Fourth annual Christmas Time at the Mill

An annual event since 2021, “Christmas Time at the Mill” is planned and carried out by Matthew Petsinger, who says he does it all because, “‘Tis the season.” The first 200 children to arrive at the Mill on Saturday, Dec. 7 got one of 200 hot dogs donated by Morgan’s Meat Market on buns donated by Kelm’s BBQ and Waseca Kwik Trip.

Said Petsinger, “There are so many fundraisers going on right now and those are good, but I’m here, it’s a great day, it’s for a good cause and it gets kids even more ready for the Christmas season. Christmas Time at the Mill is about having fun and taking a day off from donating.” At the door, children were handed red tickets which gave them a chance to win door prizes: Donated by the Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Center (WANSC) and other anonymous donors, the offerings were oversized stuffed animals with the winners to be announced later.

From noon through 7 p.m. there were free cookies and hot chocolate. There were tickets for free face painting and three face painters present, Mia Whyttenbach, 7, was on a chair receiving butterfly swoops on her face, there was a smile there as well. At the cash bar, Charlie Harguth and Matt Olsem were serving drinks: $2 children versions of holiday punch with a $1 refill by using the same glass. For adult punch it was $5 a drink with a $3 refill, again same glass. Harguth said about the day’s events, “I just like seeing all the kids and the fun they have.” Olsem added, “I really like the community involvement.” At the bar, a list of adult beverages offered choices such as Christmas Cran Mimosa, Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch, and Peppermint Cocoa.

The owners of Kelm’s BBQ, Kevin and Amy, were serving hot dogs and brats. Amy said she and Kevin were there “Because I love Christmas and spreading that cheer. This is a great event; Matthew did a great job getting people out.” Next to Kelm’s was Barb Timlin setting out cookies from the Owatonna HyVee. She said, “Matt’s my insurance guy. He told me about it and I thought it was such a great idea. I hope to be involved in many more of these. This idea of bringing everyone together is so wonderful.”

Performers for the stage included Pastor Michael Grannis of St. Paul Lutheran Church singing Christmas carols; a reading of Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas”; the Waseca High School State Street Singers, and the High School Jazz band. As Pastor Grannis sang, children sitting on the ground in front of him looking up and watching. In another area of the room, toddler Arlo and his brother Camden Helton, 5, climbed nervously onto Santa’s lap, staying calm enough for their parents to get a picture but mom still had to hold them because sometimes Santa can be a little scary for the younger ones.

Speaking of pictures, four celebrities were present for Christmas at the Mill: Elsa, Anna and Olaf from the movie “Frozen,” and their friend from another movie, the Grinch. Taylor Tolzman, Mia and Macy Skluzacek were posing and snapped a pretty good photo. Rachel Hinton was sitting at a table passing out face painting tickets, papers and pens for letters to Santa, three tables of crafts and coloring pages of Christmas scenes. Hinton said about all the kids coming up to her and how busy she was, “To see all these people from the community come together and have a good day. One kid colored a picture, brought it back to me and said, ‘I love you.’ That was really nice.”

Near the entrance, one table offered free books for children courtesy of the Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Center. Nearby was a table full of teddy bears, trinkets and toys, also free of charge. Children were running to and fro with arms full of everything; the one common element was their smiles. Near the ramp, a woman took a breath and leaned on her stroller as her child ran between her legs back to the cookie table, Jennifer Cheney exhaled and said, “My kids wanted to see Santa and have a good time, the Christmas at the Mill was expertly timed this year and today there’s no better place to go.” Her boys, Peyton, 9, and Zachary, 2, seemed to agree.

As people left, Matthew Petsinger of American Family Insurance said, “Thank you guys for coming. This is all about fun.”