Be there or be square! From the very first one, my daughters and I visited the Eunice Noel on the Prairie shopping event.
This weekend, Saturday, and some merchants will open Sunday, will be the 18th annual Noel on The Prairie in Eunice.
If my memory serves me correctly, I think I may have missed one. I cannot remember, of course the reason why I missed, but I’m sure it was a good one to have stayed away.
Unfortunately, as years of Noels have gone, one of my daughters dropped off “the wagon.” I think she got tired of the all day shopping, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. that my younger daughter and myself do.
We make a tradition of stopping at Café Mosaic first at 8 a.m. for coffee. Then shop 2nd Street merchants and head out to all other participating shops on the Noel route.
If you have never passed your time in Eunice during the annual Noel on The Prairie event, you have missed a treat! Try it, you will like it.
Thirty-one of Eunice’s merchants, businesses, and gift shops, not only decorate for the Christmas season, some merchants offer customers discounts on their merchandise. Some businesses have door prizes and drawings in their store to participate. Some gift shops offer its shoppers light refreshments as you shop. I always make my way to the refreshments. As a hint, please one of you make sure there is coffee punch, this is my favorite!
We make sure we register our Noel on the Prairie information card, and have 10 stamped businesses and make our way to the last stop to deposit our cards for a drawing of a chance to win a $775 shopping spree. Each year we always hope our name is pulled, but, this has not happen yet. Maybe this year will be the lucky one!
This event is not only an opportunity to shop and purchase Christmas gifts and items for your home, it’s a chance to give back to your community as you shop locally.
During this two-day shopping spree event, (take note some stores will not be opened on Sunday) not only Eunice businesses benefit, but local restaurants do also. We normally take a lunch break and dine in at a Eunice restaurant, and as we do, I see many other shoppers doing the same.
In the past years of shopping Noel, I have wrapped many of my family and friends Christmas gifts purchased from local stores and I usually will make a remark- “I found it during Noel on the Prairie!”