Hungry for Holiday Headgear

At South Lake Avenue's annual Holiday Open House yesterday every other store was giving away food. Sure, you could get discounts. You could also get coffee and cookies with your complimentary chair massage at Touche Salon and Day Spa. You could munch on the free sample appetizers at Cafe 140 South while gossiping about passersby. Maybe you skipped the food and ducked in to Williams-Sonoma to get your picture taken with Santa, but I didn't. I went to Ten Thousand Villages for the refreshments.

Despite near-blizzard conditions with temperatures in the mid-fifties, Lake Avenue was lined with friendly elves who braved the cold to entertain the crowds. It seems some people stayed home by the fire, afraid to drive under cloudy conditions. They missed the fun!

The elves were nice, but no matter how I begged they would not trade hats with me. It was disappointing. The Wikki Stix at Giggle sounded tempting, but you can't eat them and all I really wanted--besides food--was a hat.

(I know you can't eat a hat.)