By Brian Beckley
The Courier-Herald
The Bonney Lake Senior Center welcomed early holiday shoppers Saturday during its first Holiday Christmas Craft Bazaar.
Ornaments, decorations and handmade gifts dotted the center as shoppers looked to get a jump on the season.
McKenna Mowatt, 8, was the youngest vendor, selling homemade Christmas tree ornaments and wall-hangers. Crafts are a love she shares with her grandmother, who sat at the next table selling wares of her own.
“It's fun to do it with crafts,” Mowatt said. “I also did it with my grandma and it's fun to do it with my grandma.”
On the other side of the room, Janet Selle sold quilts she made and hand-crafted wood pieces designed by her husband, Archie. Selle said she and her husband do the crafts to stay active.
“If you don't have a hobby you sit and watch TV and get old and cranky,” she said with a smile.
Selle said the largest quilt took about six months to put together. Quilts that did not sell, she said, would be donated to Project Linus, a group that provides blankets to ill and traumatized children.
Team Family Affair also had a table, selling homemade breads as well as birdhouses, chicken pot holders and other crafts. The crafts are part of a year-long effort to raise money for the Relay for Life.
According to Jeanette Sturtz of Bonney Lake, six members of her family are cancer survivors. Last year, the team, which numbered 27 on the day of the Relay, raised $7,400. This year, they are hoping to double that.
But while the vendors had many reasons for coming out, for shoppers, the reason was simple.
“It's the time of year!” said Marie Bonnet with a cheery smile.
Brian Beckley can be reached at bbeckley@courierherald.com.
