By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Saturday’s Come Home for Christmas event in Peabody enjoyed heavy involvement from vendors, business owners, and community members.

Heidi Hittle was one of several volunteers helping with a cookie walk at Pop’s Diner, which raised money for Peabody Association of Churches’ Vacation Bible School.

“Everybody in town comes through the cookie walk so I get to greet everybody,” she said. “I get to say hello to people who maybe I haven’t seen in a long time.”

Maintaining a reserve stock of products is important for vendors, which means preparation starts well before any event, vendor Colleen Ryder said.

“You should, but I don’t have as much as I want,” she said. “It’s best if we start in January building for anything we’re doing.”

Ryder lives in Valley Center but has family in Peabody. Wherever she chooses to take her wares, Ryder said women usually plan events where she sells crafts.

“It’s usually the women’s auxiliary that is running them, just like here at the American Legion,” she said. “It’s the women’s auxiliary. They’re trying to raise funds for the legion, just like the ladies over there are raising funds for the park.”

Colleen’s fellow Valley Center crafter, Susan Tigard, said it’s more about the passion than the money.

“It’s a great retirement project,” she said. “We wouldn’t do this if we didn’t love it.”

While they sell a variety of products, each started with a limited focus, Tigard said.

“Originally, I just had quilts I was selling,” she said. “When Colleen started doing the embroidery I had to have something else to sell, so I started on the aprons.”

Similar to Ryder and Tigard, the versatility and number of options available is an advantage for the event as a whole, Hittle said.

“There are more opportunities for everybody,” she said. “There’s stuff for little kids, high school kids, and stuff for adults. There’s stuff for all ages, and a wonderful time for those from the community to intertwine with each other.”