First United Methodist Church in Hastings will continue its half-century tradition of calling upon loving hearts and sugar plum fairies to satisfy the community’s cravings for homemade Christmas cookies, candy and breads with its annual Nutcracker Sweet Shoppe fundraiser Saturday. The event runs 9-11 a.m.
at the church, 614 N. Hastings Ave. A time-honored tradition of many families through the years, the sale of delectables prepared and donated by men and women of the congregation serves to fund the church’s mission projects at local, state and international levels.
The sale always occurs just before Christmas. The vast majority of funds raised will benefit local community charity projects, said Karen Myers, a longtime baked goods contributor and event organizer. “We like to divide it up with a focus on local organizations in town,” Myers said.
“These are the people making and buying the products. Our women’s group does the set-up and advertising. A lot of ladies set up, bake and buy.
You can’t ask for much more involvement than that.” Those who frequent the annual sale know its routine by heart: The plentiful treats are doled out on decorative Christmas trays for customer selection. Wearing disposable gloves for sanitary purposes, purchasers circle the goodie-filled tables in hot pursuit of their favorite treats, filling decorative trays with sugar cookies, fudge, breads, jellies, divinity candy and other seasonal offerings.
Items are sold by the pound and do.
