin patch for Halloween and it proved to be an overwhelming success. “When I saw how much fun people had with the pumpkin patch, I wanted to do something for Christmas,” he said.
He was also motivated by the cancellation of the police department’s annual holiday open house because of COVID. Peach has organized most of the events during the police open house for the past four years. “I had a blast doing the Christmas at the PD so now it’s time to step up our game,” he said. “This won’t last only two hours, but the entire month.”
Peach says Christmas is his favorite holiday. “I’ve always loved Christmas,” he said.
As for the holiday display, Peach hopes to make it an annual tradition. “I hope people come to have fun,” he said. “It always seems to put people in a better mood.”