Saturday morning found the Union County Heritage Museum full of excited children and their families. The museum was offering Winter Wonderland waffles, hot chocolate, crafts, and a variety of beautiful and interesting Christmas Trees to be enjoyed by all. But the main attraction, as always at this time of year, was Santa and Mrs. Claus.

In the museum’s beautiful Faulker Library, the Claus couple offered smiles and comfy laps that made most kids happy to tell Santa himself their Christmas wishes. But a few younger ones only wanted to deal with Mrs. Claus, who has beautiful silver hair and no “scary” long beard. Families could take their own free photos of their kids with Santa, or could use the services of a professional photographer available at the museum.

As always, museum director Jill Smith and her staff and volunteers were well prepared to ensure that all visitors had a good time, while perhaps even learning something new. Many visitors toured the interesting display areas throughout the museum. Visitors of all ages seem to especially enjoy seeing the room full of animals not generally found in Mississippi – all decked out in their Christmas finery. The museum’s one room school house was also open and had a lot of visitors as people stopped by before or after attending the Christmas events.

Union County is fortunate to have one of the best small museums in the country, and it’s particularly beautiful and interesting to visit at this time of year. The museum is open Tuesday- Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. There is always something interesting to see and helpful staff to assist you.